At The Top

AI is changing how legal work gets done. But most law firms are watching from the sidelines. Alex Solo saw it coming and made a choice: disrupt his own business before someone else did. Alex is co-founder and CEO of Sprint Law, an award-winning law firm that launched Taylor AI, the world's first voice-enabled AI lawyer for small businesses. In 2022, while his firm was winning awards and scaling fast, he and his co-founder asked a dangerous question: what if we could disrupt ourselves? The result? A complete strategic pivot that doubled revenue with half the team. In this conversation, Alex shares what that journey looked like from the inside, the fears, the framing, the execution, and the lessons learned from betting on technology while everyone else hesitated. He explains: Why a successful, award-winning law firm decided to disrupt itself in 2022 How Sprint Law doubled revenue while shrinking the team from 60 to 31 people What business owners should stop paying lawyers for in the age of AI The risk matrix framework for deciding when to use AI versus when to hire a lawyer How to frame major strategic pivots to your team without creating panic Whether it's too late for small law firms to adopt AI and compete If you're thinking about how AI might reshape your industry, or wondering whether to disrupt your own business model before someone else does, this episode offers a rare look at what that decision looks like in practice, from someone who's living it. Timestamps: Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:14 The Decision to Disrupt Ourselves 00:03:25 The Sprint Philosophy: Constant Innovation 00:04:54 The AI Awakening: ChatGPT Changes Everything 00:06:44 Big Law vs. Small Firms: Who Will Survive AI? 00:10:53 Introducing Taylor AI: The Voice-Enabled Lawyer 00:16:50 What Business Owners Should Stop Paying Lawyers For 00:18:41 Shrinking the Team, Doubling Revenue 00:22:24 Announcing the Pivot: Managing Team Fear and Excitement 00:26:43 Is It Too Late for Small Law Firms? 00:36:38 The Secret Sauce: Operations Over Legal Tech 00:39:11 AI Tips and Closing Thoughts We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers. Alex Solo: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/asolo/ Sprint Law: Web - https://sprintlaw.com.au/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sprintlaw/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sprintlaw/ At The Top Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/ Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo? Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

Raising capital can speed up business growth. It can also speed up bad decisions. Tom Blinksell shares what founders only learn after the money lands. Tom is a venture-backed founder and CEO building in healthcare, with experience raising capital, managing investors, scaling teams, and learning the real trade-offs that come with growth. In this conversation, he shares the lessons that only become obvious after you’ve been through the meetings, the pressure, the shareholder dynamics, and the mistakes. He explains:  How to get warm introductions to investors without existing connections how to prepare for investor meetings with more than just a pitch deck the red flags that can signal a tire-kicker, a bad-fit investor, or someone who will create headaches after the deal is done how excess capital can both speed up, and slow down, execution of your business goals; what founders should look for in advisors, mentors, and coaches when the pressure mounts up Whether you're considering raising capital for the first time or you're several rounds in, this episode offers honest insights into the realities of venture backed growth that go far beyond the glossy success stories Timestamps: Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:10 First Investor Meetings: Learning the Hard Way 00:04:06 What Investors Actually Want to See 00:06:00 Tire Kickers vs Real Investors: Reading the Room 00:08:37 Getting in Front of Investors: The Warm Introduction Strategy 00:11:00 Choosing the Right Investor 00:12:13 Jeffersonian Dinners: Building Strategic Networks 00:15:03 The Dark Side of Capital: When Money Makes Things Worse 00:17:30 Managing Investor Expectations and Misalignment 00:20:14 Bad Investment Decisions: Red Flags and Lessons 00:21:59 Finding the Right Advisors: The Power of Coaching 00:26:04 CEO Coaching: Managing Energy, Strategy, and Capital 00:25:07 Dealing with Loss: When Your Advisor Passes Away 00:29:12 Government Relations: Worrying About the Wrong Things 00:31:04 Closing Thoughts: Lessons for Venture-Backed Founders We’re just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers. Tom Blinksell: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomblinksell/  At The Top Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/