Tell me about the product – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers, USP and so on? How has the business evolved since its launch?
Definely helps lawyers draft, review and understand legal documents. With Definely, you no longer need to ctrl+f, print out a legal document or scroll endlessly just to access the information you need to understand the provision being reviewed. Delivered as an MS Word Plugin, Definely is easy to use, and integrates effortlessly into current workflows and does not require any complex IT processes to get up and running.
Before Definely, in order to navigate and access information within a legal contract to understand it, lawyers would routinely have to either archaically use the ctrl+f keys, have multiple screens up, scroll endlessly or worst of all, print out documents. Definely allows you to access and edit information from where you are. This is all contained within a split-screen, side panel, ensuring that you never lose context when reviewing a legal document.
This increases efficiency, reduces time, and cuts down on paper usage.
Unlike other startups that have single/point solutions competing with some of our solutions, we have leveraged our early success to build out a suite of productivity solutions. As a result, we are able to offer our customers multiple products solving for different pain points through one platform. This differs from the approach taken by other startups offering point solutions and allows Definely to compete against the large incumbents in the market.
For example, Definely’s Vault product uses sophisticated AI techniques to create a taxonomy of a firm or company’s entire contract repository, extract all relevant data and clauses and make that information readily available to users at the point of contract drafting and reviewing. Our AI-powered proofreading tool then enables users to quickly clean a document of errors, legal and otherwise, prior to distributing to other parties.
What is your favourite thing about being a founder?[
Nnamdi] Trying to solve a problem for real-life users, and having great people around to solve those problems with.
[Feargus] I don’t even need to think about this question… it’s the people that I am fortunate enough to work with!
What has been your biggest business fail?
[Nnamdi] I wouldn’t call anything a failure because the business is still operational. But there have been a lot of lessons learnt, and sink-or-swim moments. Thankfully, we’ve been able to overcome all of these, and I truly believe this has helped shape the business into what it is today.
[Feargus] You don’t want to know.
Which other figures in your life inspire you?
[Nnamdi] My parents have always inspired me given what they had to do for me and my siblings to have the upbringing we did. I left Nigeria when I was a young boy quite literally as gunfire was going off around me – my parents who were both successful in their own right, took us to the UK and essentially started from scratch. Everything they did was for us, and I am so grateful for that.
[Feargus] First of all, My wife. And secondly, I’m extremely fortunate to have among my friends some of the most inspiring people I’ve met.
What are the things you’re really good at as a leader?
[Nnamdi] Finding incredible people to join the journey with me. A company is the accumulation of many talented individuals and as a leader, being able to convince smart, hard-working and motivated people to join you on a vision that they don’t necessarily see is incredibly important.
[Feargus] People. Understanding very complex ideas. Problem-solving.
Which areas do you need to improve on?
[Nnamdi] I think as a founder, as a company grows, you have to trust the people that have been brought in, so there is a switch between more hands on work…. To delegating and trusting in those to …. Constantly a learning curve and something I look to improve on.
[Feargus] I know I should be better organised and more process-driven. But I always feel that it may detract from the creativity and intuition. So there is always this inner tension between the two approaches.
What’s in store for the future of the business?
Seriously? Narwhal status.
[Nnamdi] Continuing to mature. Continuing to create incredible products that our customers genuinely love and to continue to expand our mission to serve as many lawyers as we can globally.
What advice would you give to other founders or future founders?
[Nnamdi] The journey is incredibly long, and you have to approach it with the destination in mind but always enjoy the journey because no matter how quickly you think it will take, you probably need to always add five years to your projected timelines.
[Feargus] If you believe in it, and you’re passionate about it, people WILL support you, it’s just a matter of finding them. But that can be a long process.
And finally, a more personal question! We like to ask everyone we interview about their daily routine and the rules they live by. Is it up at 4am for yoga, or something a little more traditional?
[Nnamdi] Fitness is no1 for me – mentally you’re so focussed almost innately on your business that it can become draining and so one of the ways that allow me get some escape is going to the gym. The obvious physical benefits aside, it helps me detox my mind which I really value.
[Feargus] Cold water shower at 7am. It’s taken now a couple of months, but I’m now up to three minutes.
Nnamdi Emelifeonwu is the CEO & cofounder and Feargus macDaeid is the CSO and cofounder of Definely.