Brian Dillavou

Brian Dillavou

Partner

Start-Up and Emerging Growth Companies Expertise

Brian has extensive experience advising start-ups and emerging companies on a broad range of corporate matters, including venture capital and other financings, stock options and compensation matters, M&A, and capital markets transactions, including IPOs.
Investor and Financial Institution Representation

He also represents institutional investors and financial institutions in venture financings, M&A, and capital markets transactions, including IPOs and other equity and debt financings.
A Recognized Practitioner

Brian has been recognized as a leader in his field by sources such as Chambers USA, Thomson Reuters, and The Legal 500 U.S.

Brian Dillavou is a corporate partner in the Austin office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he represents start-ups and emerging growth companies from incorporation and early-stage financings through strategic exits such as initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. His experience includes advising start-up and early-stage businesses on corporate legal issues, venture capital and other financings, stock options and other compensation matters, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings. He also represents institutional investors and financial institutions in venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings and other equity and debt financings. Brian has particular experience working with clients in the technology, fintech, and life sciences sectors.

Prior to joining the firm, Brian was a partner in the emerging companies practice of Shearman & Sterling.

Experience

Prior to joining the firm, Brian was a partner in the emerging companies practice of Shearman & Sterling.

Education

J.D., The University of Texas School of Law
With Honors
M.P.A., The University of Texas at Austin
B.B.A., Canfield Business Honors Program and Accounting, The University of Texas at AustinWith Honors

Associations and Memberships

Member, Business Law Section, State Bar of Texas
Board Member, TeXchange (2016-2018)

Honors

Recognized in the “Technology: Corporate & Commercial” category for Texas in the 2021-2024 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Profiled as one of the leading Mergers & Acquisitions (2016) and Technology (2016-2017) lawyers in the United States by The Legal 500 US
Recognized as a Texas Rising Star, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters (published in Texas Monthly) (2016-2018)

Admissions

State Bar of Texas

Credentials

Education

J.D., The University of Texas School of Law
With Honors
M.P.A., The University of Texas at Austin
B.B.A., Canfield Business Honors Program and Accounting, The University of Texas at AustinWith Honors

Associations and Memberships

Member, Business Law Section, State Bar of Texas
Board Member, TeXchange (2016-2018)

Honors

Recognized in the “Technology: Corporate & Commercial” category for Texas in the 2021-2024 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Profiled as one of the leading Mergers & Acquisitions (2016) and Technology (2016-2017) lawyers in the United States by The Legal 500 US
Recognized as a Texas Rising Star, Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters (published in Texas Monthly) (2016-2018)

Admissions

State Bar of Texas

Representative Venture Capital Transactions

Technology, life science, and consumer packaged goods companies in raising billions of dollars in venture capital financings
Infinitum Electric in its $110 million Series D financing and its $220 million Series E financing
GreenLite Technologies in its $8 million Series Seed financing and $28.5 million Series A financing
ComboCurve in its $50 million Series B financing
Sage Geosystems in its $30 million Series A financing
Lumata Health in its $4 million Series A financing and $5.5 million Series A+ financing
Axial Shift in its $4 million Series Seed financing
WeInfuse in its Series A financing
TAU Systems in its $15 million Series Seed financing
Riscosity in its $7 million Series Seed financing
Renegade Insurance in its $40 million Series B financing
The Newcastle Network in Kizik’s $20 million Series B financing
Pilot, a financial services software platform, in its $60 million Series C financing*
Next Insurance, Inc. in its $250 million Series C financing and $250 million Series D financing*
Theatro Labs, Inc. in its $20 million Series C financing*
Spotio, Inc. in its $4.5 million Series A financing*
Decisio Health, Inc. in its $13 million Series B financing*
An AI-enabled healthcare analytics company in its Series Seed financing*
TalentGuard, Inc. in its $4 million Series B financing*
WeInfuse in its financing and strategic partnership by Healix*
ListingSpark, Inc. in its $2 million Series A financing*
CherryCircle Software in its $2.3 million Series Seed financing*
An oil and gas analytics software company in its Series A financing*
A pharmaceutical company in its $28 million financing*
A software telecommunications company in its $40 million Series E financing*
A medical device company in its $15 million convertible note financing*
Investors in an $8 million Series A financing of an asset monitoring software company*
Investors in a $10 million Series B financing of a cloud-based service company*
A brewer in its Series A financing*
A block chain platform company in its Series Seed financing*

