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December 1, 2025 27 mins

Kristina Subbotina discusses her multifaceted journey in the startup ecosystem, transitioning from an ex-Cooley lawyer to the founder and CEO of Lexi, a legal tech company. She shares that moving from advising startups to founding her own business revealed surprising empathy towards founders, as she now understands firsthand the challenges and pressures they face. Her legal background equipped her with a strong foundation in anticipating legal issues, but she had to adapt to the broader leadership role required of a founder, moving from perfectionism to empowerment. Kristina highlights the importance of thinking big to attract top talent and the critical shift from being an individual contributor to becoming a coach and mentor to her team.


She discusses how Lexi was built to make "big law" expertise more accessible to startups, addressing common legal missteps such as improper vesting schedules and inadequate IP assignments. Kristina emphasizes the necessity of setting up a company correctly, issuing shares properly, and ensuring all legal documents are in order before fundraising. Sharing her experience as an immigrant founder, she acknowledges the resilience and adaptability required to navigate the U.S. startup ecosystem, offering advice to fellow immigrant entrepreneurs to strategically manage their immigration status for a stable foundation. Her insights are valuable for founders aiming to avoid legal pitfalls and for immigrant entrepreneurs seeking success in a competitive landscape.


In this episode you’ll learn more about: startup lawyer, legal tech, kristina subbotina, lexi, legal insights, us startup ecosystem, legal services, ai legal tools, vesting schedules, equity allocation, legal documents, fundraising data room, immigrant founder, startup ecosystem, legal challenges, tech trends, startup founding, legal missteps, cooley attorney, startup innovation, leadership evolution, startup resilience, startup empowerment, legal pitfalls, startup legal world, equity ownership, investor negotiations, legal transformation, legal horror stories, startup legal advice, startup due diligence, startup legal documents, legal tech innovation, startup legal landscape, ai in legal services, immigrant entrepreneur, startup leadership, startup challenges, legal startup journey


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