How to Structure and Fund Your Startup - Tech on Tap ft. Ara Babaian

🚀 How to Structure and Fund Your Startup

Tech on Tap featuring Ara Babaian, Esq.

Whether you're launching your first venture or gearing up for your next growth stage, knowing your funding options can fundamentally shape where your business goes. This session brings together the Glendale tech and innovation community for an in-depth conversation with Ara Babaian, Founding Partner of Encore Law Group PC.

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💡 What You'll Learn

Ara will break down the startup funding landscape, covering:

• 👨‍👩‍👧 Friends & family rounds
• 📄 SAFE instruments
• 💼 Equity financings
• 🏦 SBA loans
• 🏆 Grants

Funding isn't just about raising capital — each pathway carries distinct implications for ownership, control, and long-term flexibility. Ara will explore how various funding approaches align with different business models, and how your choice of entity structure can either open up or close off certain options.

Attendees will leave with a clear framework for evaluating funding strategies and identifying the right approach for their specific goals.

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🎤 About the Speaker: Ara Babaian, Esq.

Ara Babaian is a business attorney and advisor with over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and company formation. As the Founding Partner of Encore Law Group PC, he counsels startups, founders, and growing companies on structuring, fundraising, and strategic transactions.

Beyond his legal practice, Ara is an active investor and entrepreneur. He operates multiple ventures in Joshua Tree, California — including real estate and hospitality projects and a retail marketplace called Joshua Tree Trading Post — bringing a hands-on, founder-minded perspective to his advisory work.

Prior to launching Encore Law Group, Ara was a partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP and an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he represented public companies. He holds a J.D. from Loyola Law School and a B.A. from UC Berkeley, and has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer every year since 2015.

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🍺 About Tech on Tap

Tech on Tap is a free monthly networking series for the tech and innovation community, hosted by the City of Glendale's Economic Development Division. Open to anyone curious about technology, each gathering is designed to connect interesting people, spark ideas, and fuel growth.

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♿ Accessibility

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, assisted listening devices are available upon request. To arrange accommodation, please contact the City of Glendale Economic Development Division at 818-548-2005 at least 72 hours (three business days) before the event. Same-day requests cannot be guaranteed.