Melbourne Tech Startup Firm Runs 3x More Seed Rounds
An 11-lawyer Melbourne firm acting for early-stage tech founders and seed investors uses Quillio for SAFE and convertible note reviews, Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) capital raising compliance, ESOP plan drafting under Division 83A ITAA 1997, shareholders agreement review, SaaS terms drafting, and Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and AI compliance advice. The firm now handles around three times the volume of seed financings per quarter at the same headcount.
What they were trying to solve
Startup legal work is high-volume and low-margin per matter — a typical $500k-$2m seed round involves a term sheet, SAFEs or a priced round, an amended constitution, a shareholders agreement, and an ESOP plan, often with founders moving fast and expecting turnaround in days. The firm was profitable on later-stage rounds but losing money on seed work the partners wanted to keep doing for pipeline reasons. Juniors were burning out on document production.
Why Quillio
Quillio was configured with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Chapter 6D capital raising regime, AusBiotech and AIC standard term sheets, the Y Combinator SAFE (Australian adaptation), ITAA 1997 Division 83A (startup ESOP concessions), the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the ACCC digital platform guidance, and common SaaS and data-processing clause libraries. Lawyers feed founder instructions and counterparty term sheets into Quillio and receive a full transaction bundle draft.
Implementation
Pilot on ten seed rounds over eight weeks with the startup team. ESOP drafting workflow added in month three after a session on 83A concessions. SaaS terms and Privacy Act advice added in month four, including the new Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) changes.
Measurable outcomes
From 8 rounds to 24 rounds per quarter with the same 11-lawyer team
Including cap-table modelling and founder advice
Division 83A compliant ESOP plans with valuation and vesting schedules
Fixed-fee seed packages now profitable, letting the firm keep pipeline work
For startup Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) compliance including 2024 amendments
Founders don't want a big-firm answer three weeks later — they want the SAFE signed this week so they can ship the product. Quillio means our juniors can get a first draft out the same day, and the partners only touch the judgment calls. We've stopped losing seed rounds to firms that undercut us.
How it works in practice
Seed and Series A financings under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Chapter 6D, SAFE and convertible note drafting, shareholders agreements, ESOP plans under Division 83A ITAA 1997, SaaS and data processing terms, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) compliance (including 2024 amendments), founder IP assignments, and early-stage commercial advice.
What they avoided
Dropping seed work that was subsidising later-stage pipeline, or hiring two more juniors who would burn out on the same document production cycle that was breaking the current team.
Case study FAQs
Does Quillio handle AU seed financing documents?
Yes — the Australian-adapted Y Combinator SAFE, convertible notes, AusBiotech/AIC term sheets, priced seed rounds under Chapter 6D, and the constitutional amendments that typically accompany them.
Can it draft a compliant ESOP?
Yes — Division 83A ITAA 1997 startup concession ESOP plans with proper vesting schedules, valuation approach, and FBT considerations, plus the Corporations Act disclosure exemptions under s1100V.
What about SaaS terms and Privacy Act compliance?
Quillio drafts SaaS master agreements, data processing addenda, and privacy collection notices, and reviews against the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) including the 2024 amendments (statutory tort of serious invasions, children's online privacy code, and the automated decision-making provisions).
Does it understand founder IP issues?
Yes — founder IP assignments, common law employer IP rules, confidentiality, and the Patents Act 1990 / Copyright Act 1968 issues that come up when a founder is moving from employment into a new startup.
Can it work at startup speed?
Yes — first drafts in minutes, and the firm runs fixed-fee packages for most seed matters. Founder-speed is part of why the pilot worked.
Run the same pilot.
Startup and VC firms should trial Quillio on a batch of seed round term sheets and SAFEs — the margin and turnaround difference shows up in the first month. Start a free trial.
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