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dealWIP
Sep 4, 2018 · 5 min read

5 Simple Nuggets of Wisdom for the First-Time Legal Tech Founder

I never for a moment thought that building a legal technology company from scratch would be easy. But to be completely honest, I didn’t imagine it would be this difficult. In the year since founding dealWIP with my co-founders, I have been stretched to my limits emotionally, intellectually, physically, and financially. I have questioned my ability to succeed at this, and, frankly my desire to carry on in the face of a parade of frustrating setbacks.

Through all of it, I am learning more than ever before about who I am, the person I would like to become, and what I am truly chasing on this journey.

Although we have come a long way over the course of the past year, the outcome of our story is still very uncertain. But somehow, the further we go, the less that bothers me. I can’t imagine enjoying any particular outcome more than I’m currently enjoying this journey.

I’ve made literally every possible mistake a non-technical, first-time founder, can make. I’ve ignored investor feedback — to focus the product and build an internal engineering team, for example — and made many other mistakes I’m still too embarrassed to share in polite company. But, we’re still here. Time has passed, the product has changed, but the vision remains, and our team is growing, and stronger than ever.

Building a legal tech startup that lasts, is 1% smarts, 19% accumulated wisdom, and 80% grit. A good friend of mine — and a fellow legal tech entrepreneur — once told me that making it in legal tech is less about becoming a unicorn, and more about being a cockroach: unwilling to die, and strong enough to stick around until things get good.

Below are the five lessons I’ve learned so far along the way. I wish I had each of these nuggets of wisdom at the beginning of our journey. None of these, on its own, is a silver bullet, nor a golden solution for success, but together they can make the difference in sustaining you and your company through what is an inevitably long and winding path to success in legal tech entrepreneurship.

Find Clarity of Purpose
Good legal tech companies help real people solve real problems. Great legal tech companies do the same, all while helping us redefine the way we see our problems and the industry. Take the LexisNexis company, Lex Machina, for instance. A good legal tech company would have developed another tool to help execute legal research faster or more cost-effectively. Lex Machina is great because their team is redefining legal research by reframing what it means to be trial-ready. They are elevating the quality of legal practice by helping practitioners mine litigation data for actionable insights — what they like to describe as the ‘moneyball’ approach to litigation. By reframing a real problem, pin-pointing an opportunity to lead industry-wide evolution, and painting a clear picture of the future, they are elevating the way corporate litigators and their clients prepare and plan for litigation. That’s a model for impact and longevity.

Decide what type of company you are looking to build and be clear about your vision for the future. Spend time learning how to articulate your purpose in clear and succinct terms. Powerful language moves people to act. And, clear and powerful language, built upon a clear and powerful vision, moves mountains.

Recruit a Team to Check Your Blindspots & Fill Your Skill Gaps
General Colin Powell is credited with advising entrepreneurs to recruit team members for their unique strengths, as opposed to their lack of weaknesses. That, in his view, is how one builds a truly well-rounded and high-performing team. As a legal tech entrepreneur, you’ve got to quickly disabuse yourself of the notion that you know all you need to know to be successful. You, instead, will need to learn to operate with a nearly super-human sense of self-awareness. That means knowing what you’re good at, knowing where you need help, and having the wherewithal to attract people to fill the gaps. You can’t do it on your own, and you won’t build a team made for the long haul if you only enlist clones of yourself. Learn yourself well, and build a team to compliment your strengths and neutralize your weaknesses.

Develop a Plan with Concrete Milestones
A vision without a concrete plan is dead in the water from the very beginning. At every point in the journey, it will serve you well to plot out at least the next 2–3 milestone objectives necessary to move you and your team closer to your ultimate vision. This will help you filter your output and guarantee that you are never expending energy on tasks not related to achieving your near-term objectives and long-term vision. For any legal tech company operating in the current landscape, your most valuable resource is time. Don’t waste it. Set a plan, and focus your energy. But, also remember to celebrate each small victory along the way.

Seek Feedback Actively
Feedback is your friend. Even though lawyers can be harsh. Every kernel of candid information you’re able to collect from a potential customer, investor, or stakeholder is a valuable data point to be used for your benefit. If you see feedback in this light, you will see every interaction as an opportunity to collect new information to help move you and your team closer to your preferred outcome. Welcome every “no” with the same enthusiasm with which you accept each “yes.” But don’t take any rejection without asking “why?” Beyond that “why” lies the information you need to help elevate or refine your approach. Without feedback on your journey, you are traveling blind. Seek feedback actively, but choose the sources carefully.

Execute Relentlessly
Simply put — there is no replacement for hard work and brute force in legal tech entrepreneurship. So much of moving forward depends upon your willingness to show up each and every day, ready and energized to take on whatever business challenge presents itself that day. Make a checklist. Do what you say you will do. Follow up, and close the loop. And, always work to under-promise and over-deliver.

Good luck. This isn’t easy — but it’s rewarding. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for the challenge of a lifetime.

Tunji Williams

Tunji is a former biglaw M&A attorney and the co-founder and CEO of dealWIPa legal technology company developing the definitive suite of collaboration and productivity tools for 21st century corporate legal transactions.

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dealWIP Inc. is a software solutions company offering the world’s premier cloud-based workflow software platform for transactional lawyers and their clients.