Gregory Barton, GC and COO of Carver Edison. Courtesy photo

Fintech firm Carver Edison has hired Gregory Barton as the New York-based startup's first-ever general counsel.

"It ended up being that I started at a time as most of the region here is shutting down. But that's because I connected with the company at the turn of the year," Barton said Thursday in an interview as the COVID-19 outbreak surged in New York.  

Barton has served in various executive and in-house leadership positions during his more than 30-year legal career. He was GC for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and TheStreet Inc., which Jim Cramer, host of "Mad Money" on CNBC, co-founded. 

Most recently, he was chief legal officer for WisdomTree Investments Inc., a fund manager also based in New York. He joined the firm in 2012 as chief operating officer and was appointed CLO in 2018. 

Carver Edison offers interest-free loans to employees of public companies so they can max out their participation rate in employee stock purchase plans without incurring potentially off-putting payroll deductions. 

The company's 20-something founder, Aaron Shapiro, created Carver Edison after realizing that his mother lost out on more than $1 million in stock because she didn't understand her employee stock purchase plan and therefore didn't participate, according to a spokesman for the firm. 

Carver Edison is currently a nine-person company with plans for big growth, which Barton found attractive. 

"There's no other administrative functions. There's no [chief financial officer]. It's really me helping the CEO structure and manage all the departments of the company," said Barton, who serves as Carver Edison's GC and chief operating officer.

He added, "What I like about smaller companies is they can be very nimble and focused and able to pivot quickly. For me, it's a more fun environment. It's more like driving a sports car than a town car … you're closer to the ground and if you hit a pothole you feel it. But it's a more fun experience." 

Asked if it was better to be behind the wheel of a sports car now as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy, he replied: "Although it's a small company, it's well funded for its current scope of operations." 

The company's backers include Eli Broverman and Jeff Cruttenden, who co-founded robo investment firms Betterment and Acorns, respectively. 

In August, Carver Edison cleared a major hurdle when the IRS ruled that public companies could use the firm's loan program and still retain qualified tax status for employee stock purchase plans.