Representative Mergers & Acquisitions Transactions

WeInfuse in its acquisition of RxToolKit
Hive9 in its sale to Brandmaker
Next Insurance in its acquisition of AP Intego*
Liveoak Technologies, a virtual customer engagement and business platform, in its sale to DocuSign*
Verimatrix in its sale of Silicon IP and Secure Protocols business for $65 million to Rambus*
Empyrean Benefit Solutions in its sale to Securian Financial Group*
Oil and gas software company in its sale to a private equity backed strategic acquirer*
Admissions and enrollment management software company in its sale to a private equity investment firm*
San Luis Spirits in its acquisition of Empresario Brands*
A telecommunications software company in its acquisition of a private equity held telecommunications software company*
A medical device company in its $150 million sale to a strategic acquirer*
A publicly traded waste and disposal service company in its $526 million sale to a private equity fund*
A developer of mobile applications in its sale to a strategic acquirer*
A modular refinery design and construction company in its $115 million sale to a private equity fund*
An eye care franchise in its $185 million sale to a private equity investment firm*
A healthcare software company in its sale to a public company acquirer*
A software company in its sale to a strategic acquirer*
A venture capital-backed software company in its sale to a strategic acquirer*
A venture capital-backed telecommunications company in its acquisition of a venture capital
backed company*
A company that makes high performance computer workstations in its sale to a private equity investment firm*
An in-house legal software services company in its sale to a portfolio company of a private equity investment firm*
A supply chain software company in its sale to a strategic acquirer
An industrial construction and maintenance company in its sale to a strategic acquirer
A software company in its sale to strategic acquirer
A benefits administration software company in its acquisition of a digital benefit delivery solutions company*
A customer identity and access management company in its sale to a portfolio company of a private equity investment firm*
A software consulting company in its sale to a private equity investment firm

Representative Public Offerings

An emerging growth medical device company in its $86+ million initial public offering*
An emerging growth medical device company in its $111+ million follow-on and secondary offering*
An emerging growth telecommunications software company in its $53+ million initial public offering*
An emerging growth telecommunications software company in its $44+ million follow-on offering*
An emerging growth pharmaceutical company in its proposed initial public offering*
Underwriters in proposed initial public offering of an emerging growth company*
The underwriter in the $140+ million public offering of common stock of a NYSE-listed company*

Representative SPAC Transactions

ESS Inc. (Nasdaq: GWH) in becoming a publicly traded company through de-SPAC transaction
NUBURU (Nasdaq: BURU) in becoming a publicly traded company through de-SPAC transaction
Ibere Pharmaceuticals, a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, in its $138 million initial public offering*

* Denotes experience at another firm prior to joining Wilson Sonsini in 2021.

Matters

Representative Venture Capital Transactions

Technology, life science, and consumer packaged goods companies in raising billions of dollars in venture capital financings
Infinitum Electric in its $110 million Series D financing and its $220 million Series E financing
GreenLite Technologies in its $8 million Series Seed financing and $28.5 million Series A financing
ComboCurve in its $50 million Series B financing
Sage Geosystems in its $30 million Series A financing
Lumata Health in its $4 million Series A financing and $5.5 million Series A+ financing
Axial Shift in its $4 million Series Seed financing
WeInfuse in its Series A financing
TAU Systems in its $15 million Series Seed financing
Riscosity in its $7 million Series Seed financing
Renegade Insurance in its $40 million Series B financing
The Newcastle Network in Kizik’s $20 million Series B financing
Pilot, a financial services software platform, in its $60 million Series C financing*
Next Insurance, Inc. in its $250 million Series C financing and $250 million Series D financing*
Theatro Labs, Inc. in its $20 million Series C financing*
Spotio, Inc. in its $4.5 million Series A financing*
Decisio Health, Inc. in its $13 million Series B financing*
An AI-enabled healthcare analytics company in its Series Seed financing*
TalentGuard, Inc. in its $4 million Series B financing*
WeInfuse in its financing and strategic partnership by Healix*
ListingSpark, Inc. in its $2 million Series A financing*
CherryCircle Software in its $2.3 million Series Seed financing*
An oil and gas analytics software company in its Series A financing*
A pharmaceutical company in its $28 million financing*
A software telecommunications company in its $40 million Series E financing*
A medical device company in its $15 million convertible note financing*
Investors in an $8 million Series A financing of an asset monitoring software company*
Investors in a $10 million Series B financing of a cloud-based service company*
A brewer in its Series A financing*
A block chain platform company in its Series Seed financing*

