How Rap Genius' technology is helping Silicon Valley startups avoid lawyers' fees
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Lauren Hepler | Silicon Valley Business Journal
Ted Wang, who has honed legal strategies for tech companies like Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc., is turning to a novel tool in his bid to demystify the legalities of starting a company.
New York startup Rap Genius is best known for technology that provides annotated interpretations of rap lyrics to curious listeners.
But the company, which is backed by high-profile Silicon Valley financiers including Andreessen Horowitz, has broader applications. Wang is an early adopter of the startup's News Genius tool, which helps users better understand news stories or other documents.
He’s applying the technology to a batch of documents he posted online in 2010 that were designed to cut down on the amount of legal paperwork necessary to get seed-stage companies going.
"In the old world, the (legal profession's )business model was awesome," said Wang. "Now you can look it up just as easily as I can.”