Science & Technology

The legal mistakes that can sink your startup before series A with Kristina Subbotina, Lexsy

Setting up a sound legal foundation could be what saves a startup down the line. A missing founder vesting agreement, an unclear IP agreement, or a messy cap table can derail fundraising, spark co-founder disputes, or even kill an otherwise promising company before it has a chance to scale. In this episode of Build Mode,…

Published

1 day ago

August 6, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Kristina Subbotinai, founder and CEO of Lesxy and former startup attorney at Cooley, to break down the legal fundamentals every founder needs to get right.

They get into:

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The four legal mistakes that can make a startup unfundable

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How founder vesting, IP assignment, Delaware incorporation, and 83(b) elections protect your company

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What VCs actually look for during due diligence and how to avoid common red flags

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How founders should negotiate valuation, board control, and investor rights

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Why leverage comes from building a great business—not signing better term sheets

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Subscribe to Build Mode on⁠ () Apple Podcasts⁠ () , ⁠Spotify⁠ () , or⁠ () wherever you like to listen⁠ () . And watch the full videos on⁠ () YouTube⁠ () . New episodes of ⁠Build Mode⁠ () drop every Thursday.

Chapters:00:00 – Intro: The Legal Mistakes That Kill Startups01:37 – Why Kristina built Lexsy03:58 – The Legal Foundations Every Startup Needs08:22 – How to Find the Right Startup Lawyer10:21 – The Four Non-Negotiable Legal Decisions17:33 – What Investors Look for During Due Diligence20:04 – SAFE Notes vs. Priced Rounds22:18 – Negotiating Valuation Without Losing Control25:25 – Board Seats, Investor Rights, and Hidden Term Sheet Traps30:51 – Should Founders Use AI for Legal Advice?31:04 – How Founders Build Leverage in Fundraising35:48 – The Terms That Can Destroy Founder Wealth37:01 – The Craziest Startup Legal Story Kristina Has Ever Seen

Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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4 legal mistakes that can kill your startup (before you even raise) l Build Mode

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CNET

Siri AI Will Change the Way You Use Your iPhone for Good | #OneMoreThing

Bridget might have found the perfect method to actually make Siri AI… useful? It all starts with a few habit changes. Watch the full step-by-step on CNET. Video Credits Host: Bridget Carey Videographer/Editor: Carly Marsh Add CNET as a trusted news source Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉 Check out CNET’s…

Published

9 hours ago

August 7, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Bridget might have found the perfect method to actually make Siri AI… useful? It all starts with a few habit changes. Watch the full step-by-step on CNET.

Video Credits
Host: Bridget Carey
Videographer/Editor: Carly Marsh

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#onemorething #bridgetcarey #siri #ai #apple #iphone #ios

Science & Technology

The Biggest Startup Mistakes a Lawyer Can’t Fix

You might not need a lawyer before you start fundraising but you do need to set up a good legal foundation. In this episode of Build Mode, the CEO and founder of Lexsy Kristina Subbotina breaks down the four unfixable mistakes that can make a startup unfundable or kill it outright. Watch the full episode…

Published

12 hours ago

August 7, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

You might not need a lawyer before you start fundraising but you do need to set up a good legal foundation.

In this episode of Build Mode, the CEO and founder of Lexsy Kristina Subbotina breaks down the four unfixable mistakes that can make a startup unfundable or kill it outright.

Watch the full episode here:

Science & Technology

Why historian Jill Lepore thinks Big Tech CEOs read sci-fi all wrong | Equity Podcast

Historian Jill Lepore has a theory about why tech companies often use soaring language to describe their products — almost as if they’re forming a new government. And whether you’re thinking of Twitter’s old “town hall in your pocket” or Anthropic’s Claude constitution, it’s a theory that doesn’t paint Silicon Valley in a very flattering…

Published

14 hours ago

August 7, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

In Lepore’s upcoming book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard historian and New Yorker writer argues that tech companies are gradually taking on the functions of democratic government — whether that’s Twitter giving a distorted picture of the electorate or Facebook displacing local news. In her view, these leaders often mistake technological advancement for political progress, all while outright declaring their intention to replace the nation-state.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Anthony Ha talks with Lepore about her book and why she thinks today’s AI leaders — who promise a future where AI makes government more efficient, more responsive, and maybe even unnecessary — are selling an old fantasy in new packaging.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

0:49 Defining the “artificial state”

2:17 Why corporations quietly took over state functions

4:43 Could the internet have gone another way?

9:01 From the 1984 Macintosh ad to Anthropic’s constitution

10:20 The Twitter “town hall” myth

13:36 Structuring the book: history meets science fiction

17:46 The Machine Stops, and other bad manuals for the future

19:16 Musk, Heinlein, and misreading sci-fi

19:41 Why Lepore thinks the artificial state is “doomed”