Hannes Dernehl, Tendium: "Synch is intimate and understands our business"
Tendium, a fast-growing innovation company that uses AI to streamline public procurement, enlists the help of the law firm Synch in legal matters.
Tendium's CEO, Hannes Dernehl, also used Synch when working with a previous start-up.
“Synch understands the entrepreneurs' situation and dilemmas,” he says.
The serial entrepreneur, Hannes Dernehl, has a long career history. He has both started and run his own companies and taught and coached in entrepreneurship. Given the fact that he won inventor competitions as a child and had a great interest in entrepreneurship, his success is not so hard to believe.
As an entrepreneur, choosing the law firm Synch was an early decision. Hannes Dernehl first used Synch from 2012-2017, when running a company that develops platforms for building apps in healthcare, among other things. Once again, he engaged Synch with Tendium, the innovation company founded three years ago, with the vision to streamline the process of public procurement using AI.
“Has a different approach”
“Synch has a different approach compared to other agencies and they work more digitally and with greater agility. They understand the business and dilemmas of small and start-up companies, and what legal support is important to have. It has been an obvious choice to stay with Synch as they are intimate and understand our business,” says Hannes Dernehl.
Tendium has enlisted the help of Synch for a wide variety of legal needs. GDPR related issues, commercial agreements, terms of use, and legal issues related to financing the company to mention a few. To support Carolina,Tendium's own corporate lawyer, they can engage expert support from Synch when needed. They also use WeSynch, which is Synch's on-demand service for legal tools.
“They are pioneers with their digital service. The fact that we use WeSynch, means that we have access to contract templates and advice in widely differing legal areas. Therefore, we can do a large part of the work ourselves, instead of outsourcing it. We can also bring in Synch on an hourly basis to bounce ideas together when needed. In this way, they twist the legal profession and modernise it. It is a flexible and good approach that lowers the threshold for start-ups to contact legal expertise,” says Hannes Dernehl.
"Do what they can to lower the threshold"
He says that he often encounters a fear among entrepreneurs before they first contact a law firm.
“The very words ‘law firm’ emit a sound that makes many people a little nervous. People are afraid that it will cost money just to take the lift, and many are afraid of making a fool of themselves. Synch has an understanding for entrepreneurs, and they do what they can to lower the threshold. For example, they may send new entrepreneurs home with an assignment instead of charging directly, if they realise that what you are asking about is something the entrepreneur can do on their own,” says Hannes Dernehl.
Do you recommend Synch to others?
“I have recommended Synch many times, often to people who have been lost in some issue in their entrepreneurship. People who have been uncertain about the distribution of shares, or who have thoughts about whether they have the right partner, or entrepreneurs who want to change the structure of their team, are just a few examples. Then it can be very beneficial to have someone to talk to regarding what possible legal consequences could arise. Many people are reluctant and believe it will cost a fortune just to have a conversation with a lawyer; I send those people directly to Synch.”
“My advice to other entrepreneurs, especially newcomers, is not to wait to contact legal expertise, and instead contact e.g. Synch when you have thoughts that include legal issues, and then preferably before any problems arise in the company,” concludes Hannes Dernehl.
