LexCheck Reinvented Its Product in a Crowded Market

Everyone talks about competition as a good sign — proof you’re in a real market. But what happens when that competition shows up overnight? And what do you do when your once-crowded vertical suddenly becomes noisy with AI-fueled hype?

That’s exactly what Gary Sangha and his team at LexCheck faced. LexCheck is an AI-powered legal tech platform that helps companies and law firms review contracts faster and with more consistency. They were early in the space. But then came the wave.

Suddenly, generative AI hit legal tech like a tidal surge. Startups popped up every week. VC money flowed in. Existing players pivoted into contract review. And LexCheck — a company already delivering value — had to figure out how to stand out all over again.

Key Takeaways

• LexCheck’s market got crowded fast as GenAI hype exploded in legal tech

• Instead of panicking, they went back to first principles and rebuilt the product

• Smaller teams, radical candor, and obsessive customer feedback unlocked clarity

• Their goal wasn’t just better — it was a step change in product quality

• Most founders overestimate what they can fix with GTM when it’s really a product problem

From Early Mover to Saturated Market

LexCheck was ahead of the curve. They were using natural language processing and LLMs to power contract reviews before ChatGPT went mainstream. Their tech helped legal teams and enterprises do two things faster — speed up review cycles and reduce risk.

“We want to help teams get through contracts faster — and help them catch what matters when it really matters.”

But once GPT took off, the market flooded with new entrants. Suddenly, LexCheck went from being a rare play to being one of a dozen “AI for contracts” startups.

And worse, some of those new entrants had deep pockets.

“We don’t have a monopoly on IQ or capital. So we had to win somewhere else — product.”

Rethinking the Roadmap Mid-Scale

Most startups react to competition with more marketing. LexCheck went the opposite way. They slowed down. They stepped back. And they asked a hard question: “If we had to rebuild this product today, from scratch, with everything we now know — what would we build?”

That took real discipline. It also took real support from their investors, who backed the team’s decision to pull back on scaling and reinvest in R&D.

“There were no totems. Nothing was untouchable. We went back to first principles.”

The shift paid off. Instead of trying to win with louder messaging or splashier AI claims, LexCheck doubled down on building something objectively better — faster, more accurate, and more useful.

A Framework for Founders in Crowded Markets

If you’re in a vertical that’s suddenly noisy (and let’s be honest, a lot of AI-native SaaS is), Gary offered a clear set of principles:

• Use the competition. Learn from their positioning, features, and feedback. Stand on their shoulders.

• Shrink the decision team. Small, focused engineering teams ship better products, faster.

• Sit next to your users. Watch them. Ask for radical candor. Don’t let “this is fine” stop you from building something great.

• Rebuild if you need to. The hardest call is usually the right one — especially when it comes to product reinvention.

“There is no such thing as being too close to your customer. Ask them why it sucks — not just if they like it.”

Going Enterprise-First by Design

One reason LexCheck could go deep on product? Gary and his team made the choice early on to target enterprise customers — not SMBs.

“We worked backwards. If we wanted to charge $50K per year, we had to build a product worth $50K per year.”

That approach shaped everything — from security and integrations to onboarding, legal review cycles, and team roles. It wasn’t the easy route. But it gave them room to fund sales motion with real ACVs — and defend their margin as the space got noisier.

“If you don’t build for your price point from day one, you’re going to have a hard time pivoting into enterprise later.”

What’s Next for LexCheck

With the new product rolling out, LexCheck is ready to compete on the thing that matters most: value.

They’re going deeper into enterprise, continuing to partner with legal ops teams and in-house counsel, and staying close to customers who want results — not just hype.

And Gary’s message to the market is simple: Contracts don’t have to be a bottleneck. If they’re slowing down your business, LexCheck can help.

Book a Free AI Assessment if you're facing product pressure in a crowded market or trying to figure out how AI can give you a real competitive edge. We’ll help you assess where your product stands, uncover the highest-leverage improvements, and deliver a strategic roadmap to rebuild with confidence.