Ari Kaplan not too long ago spoke with Brian Powers, the co-founder and CEO of Markups.ai, an organization that created an AI agent referred to as Agent Marko to draft, revise and analyze contracts from shoppers’ inboxes with no new platform required, and Debbie Epstein Henry, the founding father of DEH Consulting, Talking, Writing and the chief strategic adviser to Markups.ai.
They mentioned some great benefits of utilizing an AI agent in contract overview, the place startups can distinguish themselves in a crowded market, the misconceptions about AI that leaders want to deal with earlier than they will obtain broad adoption, and the abilities authorized professionals ought to improve to gasoline their success.
Ari Kaplan: Inform us about your background and the genesis of Markups.ai.
Brian Powers: I began my profession in funding banking at Moelis in New York, and like every good analyst, I had my justifiable share of NDAs. Then I based an organization referred to as TemperPack, which makes sustainable supplies to switch plastics like Styrofoam, and we grew it to over 100 million in gross sales. We bought fairly a little bit of it to personal fairness companies led by Goldman Sachs a couple of years in the past. Alongside the way in which, we have been regularly challenged on our contracts. We had many giant shoppers throughout completely different sectors, and we had a lot of good options for storing contracts however nothing to help with the precise negotiations. My co-founder at Markups.ai, Sam Shelley, started his AI profession at Dataminr over a decade in the past, then began Vault Well being, which turned one of many largest COVID testing telemedicine companies. In 2023, we teamed up with the concept of utilizing the newest AI know-how that had not too long ago emerged to assist automate contract negotiations, aiming to take action with out onboarding a brand new platform and making the method extra custom-made and user-friendly.
Ari Kaplan: Inform us about your background and your position as chief strategic adviser for Markups.ai.
Debbie Epstein Henry: I name myself a recovering lawyer turned skilled speaker, communication coach and entrepreneur. What’s extra related to my background for in the present day’s dialog is that I co-founded an organization referred to as Bliss Attorneys, which was a secondment agency. I ran that firm with two different companion co-founders for almost 9 years, after which we have been acquired by our largest competitor, Axiom, in February 2020. So I used to be truly out of authorized innovation for some time earlier than becoming a member of Markups.ai as chief strategic adviser. For the corporate, I primarily converse to potential shoppers each day as they consider completely different AI instruments, which each firm and agency is doing proper now. I additionally advise Markups.ai on tendencies within the authorized career as a result of our two co-founders aren’t legal professionals and wish to remain knowledgeable about what’s taking place within the area. We focus on present tendencies and what shoppers anticipate from their outdoors service suppliers.
Brian Powers is the co-founder and CEO of Markups.ai, an organization that created an AI agent referred to as Agent Marko to draft, revise and analyze contracts from shoppers’ inboxes with no new platform required. Debbie Epstein Henry is the founding father of DEH Consulting, Talking, Writing and the chief strategic adviser to Markups.ai.
Ari Kaplan: Why did you design Markups.ai to work with an agent, relatively than the extra widespread method to utilizing AI to handle contracts?
Brian Powers: A few of it was what we believed was lacking available in the market, however there have been additionally three main causes that motivated us to create and use a product like this. First, we needed one thing that was a lot simpler to onboard. I nonetheless get shudders once I hear the phrase “platform”—which means my subsequent 12 months’s plans are disrupted, and it is going to be an extended wait earlier than we see any advantages. Second, I needed one thing extra intuitive to make use of, particularly with AI, that’s straightforward to function but in addition actually highly effective. Our purpose from the beginning was to create one thing so easy that even my two lawyer mother and father may use it. Third, we aimed for one thing way more customizable than most software program platforms. Most platforms are designed to suit many various companies doing related issues, however there was a chance to develop one thing that would deal with extremely tailor-made work. For the primary time, AI-powered software program may obtain this, with an agent doing the work. We develop a brand new model of our agent for every shopper, making certain every part they do is uniquely custom-made.
Ari Kaplan: What’s most vital for authorized tech startup founders to think about within the present market?
Debbie Epstein Henry: The first consideration ought to be workflow. The principle impediment to AI adoption is when an AI software doesn’t simply match into an organization’s current workflow. That’s why our engineers at Markups.ai developed an e-mail agent as a result of e-mail is probably the most pure and easy integration level. This isn’t simply based mostly on our expertise; it’s backed by two latest research, one by McKinsey and the opposite by MIT. Finally, it’s all about simplifying workflow and seamlessly integrating with current firm techniques.
Ari Kaplan: What are some great benefits of utilizing an AI agent in contract overview particularly?
