Rebecca Kelly, co-founder of legal‑tech startup shizl, on scaling smarter from day one
For tech founders, legal risk often falls down the priority list—until it disrupts fundraising, partnerships, or exits. That's a situation Rebecca Kelly, tech lawyer turned entrepreneur and co‑founder of shizl, is determined to prevent.
“You wouldn’t launch a product with unsecured code—so why launch a company with unsecured IP, missing contracts, and no compliance policies?” says Rebecca.
With over 20 years of experience advising high-growth businesses, Rebecca has seen time and again how startups can damage their valuation—or derail funding altogether—by not addressing core legal essentials early on.
From Tech Lawyer to Legal Tech Founder
Rebecca’s career spans top-tier corporate law, in-house tech counsel roles, and now entrepreneurship. She’s still a partner at Gunnercooke, but much of her out of hours energy is focused on building shizl, a legal platform she co-founded in late 2023 to provide scalable legal infrastructure for early-stage and fast growth tech companies.
“We created shizl because we know how difficult it can be for startups to access affordable, high-quality legal documents,” she explains. “Most early-stage companies can’t justify expensive legal fees, but they still need solid terms of use, customer agreements, data protection and compliance policies, NDAs, and employee contracts—especially if they’re dealing with end users, partners or VCs.”
Built for the Way Startups Work
shizl offers an intuitive digital platform where users can generate customisable, lawyer-drafted documents in minutes—no jargon and no hidden fees. Documents can be downloaded or signed via DocuSign, and all files are stored in a secure portal for easy access when you need them.
“The tech is built for non-lawyers,” says Rebecca. “You follow a guided flow to tailor the document to your business, and you’re done. If you’re fundraising or negotiating with a new customer, your legal docs are right there—signed, stored, and ready.”
Rebecca credits her long legal career—and wide professional network—with shaping Shizl’s approach. “We know what protection businesses actually need. We’ve seen what goes wrong. And we’ve built Shizl to prevent it.”
Tech companies already using shizl range from SaaS startups and data-driven marketplaces to recruitment platforms and real estate tech firms.
What Legal Docs Do Tech Businesses Actually Need?
Rebecca points to five essentials every tech company should have from day one:
- Customer and supplier agreements – To govern user access, clarify service levels, and limit liability.
- Privacy & data protection policies – Especially critical for businesses handling personal or sensitive data.
- IP ownership provisions – To ensure code, content, and platforms belong to the company—not freelancers or co-founders.
- Employment & contractor agreements – To define roles, rights, and responsibilities clearly.
- Shareholders’ agreements – To prevent disputes between co-founders and align decision-making.
“These aren’t ‘nice-to-haves’—they’re business-critical,” she says. “If you’re scaling, fundraising, or preparing for exit, investors will dig deep into your legal stack. If it’s not clean, it slows things down or kills the deal.”
Culture of Compliance > Crisis Fixes
While headlines focus on the compliance failures of Big Tech, Rebecca says smaller companies must care just as much—if not more—about getting things right from the start.
“If you embed good legal and compliance practices early—like securing data, protecting IP, and using fair, clear contracts—you don’t have to re-engineer compliance later. That makes your business more investable, more credible, and less risky to partner with.”
The Bottom Line: Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Don't wait until a problem arises to address your legal needs. A proactive approach is always best. Investing in these essential legal documents from the outset will save you time, money, and stress in the long run.
It's an investment in your business's future, providing a solid foundation for sustainable growth and success. Protect your business as it is established – you'll be glad you did. shizl allows you to not only invest in such essential documents, but to do so in an incredibly cost effective and simple manner.
What’s Next for Shizl?
Currently run by Rebecca, two co-founders, and their CEO—supported by tech, PR, and design consultants—Shizl plans to significantly grow its user base over the next 12 months.
“We now offer a pay as you go and subscription based model and we want to be the go-to platform for legal documents and compliance tools for UK tech startups. We genuinely believe that if you build your legal base with us, you’ll grow stronger, faster, and more securely.”
