Introduction from Griffen

Crafty Counsel kicked off our 2025 events season with a bang, with our High Growth & VC Day at the end of February. This event brings together in-house counsel working in the leading scaleups and their investors together in the same room. It was a joyful day, and a wonderful celebration of the legal side of the high growth ecosystem. Here are some key takeaways from the day:

The importance of a good foundation – From the early days of an organisation’s legal function to the impact that legal shortcuts can have on future funding rounds and M&A deals, one of the major talking points throughout the day was great beginnings.

Ethical dilemmas in high growth companies – Our choose-your-own adventure session sparked a great discussion about professional responsibility, ethical integrity, and the competing priorities and political considerations in-house need to make when reporting a concern (both internally within their organisations and externally to regulators).

Strategic funding and growth decisions – In the latter half of the day, we explored key strategic funding decisions – from secondary sales and venture backed companies staying private for longer, to the considerations surrounding international expansion, to the growth opportunities available through venture debt.

Skills and strengths that help in-house counsel thrive in the high growth ecosystem – Throughout the day, and certainly in our last mainstage session, attendees were encouraged to reflect on their skillsets, and what attributes allow them to succeed and find joy in their roles. From loving an environment full of change and challenges, to having the bravery to ask for clarification or further information when something isn’t clear, it was really rewarding to see our attendees reflect on why they love (and are amazing at!) what they do.

This event was the perfect way to start our calendar of events for this year, and our team so appreciates all of the generous community members who came together to listen, learn, discuss, and digest all things High Growth & VC. We hope this event left attendees feeling connected to their ecosystem of scaleups, investors, and the partners that support them.