Brian Powers: The 2 holy grails are one which saves time and in addition makes you higher at your job. AI, straight out of the field, is efficient at easy duties, however most work individuals do, particularly legal professionals and authorized professionals, could be very complicated and customised. AI usually struggles with these more difficult duties, and since that makes up most of what authorized groups do, AI hasn’t but grow to be as helpful because it could possibly be. We discover that while you correctly practice AI and create a extra energetic agent, it may possibly help with extra complicated duties. This enables AI to help extra components of your job, not simply primary duties like search and summaries. Our Agent Marko is depicted as a duck, gliding effortlessly on the floor, however paddling like loopy beneath. That’s precisely how working with Agent Marko feels. It’s so simple as sending an e-mail or high-level request for a contract overview, however behind the scenes, hundreds of prompts run on a whole lot of customized directions written by our legal professionals for every shopper, utilizing probably the most highly effective reasoning fashions accessible. That paddling beneath the floor makes every part appear straightforward above.
Ari Kaplan: The place can startups most simply distinguish themselves?
Debbie Epstein Henry: Begin by understanding what your viewers needs. We discover that until you’re designing a service and a software that really speaks to your viewers, you’ll be at an obstacle. For instance, in our case, we research what shoppers need within the in-house authorized division house. We all know they need flat charges. We all know they need limitless customers and utilization as a result of if we develop a fantastic product that everybody on their group needs to make use of, the very last thing we wish is to hinder their use of that software or have colleagues compete with one another. So step one is knowing your viewers’s wants. The second is to supply a service, relatively than simply be a software program supplier. You heard Brian speak concerning the significance of customization. As AI instruments enhance, they study their shoppers’ preferences and necessities. Offering that customization is important. The third step is being good about defining who ought to do what sorts of labor; the place you need individuals concerned; the place their worth lies; and the place AI provides worth, leveraging the strengths of each. In our case, now we have former training legal professionals on our group, whom we name lawyer-prompt engineers. They impart with our shoppers, practice our brokers to construct customized AI playbooks, and deal with updates by incorporating shopper suggestions and testing paperwork to make sure AI playbooks are correct and present. We depend on the strengths of the group to be really efficient.
Ari Kaplan: What are the misconceptions about AI that leaders want to deal with earlier than they will obtain broad adoption?
Brian Powers: There are two conflicting misunderstandings, each of which result in disappointment. One is the idea that AI can do every part straight out of the field, which frequently leads to frustration. The primary time you employ it, it feels completely magical to ask a query and obtain an clever response. All the pieces else that would try this was a human. So that you assume it may possibly do every part a wise human can do, however you begin encountering actual limitations while you ask it to do one thing extra custom-made or complicated. The opposite misunderstanding is that AI can solely deal with quite simple duties, it doesn’t matter what you do with it, resulting in missed alternatives to leverage AI’s full potential. We see that the truth is a mix of those two concepts. AI chatbots utilizing the fashions immediately are actually helpful for questions, analysis, summaries and related duties, however for extra complicated jobs, you could specify every part you care about and provides detailed directions. That’s precisely what we do at Markups.ai. We offer Agent Marko with a whole lot of absolutely custom-made directions for every shopper’s routine negotiations, enabling it to deal with complicated agreements faithfully. Nonetheless, it requires fairly a little bit of effort, and that’s the place we goal to help our shoppers.
Ari Kaplan: What abilities ought to authorized professionals improve to gasoline their success?
Debbie Epstein Henry: That is such an vital query as a result of there’s loads of worry round AI, with many believing everybody’s jobs will probably be changed. Specializing in that is actually essential. At the start, it’s important to have the substantive experience anticipated of any authorized skilled in that position. That’s a basic requirement. However past that, what actually issues is growing extra abilities that set aside those that thrive within the office from those that wrestle. These additional abilities, for my part, embody successfully speaking with confidence, exercising judgment, constructing relationships, exuding government presence, establishing belief, cultivating sponsorship, with the ability to self-advocate with out offending, and giving and receiving suggestions successfully. Many see these as smooth abilities, however I consider they’re important to being an efficient authorized skilled. Particularly with the rising use of AI, these abilities will grow to be extra vital than ever.
Ari Kaplan: How do you see AI empowering authorized professionals because it continues to develop?
Brian Powers: When AI is executed successfully, it means that you can replicate your greatest work and offers a a lot better degree of leverage. Everybody needs they’d a very smart assistant able to dealing with duties precisely as they like, and AI has that potential. It doesn’t obtain this robotically, however with correct steering, it may possibly positively attain that degree. AI permits authorized professionals to give attention to extra strategic work, giving them the time to resolve how issues ought to be accomplished, relatively than simply following routine duties daily, and it may possibly deal with duties which may have beforehand been accomplished externally or internally. This fashion, corporations can save a big amount of cash whereas sustaining the identical group dimension. We see our shoppers doing this, and it’s really impactful. When AI works effectively, you may get pleasure from productiveness beneficial properties with out the massive upfront headache of implementation. That was a significant sacrifice, however now AI instruments are making it simpler to begin utilizing new applied sciences, which is actually thrilling.
Take heed to the whole interview at Reinventing Professionals.
Ari Kaplan commonly interviews leaders within the authorized trade and within the broader skilled providers group to share perspective, spotlight transformative change and introduce new know-how at his weblog and on Apple Podcasts.
