e27 has been dedicated to nurturing a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs since its inception. Our Contributor Programme offers a platform for sharing unique insights.
As part of our newly introduced ‘Contributor Spotlight’, we shine a weekly spotlight on an outstanding contributor and dive into the vastness of their knowledge and expertise.
In this episode, we feature Izwan Zakaria, Founder of Izwan & Partners, a KL-based law firm aiding startups and tech companies. Joining our community in 2020, he’s contributed 14 articles with over 20,000 views.
Izwan shares his personal and professional journey in this episode of Contributor Spotlight.
The driving force
As a startup lawyer, Izwan often encounters recurring questions from founders, such as when to form a company or how to raise seed rounds. Recognising the challenges, he uses straightforward language and adopts a first-person perspective in his writing to simplify legal complexities. Izwan aims to help founders navigate legal issues and ease their journey through the startup landscape.
“As an introvert, writing allows me to contribute and share my perspectives on legal matters. It is an invaluable and rewarding experience to meet founders at events who tell me how much they’ve benefited from the articles I’ve written. The published articles also serve as a repository that may be found and accessible to other founders who may be finding a solution to the same legal challenge.
Also, the news website e27 has been my go-to resource for technology and startup news, especially in Southeast Asia. When I learned about the Contributor Programme, I knew I had to be part of it. The e27 team has been so supportive in allowing me to share thoughts on legal matters and regulatory trends,” he said candidly.
Thoughts, goals, and journey
Izwan’s fascination with technology began at seven when his mother invested in his first computer. Despite the potential dismay when he dismantled it to explore the hardware, this experience sparked his interest.
With over a decade of corporate law practice, Izwan witnessed the transformative impact of platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Recognising the potential in the emerging digital economy, he founded Izwan & Partners six years ago in Kuala Lumpur. The law firm focuses on advising technology companies, startups, and investors.
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“As a technology and startup lawyer who frequently deals with new emerging technologies, it is common to see how quickly these technologies advance, often surpassing the pace at which laws and regulations can catch up. For instance, there is so much news about artificial intelligence every day (someone told me you might need to hire a full-time person just to keep track of the daily updates!). The regulator in a jurisdiction may need to decide what the best approach to regulating the new emerging technology is,” he expressed.
In embedded finance, companies can integrate with platform payments or specialised finance services, using API integration to use pre-built solutions from financial partners. Izwan notes the challenge of distinguishing legal liabilities among parties and the varied regulations service providers may encounter based on end users’ locations. Despite entrepreneurs’ anticipation of regulatory clarity, he recognises the slower pace of regulatory changes, driven by the need to balance public protection and innovation promotion.
“In Malaysia, we’re witnessing a slow but notable emergence of new boutique law firms. These firms are usually led by middle-aged practitioners who left established firms to set up their own. They may likely focus on more niche practices. It is an encouraging trend as clients may have a wider range of options when it comes to choosing a lawyer that best serves their needs. The emergence of these young and tech-savvy lawyers also means they are more receptive to new tools, such as the use of generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI) and embracing remote work,” he said.
Advice for budding thought leaders
Izwan expressed, “In 2021, I was engaged by the World Bank as a short-term consultant after they found an article I wrote on the web. I ended up co-authoring a study together with other economists where we assessed Malaysia’s startup financing ecosystem. I’m glad that several recommendations we’ve made were adopted by the government to boost the funding ecosystem. I would not think that I’d have gotten the opportunity to contribute to the World Bank if I had not been writing at the time.”
According to him, writer Anne Lamott said it best: “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere”.
Juggling too many things?
Izwan maintains a physical diary for meeting notes and uses Google Calendar to organise weekly schedules. He allocates specific times throughout the day for personal activities, ranging from walks to reading.
Also Read: 10 expert tips to safeguard your startup from costly contract disputes
“We all know achieving a work-life balance is tough. You may also have heard that “it isn’t about finding the time, but making the time”. So, the key to fulfilling life balance is about priorities, which may also include saying no more often to things sometimes,” he said.
Staying in the loop
Izwan shares, “An avid debater during my law school days, the reading habit is something that I continued since my university years. The usual reading sources include The Economist, The New York Times, Financial Times and The Edge Malaysia. I enjoy reading (the whole look, feel and smell of a physical book, of course!). I read about pretty much anything that interests me (usually entrepreneurship and technology).”
In scaling startups, Izwan notes the potential legal challenges arising from diverse regulatory frameworks, given the territorial nature of laws. Staying updated on regulatory positions, including neighbouring jurisdictions, is essential for practitioners dealing with the complex landscape of cross-border compliance. He recommends Lexology as a resource for timely regulatory updates authored by major legal providers. He suggests following legal thinkers like Lawrence Lessig and Richard Susskind for insights into emerging legal issues.
“Companies are now larger than people and countries in terms of deploying capital (Apple has more cash than the US and the UK governments) and influence. We are seeing the shift from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism.
If you just began your entrepreneurial journey, you’re in a unique position to embed your startup’s DNA to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, unlike large companies that may be tied to legacy issues and have to retrofit their entire culture to solve ESG related issues. If you are building a mobile app, you may also want to think about accessibility issues, like someone who is visually impaired, when designing a mobile app that may also benefit from your product or service,” he concluded.
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