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18 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m F O C U S : B a n k i n g & F i n a n c e Credit: Gerald Wenner Credit: Photos by Dex Credit: Gather New Haven Credit: Christina Sutton-Goubourn Your Giving Your Way Taking your giving to the next level A donor advised fund at The Community Foundation is your personal account for charitable giving. It offers you the flexibility to pool and invest a variety of charitable assets and the convenience of supporting charitable organizations when and where you choose. Learn more at cfgnh.org/dafnow or call 203-777-7071. Credit: Gerald Wenner Credit: Photos by Dex Credit: Gather New Haven Credit: Christina Sutton-Goubourn Your Giving Your Way Taking your giving to the next level A donor advised fund at The Community Foundation is your personal account for charitable giving. It offers you the flexibility to pool and invest a variety of charitable assets and the convenience of supporting charitable organizations when and where you choose. Learn more at cfgnh.org/dafnow or call 203-777-7071. Credit: Gerald Wenner Credit: Photos by Dex Credit: Gather New Haven Credit: Christina Sutton-Goubourn Your Giving Your Way Taking your giving to the next level A donor advised fund at The Community Foundation is your personal account for charitable giving. It offers you the flexibility to pool and invest a variety of charitable assets and the convenience of supporting charitable organizations when and where you choose. Learn more at cfgnh.org/dafnow or call 203-777-7071. Credit: Photos by Dex Credit: Gather New Haven Credit: Christina Sutton-Goubourn Giving Your Way A er 20 years working for a large medical technology manufacturing company, omas Wenchell knew a lot about medical devices. But when he and his business partner founded their own company RevMedica Inc. in 2017 to introduce a new laparoscopic stapling device into the market, they were in unfamiliar territory: running a startup. "e biggest challenge was setting expectations," Wenchell said. "You don't realize how hard it's going to be to raise money, how long it will take to get things done and get people on board." To help navigate the increasingly complex landscape of venture capital, tax and business planning that are essential to a startup's short- and long-term viability, Wenchell turned to Fiondella, Milone & Lasaracina (FML), an accounting firm that has provided advisory services to startup and early-stage companies since its With growing venture capital, other needs, accounting firms look to startups for growth opportunities By Matthew Broderick Early-Stage Guidance founding in 2002. e company is based in Glastonbury but opened an office in New Haven three years ago in e District to be closer to the Elm City's growing startup scene. Frank Milone, one of FML's founding partners who oversees the firm's advisory services, says the impact of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, which increased tighter auditing and financial regulations for public companies, created an opportunity for his firm at a time when many larger accounting firms moved their focus up-market. "ere was a gap within the ecosystem [of providers] catering and serving the startup environments," Milone said. But as venture capital both in Connecticut and nationally has been pouring into startups at record levels — more than $130 billion in venture capital was invested in the U.S. alone in 2020, according to PwC data — more accounting firms are increasing their focus on the riskier, but growing Accounting firm FML's Julie Gionfriddo (far left) and Frank Milone (far right) are helping RevMedica co-founders C. Robert Satti III (second to left) and Thomas Wenchell raise money and manage the choppy waters of operating their medtech startup. PHOTO/CONTRIBUTED

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