How do you sell AI to elite law firms when you’re three twenty‑something engineers with zero legal background? That’s exactly what Max Junestrand did with Legora, a Swedish legal AI startup now worth around $1.8B.
Here’s how he did it and what you can borrow for your own startup:
Before we start…
What is The Growth Plan?
The Growth Plan is a weekly playbook for B2B founders and operators who want more deals, not just theory.
Every week, you get:
One teardown of how a fast-growing startup gets customers
One version of that move translated to a new company
The goal : help you ship one concrete growth move this week that could realistically bring revenue within 90 days.
Alright, let’s talk about Legora.
Trust is the primary currency in law. So instead of trying to build credibility from scratch, Legora’s founders “piggybacked” on institutions their buyers already trusted.
They secured Mannheimer Swartling, the most prestigious law firm in the Nordics, as their first major client. And that single logo created FOMO across other firms and made global expansion conversations far easier.
Because large law firms are tightly connected internationally, winning that one “hub” firm in Sweden quickly led to introductions to partner firms in Germany, France, and the UK.
2. Do Whatever It Takes to Learn
Early on, Max and his co‑founders had zero access to legal firms, so they got creative.
He cold‑DM'd lawyers on LinkedIn and offered to pay their hourly rate just to grab lunch and understand how they worked. Most said, “Don’t worry about the money, let’s talk.” In a week, they got real problems straight from the source.
In sales calls, he led with radical honesty:
“I’m a first‑time founder, I don’t have all the answers. I want to build this with you.”
Which turned early buyers into collaborators, while still pushing a big vision and FOMO:
“You can join today or in a year, but if you’re not on the journey, you’ll miss out. And competitor X, Y, Z is already on it.”
And at conferences, while competitors hid behind slide decks, Legora ran live demos on stage, a risky move that generated around 150 demo requests from a single session and positioned them as the real thing.
3. Grow Country by Country
Legora played a long game. They treated Sweden and the wider Nordics as a “small pond” they could dominate first, using those early markets to become truly “enterprise ready” before going bigger.
By the time they entered the US, they had already executed multiple market launches and were prepared for the expectations of global firms.
Instead of burning cash customizing models like other players, they focused on what mattered: better UX and workflows that lawyers actually used.
On top of that, they used funding as a market signal: raising large rounds (e.g., Series B and C) not only to fuel growth, but also to show customers and competitors that they were a leading company in the legal AI war.
Running the Same Playbook for Valdera
Valdera is an AI‑powered sourcing platform built specifically for chemicals and raw materials, helping manufacturers bring products to market faster while improving resilience, sustainability, and cost.
Here’s how the Legora playbook looks when you translate it to Valdera’s situation.
1. Turn Logos Into Stories
Right now, Valdera has big names and solid results. The next step is to turn each of those into a simple narrative buyers can repeat internally.
For a carbon‑fiber manufacturer, that might be the story of going from 12‑month supplier searches to 30 days
For a consumer brand, it might be shifting from single‑region risk to a diversified global supply base in one quarter.
Each vertical gets one sharp story and two assets:
a narrative landing page that walks through problem → shift → outcome,
a founder/exec deck that lets every salesperson tell the same story with confidence.
2. Run Short “Anchor Expansion” Sprints
If you’re helping one Fortune‑500‑level client, odds are 10-20 more are in the same boat.
Use that win to reach them.
You spin up a short outreach campaign on LinkedIn/email that say, in plain language:
“Here’s how we helped [Fortune 500 company] reduce risk, improve sustainability, and speed up launches. Are you dealing with the same thing?”
If the answer is positive, you could then offer a short sourcing diagnostic. A hands‑on workshop mapping how they buy today versus what Valdera can see globally.
Track only one number: how many workshops turn into live deals.
If this strategy works, double down. If not, iterate and try something else.
3. Build a “Procurement Roundtable”
Legora paid lawyers to learn. Valdera can do the same with procurement leaders, but as a standing event.
Each quarter, invite 10-15 customers and prospects:
“Help us shape the next phase of Valdera, and we’ll share anonymized market trends across suppliers and pricing in your category.”
You ask them where they’re still struggling to source, how regulation and sustainability targets are changing their decisions, and where your product slows them down.
You’ll leave with:
a handful of new messaging angles or product bets,
a recurring “Sourcing Trends” piece that your marketing team can turn into articles, talks, and lead magnets.
That's it for today!
Thanks for reading, see you next week.
Rémy - The Growth Plan
PS: Want your startup featured in the next playbook? Just reply.
PS2: Want help running this play through your own company? Same thing, hit reply.