Leverage your mates

“I met a guy for a Flat White (Let’s call him Larry)”
—and here’s what every LegalTech founder needs to know.

I love walking through London to Holborn—people moving, coffee drinking, the world being put to rights. Being a slightly fatigued LegalTech guy, I envy those who are just starting out—still full of energy, still in love with the idea of the idea.

My coffee date with Larry was no exception. We were introduced via email.

If you don’t know me, I’m a simple man. Did the education thing to an average degree, then went, hmm, I can’t really do anything practical… so sales seems fun.

I have huge admiration for people in our space who have grinded out long, proper careers and now want to try something new. That’s what Larry’s doing. Successful M&A partner at four major firms. He’s done the time, and now he’s up for a step change.

So this Tuesday, we met for a flat white at Caffè Nero, and we spoke about his idea—an interesting take on time management in M&A transactions. He’d just come from seeing the guys at MDR Labs (Hi Dan 👋), who gave him a golden bit of advice:

“Don’t spend yours or anyone else money until you’ve got people who want to buy”

True that mate!

Anyway, to save me writing this twice, to both you guys and then Lazza - let’s put it down in one single location - use some, all or none, maybe your just here for the meandering chat as a distraction from trying to peddle matter management to a GC (or is that just me)

1. Leverage your mates—but don’t take the p*ss.
If you’re from the legal world, you probably already know half your ICP. That’s gold. But just because you’ve been introduced, or someone owes you a coffee, don’t show up half-baked. Every call, every pitch, every favour needs prep. Too often I hear, “Yeah, it was a good chat.” Cool. But:
👉 What were the outcomes?
👉 What are the next steps?

If you’re wasting warm intros, you’re burning trust and your mate is only going to be so patient.

2. Keep your world small.
Especially pre-product or with just one client. The temptation is to go wide, but at this stage, depth > breadth. Nail the problem with 1–3 buyers. Prove the impact. Be relentless about validating need and value before building anything. And when you do build, build what solves today’s pain, not your 2-year vision.

3. Don’t hire a Rob (sales) too early.
This one stings, especially as a sales guy, but I’ve seen it too many times: the founder builds a half-product, throws it at a junior AE, and hopes for the best. They fail, you fail we all fail.

4. Work to the power of 4’s Lazza!!
Find 4 Heads of M&A in Corporate
Find 4 GC’s
Find 4 Heads of M&A in regional firms

5. Conferences won’t save you.
Yes, they’re fun. Yes, you’ll bump into familiar faces. But don’t let the badge and booth culture trick you into thinking you’re building pipeline.

6. If you’re raising—do it off traction, not theory.
Everyone has a thesis. Few have clients. Fundraising in this market is brutal unless you’ve got proof people care. Pilot letters, LOIs, or even better: real revenue. Traction > Deck every time. Then go get your cash money.

So Larry… keep going mate.
You’re onto something. The M&A time suck is real, and if you can solve even 20% of that pain, you’ll do well. Just remember: legal is a long game. Get one client to really love it—and let them show you the path

If you liked this—forward it to a LegalTech founder, sales rep or investor.
Or just reply and tell me what you’d add to the list. I know less than most and so if I have missed anything please let me know.

Much Love✌️

If you didn’t know - I run DealTechno a dedicated LegalTech Recruitment and Consulting firm - if you need anything give us a shout!