From Wachtell Lipton To The Startup World: An Interview With Stephanie Lee

Would you leave a leading law firm to work on an exciting but risky new venture?

Here at Above the Law, we’ve been doing occasional profiles on lawyers who have left the practice of law to go down other intriguing paths. Recent interviews have covered Jenny Mosier, a high-ranking Justice Department official who launched her own foundation, and Liz Glazer, a tenured law professor turned stand-up comedian.

Today’s tale also involves someone leaving the pinnacle of the profession for something more entrepreneurial and adventurous. Stephanie Lee left Wachtell Lipton, one of the most prestigious and profitable law firms in the world, to join an early-stage startup. Here’s her story.

DL: First things first: what led you to law school?

SL: Some people grow up wanting to be president, an actress, a journalist. Me? I wanted to become a lawyer. It was just a matter of what type of lawyer. Cliché as it may sound, I loved Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, I loved Jake Brigance from A Time to Kill, and I loved Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. I didn’t even know what corporate law was until I got to college, where for the first time I contemplated doing something else other than law. All of my non-pre-med friends were focused on consulting and banking and I thought, “What is that? Should I give it a try?” I ended up working at an investment bank and I learned a couple things – I loved high-energy environments, I loved working with a team, and I loved being in a negotiation room. I also learned that banking was not a lifetime profession for me and I couldn’t wait to go back to school.

DL: So off you went to Yale Law School….

SL: So off I went to law school, but decided to combine my short banking experience into pursuing a career at a firm that did a great deal of M&A work. I started at Wachtell Lipton in 2012 and as corporate law experiences go, it was fabulous. Sure, it was not always, or even mostly, butterflies and ponies, but the people who work at the firm are truly remarkable and many of them are my closest friends and confidantes.

DL: It sounds great — and as a Wachtell alum myself, I share your admiration for the firm. What did you feel you were missing while there?

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SL: I love working with people and building teams, and this was missing from M&A law – at least for me. With M&A, if a deal goes well, once the deal closes, the M&A legal teams associated with the parties disband. There is occasional followup work, but there isn’t a sense of continuity and I wanted that. I wanted to be part of the client – the team that continues to exist and work together, rather than the emergency squad that comes in to put out fires. That made me realize that I had to leave and do exactly that.

DL: What was your process in searching for opportunities outside the firm?

SL: Realizing as an adult that what you wanted to be since you were a child isn’t quite it — that was a shock. I didn’t quite know where to start and I wanted to try everything. I wanted to intern everywhere but felt that I would be Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson in their Hollywood internships at Google. So I started looking at early-stage startups, where I could do exactly what I wanted to do – do everything and be needed for every part of the step! With the support of both my mentors and friends, I applied to startups but couldn’t find one that really got me excited – and I wanted to find something that I truly believed in and got me pumped! If you’re taking the risk anyway, why not make it fun and worthwhile?

DL: Which leads us to your latest adventure. What are you up to now?

SL: Through a friend, I was introduced to Jamie Seltzer and Jon Shaffer, who had started a new company, Alpha Audiotronics, in New York City. They were passionate and driven and wanted to create value and growth in technology outside of Silicon Valley. After all, why should the West Coast have all the fun? They already had their first product Skybuds patented, and when I learned what Skybuds was, I knew it was a no-brainer. I had found exactly that product that made my heart beat faster – and I was excited to get started! They invited me to join as COO, and I did.

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DL: So tell us – what are Skybuds?

SL: Skybuds are two truly wireless earbuds that you’ll never leave at home or forget to charge again – two issues that every wireless headphone owner can relate to. Why? Because Skybuds come with a smartphone case that gives you a place to store headphones when you’re not using them and also acts as a charging device. We’ve piggy-packed our headphones onto a device you already carry with you all the time.

The other beauty about Skybuds is that it requires no change to your charging behavior. When you go home at night and charge your phone, you’re also charging your earbuds. We’ve also included a battery in the case so that when you store Skybuds, they automatically start to recharge. It’s THAT SIMPLE.

DL: What do you enjoy about your new role?

SL: The idea of Skybuds was brilliant. The team, product, and role all combined to offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Jamie, Jon, our newest member Charlie and our team of engineers and product designers struggle every day to perfect this product so that we can deliver Skybuds and cases to our first supporters. I admire Jamie’s business acumen, Jon’s creativity, and Charlie’s understanding of people. I love that we have created a new and innovative product that creates real value for our consumers, that our team is committed to identifying challenges and hurdles and then quickly developing the solutions to them, that my partners are some of the most creative, meticulous and focused individuals I know, and that my skillsets from my previous roles come in to play daily to allow me to build our business.

DL: You sound happy and Skybuds sounds like a great product! How can we get our hands on Skybuds?

SL: We just launched on Kickstarter this past Tuesday and would love support! They are available at http://kck.st/1ZycFZI.

DL: Thanks for taking the time to touch base with us. Congrats on your entry into the world of entrepreneurship, and best of luck with the launch!

Skybuds – truly wireless earbuds and smartphone case [Kickstarter]

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