Female Founder Stories: Natalie Augustin, Glitzenhirn Augustin & Co
Natalie is a highly experienced legal professional with over 27 years of experience in the field. She has gained extensive experience in a wide range of legal areas, including International Financial Services, Trademarks, Trusts, Corporate, Commercial, Wills and Succession matters. In January 2000, she founded her own boutique law firm, Glitzenhirn Augustin & Co. which has quickly become one of the most highly regarded firms in her chosen practice areas in the industry.
Throughout her career, Natalie has earned a reputation for her dedication, her attention to detail, and her ability to provide practical solutions to complex legal issues.
CL Team: Tell us a little bit about what you do and how you started your career career in commercial law.
Natalie: I want to say that I fell into it. When I left school I wanted to be a diplomat. I wanted to be a part of the UN and have a little sign in front of me with some country name and a little flag. So that was where I was heading. I studied international relations with Germany to head down that path. Then, unfortunately, there was a tragedy in our family, my great-grandmother was murdered, and it sort of put me into a tailspin. I wanted to do something to get rid of every single criminal in this world. So then I pivoted and chose law.
Crime was my top subject. And I thought that’s it, I’m going to be a prosecutor and just get rid of all criminals. So I started practicing and I think by about week three, I thought, this really isn’t for me. Mainly because I ended up in a criminal defense law firm, and it wasn’t what I really wanted. So I just completely pivoted again and thought, my parents had their own businesses and I quite enjoyed that. So I went into commercial law and corporate law. That’s where I’ve been ever since.
I worked for two or three law firms and then after a while again I realized that the only way I was going to do this and be comfortable and happy every day would be if I did it for myself. So I started my own law firm. That was 23 years ago.
CL Team: You are particularly passionate about helping entrepreneurs safeguard their legacy. What are some of the ways that new and existing entrepreneurs can build wealth by leveraging legal structure?
Natalie: What I always say is to make sure that you surround yourself with others who have specialisms in particular areas. Often, clients come to me and they have already made a deal, negotiated something with another person, or a contract. They come up with some terms and then come to a lawyer. Then I would have to go back and do everything again.
What they should have done is bring a lawyer and a financial advisor along at the time of coming up with this great idea. So everybody can sit around the table together. This would cut out a lot of back and forth and you would end up with a better agreement contract and therefore business.
In terms of safeguarding your legacy, trademarking is key. When you are coming up with your brand name and have all these different ideas, you have to keep in mind that the world is so small now because of the internet. Where things were more black and white on paper, everyone has easy access to everything now.
I recently had to go and trademark my own name. Because there could be a Glitzenhirn out there. So that’s an important thing I find that many people do not do in their business. They do not trademark their ideas or their names, and it’s something that I find very important when starting a business.
Cultured Life Team: What are some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make when protecting their brands?
Natalie: One of the common mistakes would be not realizing that trademarks need to be broken down into different various classes.
For instance, you perhaps have a bottle and think I’ve created this brand new, beautiful thing and I am going to protect just the bottle. What you need to do is actually describe it in full detail as to exactly what aspects of this bottle you believe need to be trademarked. Its height, its length, the color, the way the top twists.
So sometimes some people say well, it’s just a name. That’s all I want. And they don’t really give much thought to everything that the name might actually pertain to. Therefore, somebody else might come along and still use that name but say I’m going to trademark it in a different class. So if you just chose one class, all you’ve protected yourself is for example, Business Administration Services, you can’t actually sue them for the use of that name because they’re not doing what you are doing.
For example, McDonald’s is a name that has been protected in so many ways and so many classes that no matter what you do with that name, it’s going to be covered. So not just fries and burgers but also the packaging etc. Therefore you need to make sure that you are working alongside someone who understands this, explains what you’re doing, and then directs and helps you get the full protection that you need.
Cultured Life Team: How would a small start-up business prevent wasting financial resources, trying to protect a brand name that might not even be viable in the long run, and at the same time, protect it in case it actually is?
Natalie: You can have a trial run.You can get that name out there because you can also be protected by User. So you can go back and say I have been using this name for the last three years, so therefore, if another person comes and wants to trademark it you can say I have Prior User. It’s a dicey one because you have to prove that you have been using it, when, where, who else knows about it, etc. But it is one way of waiting for a couple of years until your business is established before you actually go and trademark it. It is hard sometimes to know where in the pecking order you need to do what when you are starting a brand new business.
So you need to take baby steps. You’ve got the three-year period where you’re going to make it or break it, so have a list ready and just check off one thing at a time.
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