Meera Ahmadi

What led Juris AI to seek external support, and what was the key challenge the business was facing at that point?

Meera Ahmadi, Co-Founder & CEO, Juris AI:
 At the time I initially got in touch with Connectd, we had a particular recruitment client that had come to us needing our platform as part of their in-house contract review process. I saw a demand in a market I hadn't really thought about as much before. As a result, I was looking for advisors who could help me understand that sector better, particularly around the sales process. That's how Connectd found me and helped move the business to a further stage of development.

What made Connectd the right platform to take the next step in a board advisory career?

Tom Ilic, Board Advisor, Juris AI:
 I'd always fancied the idea of using my expertise and experience, because I would drive my wife crazy if I had nothing to do at home all day. But I didn't know how to go about it. Then Connectd approached me, and I thought it was a great opportunity to be introduced to technology startups in particular. I've always been interested in AI, and now it's really taken off. There's a lot of exciting activity, and I like working with people younger than me because it keeps me young.

What was the reason for Juris AI to seek advisory support from Connectd?

Meera Ahmadi:
 The right advisor is someone who shows initiative and makes suggestions, and doesn't only rely on you to ask questions. That's one of the things I particularly like about Tom. He's very available and very engaged.

Connectd felt like the right place because of the six-month pro bono programme, which works perfectly for an early-stage startup. Any investment, whether that's time, equity, or compensation, needs to be worth it. It's very difficult to know that upfront with advisors before you've actually tried working with them. Some advisors I found through the platform were good but not necessarily the right fit for our stage. And then you meet someone great, and after six months you realise this is absolutely worth investing in, and this is someone you want in the business long term. I don't think any other organisation or startup community is currently doing that. That's what's so great about Connectd.

What was it about Juris AI's vision that inspired the decision to get involved as a board advisor?

Tom Ilic:
 The vision was clear and targeted, and I know the recruitment industry well. It's a very unconsolidated market. Recruitment companies either can't afford a lawyer or have a small legal team that is backed up and overworked. As a sales director, I've always been the person chasing the legal team and being frustrated by the fact that they have other priorities. So I certainly saw the need from my own experience.

The market looked very large, and from Meera's competitor analysis, I could see that the other tools in the market were quite expensive and required a lot of setup costs, which Juris AI wouldn't necessarily need. It seemed ideal for the target market. Everything looked very well thought out, and the product works well. Based on the demos I attended, it seemed like a good fit.

At what point did the relationship move beyond an introduction and start to feel like a genuine partnership?

Tom Ilic:
 Meera lives in London, which is a big help because she's always accessible. The fact that she has a legal background means she knows exactly what she's talking about. Whenever I've been on demos with Meera, I tend to be quite quiet, because Meera sells herself. Her legal knowledge combined with her AI knowledge clearly impresses people. I was very happy with the fit.

Meera Ahmadi:
 I saw consistent value from Tom over time, through his introductions and getting us in front of customers within a very short time frame, especially once we were ready in terms of where the product was and how quickly we'd managed to develop it and understand what features our users actually wanted. That was quite vital to our startup.

It's been consistent throughout the six months, but the real click came when we spoke to a quite important client in December. That demo was interesting and went very well, and we've continued conversations since. Just great signs that real value is being provided.

How did the first 30 days take shape, and what early decisions and trade-offs helped define the MVP direction?

Tom Ilic:
 The first 30 days were largely about getting to know the product and talking to legal connections to understand whether there was a market fit, then feeding questions back to Meera. From there it was about helping Meera develop a go-to-market strategy and having input on what the future sales strategy could look like, focusing on getting quick wins through introductions. That's something I'm continuing to do, working on the connections I have to make introductions where Meera and the product can sell themselves.

What did the collaboration and cadence look like in practice?

Meera Ahmadi:
 Tom and I met in person and I had a great impression from the start. We spoke for over two hours over coffee, and he had lots of suggestions. I could see there was a fit, and he was eager to participate and contribute. At a startup, it's not only about value but also about someone's genuine interest and engagement in understanding what you're doing and where it could go in the future.

In the beginning we didn't speak as frequently, but towards the second month it became more consistent on a weekly basis. I really valued those catch-ups because we were evolving the product, approaching customers, and working out what kind of customers we should be targeting. I was also getting feedback on the demos I was doing at the time.

What are two of the most significant outcomes the business has achieved as a result of the advisory support?

Tom Ilic:
 Two tangible things: putting together a go-to-market strategy that was suitable for investors and presented in a succinct way, using my experience and market knowledge to help shape it. And then generating meetings with potential customers who are actively looking for this kind of solution and where Juris AI can be properly considered.

What made fractional support the right choice over bringing on a full-time advisor at that stage?

Meera Ahmadi:
 In my opinion, no startup needs a full-time advisor. You can go to friends, family, and professionals in your network when you need advice. Advisors are great, but it needs to be someone available when you need them most. There might be one month where I don't need any advisory at all, and then the next month I'm facing a particular situation and I reach out on a Sunday evening and they get back to me that same evening or the next day. That's where fractional advisory is best placed. It's about someone who is available when you need them most, but not necessarily every day.

What advice would you give to a founder and advisor considering Connectd today?

Meera Ahmadi:
Understand what you need from an advisor first, and identify which areas of the business need guidance. There will be areas where you are the expert, and areas where you know you need support. I already knew I needed more guidance around sales, so I went through the platform, looked at advisors and their skill sets, and Tom was a perfect fit. I requested my contact at Connectd to connect us, and the rest is history.

Tom Ilic:
Connectd is very easy to navigate and very intuitive. There is a big variety of skills that startups need, from finance to fundraising to technology to sales. I'm waiting for the right opportunities to come up where my specific skill set is exactly what they need.

Tom Ilic, Board Advisor, Juris AI
Meera Ahmadi, Co-Founder & CEO, Juris AI