The lawyer who created a billion-dollar industry with Brian Powers

After the First Million

Scaling is simple: it’s about doing what works, over and over again.

In this episode, Brian Powers shares how he applied this strategy to scale his company, PactSafe (now Ironclad), a tech startup that became a $15 billion market leader. He talks about the challenge of transitioning from a structured legal career to the unpredictable world of tech entrepreneurship.

Thankfully, he wasn’t alone and found other team members with complementary experiences and skill sets that would help PactSafe grow. Brian also talks about the Ironclad acquisition, and what it was like navigating his new role as general manager of the brand.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Find Your Repeatable Wins: Scaling your business is about doing the right things over and over. Focusing on what works and cutting out what doesn’t is the key to sustainable growth.
• Embrace the Uncertainty of Entrepreneurship: Unlike the structured world of law, building a business requires adapting to constant change and making decisions with limited information.
• Build a Smarter Team: Success isn’t a solo act. Hire people who are smarter and more experienced than you in key areas, ensuring your business can grow beyond your own expertise.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Brian

(06:24) Starting a solo law practice

(08:59) How PactSafe was conceived

(12:43) Creating a new software category

(17:20) Repeatability is how companies scale

(21:23) Hire people smarter than you

(27:56) Different people for different phases of growth

(30:12) Ironclad’s acquisition of PactSafe

(38:34) Brian’s exit from Ironclad