Case Studies
They say "results are all that matter." Well, we agree. Here are actual case studies showcasing the results that Zcounsel's Joel D. Zychick has delivered for two companies.

CHALLENGE:
GETKO Group Inc., a direct mailer to the new homeowner market, was a family-owned company. The founders needed to diversify their holdings to create liquidity from their corporate assets and to provide transition planning for their family.

SOLUTION:
Joel came on board as an interim CFO and initiated an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) wherein the family sold approximately 30% of their stock to their employees, raising the required funds. In addition, he advised the family on their estate planning and the transition of ownership from one generation to the next. As the firm considered a transition to public company status, Joel brought in new internal accounting systems and an outside accounting firm and lined them up with investment bankers (Goldman Sachs). Ultimately, he negotiated the sale of the company to Cendant Corporation (NYSE). The result: the family made as much money as they would have by going public, without assuming the responsibilities of a public entity, and the employees of the company participated in the success of the founders through their ESOP. [For more information about Joel Zychick's work with the GETKO Group – including the successful acquisition of Welcome Wagon and the introduction of both brands to the Internet – please click on our Biography section.]

CHALLENGE:
Innotech, Inc., a medical device manufacturer for the vision care industry, had five employees when they began working with Joel. The founder's challenge was to restructure his company, patent its technology, and raise money in order to manufacture its products and build a distribution system to bring them to market. He was also interested in taking the company public.

SOLUTION:
Joel worked extensively with Innotech's management team, creating the necessary infrastructure for the growth they had in mind – establishing the ownership configuration and employee relationships as the new management team was brought on board, facilitating the protection of the company's intellectual property, etc. – and setting up the appropriate corporate structure to obtain the financing they needed to commercialize their products and go public.
From 1993 to 1998, he facilitated, negotiated and documented four rounds of venture financing (including mezzanine and senior funding), raising over $70 million. Notably, Joel was very successful in maximizing ownership retention for the senior management staff as the company transitioned from the development stage to full commercialization – something that is typically lost over that time. He then advised the company as it went public on the NASDAQ, and six months later coordinated the sale of Innotech to Johnson & Johnson. In the process, Joel worked with Chase Venture Partners, CIBC Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, Forrest Binkley & Brown, and others.