Representative Mergers & Acquisitions Transactions

WeInfuse in its acquisition of RxToolKit
Hive9 in its sale to Brandmaker
Next Insurance in its acquisition of AP Intego*
Liveoak Technologies, a virtual customer engagement and business platform, in its sale to DocuSign*
Verimatrix in its sale of Silicon IP and Secure Protocols business for $65 million to Rambus*
Empyrean Benefit Solutions in its sale to Securian Financial Group*
Oil and gas software company in its sale to a private equity backed strategic acquirer*
Admissions and enrollment management software company in its sale to a private equity investment firm*
San Luis Spirits in its acquisition of Empresario Brands*
A telecommunications software company in its acquisition of a private equity held telecommunications software company*
A medical device company in its $150 million sale to a strategic acquirer*
A publicly traded waste and disposal service company in its $526 million sale to a private equity fund*
A developer of mobile applications in its sale to a strategic acquirer*
A modular refinery design and construction company in its $115 million sale to a private equity fund*
An eye care franchise in its $185 million sale to a private equity investment firm*
A healthcare software company in its sale to a public company acquirer*
A software company in its sale to a strategic acquirer*
A venture capital-backed software company in its sale to a strategic acquirer*
A venture capital-backed telecommunications company in its acquisition of a venture capital
backed company*
A company that makes high performance computer workstations in its sale to a private equity investment firm*
An in-house legal software services company in its sale to a portfolio company of a private equity investment firm*
A supply chain software company in its sale to a strategic acquirer
An industrial construction and maintenance company in its sale to a strategic acquirer
A software company in its sale to strategic acquirer
A benefits administration software company in its acquisition of a digital benefit delivery solutions company*
A customer identity and access management company in its sale to a portfolio company of a private equity investment firm*
A software consulting company in its sale to a private equity investment firm

Representative Public Offerings

An emerging growth medical device company in its $86+ million initial public offering*
An emerging growth medical device company in its $111+ million follow-on and secondary offering*
An emerging growth telecommunications software company in its $53+ million initial public offering*
An emerging growth telecommunications software company in its $44+ million follow-on offering*
An emerging growth pharmaceutical company in its proposed initial public offering*
Underwriters in proposed initial public offering of an emerging growth company*
The underwriter in the $140+ million public offering of common stock of a NYSE-listed company*

Representative SPAC Transactions

ESS Inc. (Nasdaq: GWH) in becoming a publicly traded company through de-SPAC transaction
NUBURU (Nasdaq: BURU) in becoming a publicly traded company through de-SPAC transaction
Ibere Pharmaceuticals, a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, in its $138 million initial public offering*

* Denotes experience at another firm prior to joining Wilson Sonsini in 2021.

Select Speaking Engagements

Presenter, “The Journey to a Successful Exit,” S3 Ventures, December 15, 2020
Presenter, "Overview of the Venture Capital Financing Lifecycle," December 7, 2020
Presenter, “Venture Financing Structures: SAFEs, Convertible Notes and Preferred Equity,” MassChallenge Texas (Austin program), September 2, 2020, and June 19, 2019
Presenter, “Create Your Terms & What Investors Want to See,” Geekdom, San Antonio, Texas, July 30, 2020
Presenter, “Preparing for a Venture Financing," Geekdom, San Antonio, Texas, June 25, 2020
Presenter, “Preparing for a Venture Financing,” Quake Capital Partners, Austin, Texas, June 18, 2020, and August 20, 2019
Presenter, “Paycheck Protection Program Update,” R3 webinar, June 17, 2020
Presenter, “Main Street Lending Program: A lemon or lemonade?” OakNorth webinar, June 8, 2020
Presenter, “Current VC & PE Market Update,” The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business Venture Fellows, May 6, 2020
Presenter, “Main Street Fed Funding: Get ahead of the curve with a briefing from global fin-tech, OakNorth and Shearman & Sterling,” Webinar, April 13, 2020
Presenter, “Navigating SBA Loans: Q&A,” Galvanize webinar, April 10, 2020
Presenter, “Considerations for US FinTechs and Emerging Growth Companies in Light of COVID-19,” Webinar, April 9, 2020
Presenter, “How to get PPP Loans for Small Businesses,” Digital Wildcatters Live, April 2, 2020
Presenter, “Term Sheets 101,” The Emerging Venture Capitalist Association, February 27, 2020
Presenter, “Your First Financing,” Association of Corporate Counsel Austin Chapter Business & Law, September 20, 2019
Presenter, “Preparing for a Venture Financing,” Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute, September 13, 2019, and May 10, 2019
Presenter, “Funding 1.0: Get Your Startup Off the Ground,” Geekdom, San Antonio, Texas, April 17, 2019 and February 20, 2019
Presenter, “Healthcare Financing 101," March 8, 2019
Presenter, “Top Legal Mistakes Startups Make and How to Avoid Them,” Founder Institute Austin, Texas, November 28, 2018
Presenter, “Venture Financing: Demystifying Convertible Notes and SAFE Financings,” San Antonio Startup Week, October 25, 2018
Presenter, “Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made By Entrepreneurs,” The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business Venture Fellows, April 25, 2018
Presenter, “M&A Transactions and Trends,” BDO Year End Accounting and Tax Update, December 10, 2015

