IntellyDoc Founder Bobby Robinson is a lawyer with a hint of efficiency expert in him. As he was operating his Charlotte-based law firm, focusing on corporate transactions and intellectual property law, he saw a void in the market that he felt compelled to fill.
“There was a larger pain — pain in how we draft, review, and analyze contracts,” Robinson said. “I didn’t go to law school and pass the bar exam to spend most of my hours doing a manual task that could easily be automated. There had to be a way to optimize my time and maximize productivity so my clients knew they were getting the best value.”
He spent six months in an intense discovery mission that set the course for the vision of the company. As Robinson explains, his first solution to a problem is to research and ask questions: What do I need to know? What platforms are already out there? What technology do I need to execute on my vision?
“It was a constant conversation—talking with colleagues, doing a ton of discovery, attending workshops on AI and machine learning, and reading too many legal tech blogs too out,” he said.
Charlotte-based IntellyDoc helps corporations of all sizes (particularly corporate legal departments, procurement, and operations) manage their contracts more effectively and efficiently. Their secure, end-to-end, cloud-based contract management system allows customers to automate the contract drafting, review, and analytics process faster utilizing the platform’s AI capabilities, which includes the detection of errors, inconsistencies, and deviations with company policies designed to minimize risk and increase consistency. The platform also has automated workflows, collaboration features, and electronic signatures to streamline the review process and increase visibility across various teams and departments.
They are currently in their initial release phase, with eight early adopters using the platform and providing valuable feedback as they refine their platform and release new features and integrations. (Which, by the way, is happening regularly.)
“Currently, they can draft [and edit] documents, create custom workflows, collaborate internally and externally, and electronically sign documents,” Robinson explained.
A typical law firm user might be engaged in a merger or acquisition deal, where many lawyers are reviewing dozens (or hundreds) of documents. The process can take weeks or months. IntellyDoc cuts the timeframe significantly.
“Leveraging our platform, you can analyze and swap documents within minutes or hours, not days or months,” Robinson said. ”The power of machine learning ranks the work in a very efficient way, ultimately saving your organization a ton of money in pure labor.”
They expect a new rollout in February or March of 2019, which will add several new features including the automation of review and analytics/reporting functionality.
On the horizon for 2019: a drive toward scale and growth. Until now, IntellyDoc has been self-funded by Robinson, who has invested a significant amount of his own funds into the project. They are now seeking investors in an effort to raise $1M.
“We want to find someone who has a shared vision of what we’re looking to accomplish,” Robinson said. “We need someone on the tech side and the sales/marketing side. I’m open to having more than one [co-founder].”
They’ve had positive conversations with investors in other markets, but they’re committed to staying based in Charlotte.
“Charlotte has been the perfect place for us,” he said. “There has not been one person I’ve gotten connected to who told me no in terms of having a meeting. We have a ton of smart people who have built dynamic companies, and they taken the call, taken coffee, and spent so much time with me. They believe in me and the product, but more importantly it’s who Charlotte is.”
One of his particular challenges has been as a non-tech founder in the tech space. (Not to mention what he calls the “elephant in the room” of being a minority in the tech space.) He said his most important takeaway was to do his homework and learn the language, even if the process was uncomfortable at times.
“You have to be okay with not being the smartest guy in the room,” he said. “Trust your team will execute your vision. They may not get it right 100% of the time, but that’s where clear and constant communication comes into play.”
Robinson’s confidence in his team is evident. As a non-tech founder, he says he had to turn to a superstar team of product consultants, marketers, salespeople, and others familiar with building an end-to-end solution, particularly with AI integration.
“We put together an amazing team to get where we are today,” Robinson said. “This process has shown me how reliant I am on my team. As entrepreneurs, that’s not the position we want to be in sometimes, but it cultivates the right level of trust and commitment to say ‘I know this person has my blind spots covered because they know what to look for and I don’t.’”
IntellyDoc is open now for companies to sign up for its contract management platform. Next year, they will open registration for individual users. Learn more about their product on their website and keep up with their progress on Twitter.
