Michael Ulin

A PATH BEYOND THE NORM. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Michael Ulin has been guided by a quote from Steve Jobs: “Everything around you that you called life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” Growing up in a conservative family in rural Maine, Michael was expected to follow a traditional career path and not stray outside the norm. Despite this restrictive environment, he always believed in his ability to influence and change the world around him.

This belief became the cornerstone of his career, driving him to explore new horizons and challenge traditional expectations. After graduating from Emory University, Michael embarked on a journey that would take him far beyond the confines of his small-town upbringing. His career began at McKinsey & Company, where he met his future co-founder, Tanguy Chau. This pivotal connection would later lead to the creation of his company, Paxton AI.

Michael’s venture into the world of AI began with his role at RPX, a legal tech company that sparked his interest in AI and set the stage for his future endeavors. After RPX, Michael co-founded Zesty AI with several former McKinsey colleagues. At Zesty, he served as the head of AI, applying advanced AI models to the property insurance industry. “That was my first startup from inception to the growth stage, and I learned a lot along the way and made a lot of mistakes. It set me up well for what we’re doing today at Paxton AI.”

When the opportunity to partner with Tanguy Chau and co-found Paxton AI arose, he seized it with enthusiasm. “The early stages of company building were the most exciting to me at Zesty. When generative AI came to the fore, and Tanguy and I saw the potential, we jumped at the chance to build something new,” he says. Together, they created Paxton AI, a legal technology firm designed to transform the legal landscape with state-of-the-art generative AI tools that expedite and simplify legal research, contract drafting, and review.

Michael’s journey has not been without its personal struggles. Like many McKinsey alumni, he considers himself an “insecure overachiever,” a mindset that drove him to excel but also left him vulnerable during tough times. “At Zesty, my identity was tied up in the company’s success, and when we struggled financially, I felt like I had failed.” This period was compounded by personal turmoil when he divorced his first husband. “That was a really tough moment in my life, but coming back from that gave me perspective. It made the smaller failures seem less consequential.”

Growing up gay in a conservative environment, Michael says he often felt “deficient”, which fueled his drive to overachieve. “I felt like I had to prove I was worthy of love and acceptance.” Lacking role models who shared his identity, he struggled to find mentors who could truly understand his experiences. “It wasn’t until a few years ago that I found a great mentor, Mike Lane, the former SVP of product at Ticketmaster and former Chief Product Officer of Grindr. He taught me a lot about creating an environment of psychological safety and learning from failures.”

MOTIVATED BY MAKING A DIFFERENCE. Michael’s motivation extends beyond intellectual curiosity and the thrill of solving complex problems. His true reward comes from making a tangible difference in the lives of legal professionals. “Providing a tool that helps legal professionals manage their workload more efficiently and gives them back some of their time is incredibly motivating,” he explains.

“Growing up in an environment that wasn’t accepting, I don’t want others to experience that,” he says. “I strive to foster psychological safety and acceptance in the companies I create. If I can have a positive impact on my little corner of the world, that would be meaningful to me.”