Insights

Select Speaking Engagements

Presenter, “The Journey to a Successful Exit,” S3 Ventures, December 15, 2020
Presenter, "Overview of the Venture Capital Financing Lifecycle," December 7, 2020
Presenter, “Venture Financing Structures: SAFEs, Convertible Notes and Preferred Equity,” MassChallenge Texas (Austin program), September 2, 2020, and June 19, 2019
Presenter, “Create Your Terms & What Investors Want to See,” Geekdom, San Antonio, Texas, July 30, 2020
Presenter, “Preparing for a Venture Financing," Geekdom, San Antonio, Texas, June 25, 2020
Presenter, “Preparing for a Venture Financing,” Quake Capital Partners, Austin, Texas, June 18, 2020, and August 20, 2019
Presenter, “Paycheck Protection Program Update,” R3 webinar, June 17, 2020
Presenter, “Main Street Lending Program: A lemon or lemonade?” OakNorth webinar, June 8, 2020
Presenter, “Current VC & PE Market Update,” The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business Venture Fellows, May 6, 2020
Presenter, “Main Street Fed Funding: Get ahead of the curve with a briefing from global fin-tech, OakNorth and Shearman & Sterling,” Webinar, April 13, 2020
Presenter, “Navigating SBA Loans: Q&A,” Galvanize webinar, April 10, 2020
Presenter, “Considerations for US FinTechs and Emerging Growth Companies in Light of COVID-19,” Webinar, April 9, 2020
Presenter, “How to get PPP Loans for Small Businesses,” Digital Wildcatters Live, April 2, 2020
Presenter, “Term Sheets 101,” The Emerging Venture Capitalist Association, February 27, 2020
Presenter, “Your First Financing,” Association of Corporate Counsel Austin Chapter Business & Law, September 20, 2019
Presenter, “Preparing for a Venture Financing,” Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute, September 13, 2019, and May 10, 2019
Presenter, “Funding 1.0: Get Your Startup Off the Ground,” Geekdom, San Antonio, Texas, April 17, 2019 and February 20, 2019
Presenter, “Healthcare Financing 101," March 8, 2019
Presenter, “Top Legal Mistakes Startups Make and How to Avoid Them,” Founder Institute Austin, Texas, November 28, 2018
Presenter, “Venture Financing: Demystifying Convertible Notes and SAFE Financings,” San Antonio Startup Week, October 25, 2018
Presenter, “Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made By Entrepreneurs,” The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business Venture Fellows, April 25, 2018
Presenter, “M&A Transactions and Trends,” BDO Year End Accounting and Tax Update, December 10, 2015

Recent Insights

Client Highlights

On September 17, 2024, GreenLite, a construction technology company making permitting faster and more predictable for builders, developers, and municipalities, announced the successful completion of its $28.5 million Series A financing less than a year after its launch. The round was led by Craft Ventures with participation from 53 Stations, Trust Ventures, and LiveOak Ventures. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati advised GreenLite on the transaction.

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News Articles

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati practices and attorneys were honored in the recently published 2024 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. This year, the firm was ranked in 36 geography-specific practice categories, while 79 attorneys were honored among the best in their fields.

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