Introduction: In a candid interview, Shiladitya Dash, the founder of Konproz, shares his journey from a law professional to an entrepreneur. With a rich background in legal practice and a passion for technology, Shiladitya is set on transforming the legal landscape in India. Below is an excerpt from our conversation where he delves into his motivations, experiences, and vision for Konproz.
Background and Inspiration
Raamesh Chandra: Thank you for joining us for the interview, Shiladitya. To start, could you tell us about your background and the story behind Konproz?
Shiladitya Dash: Certainly. I’m a lawyer by profession, originally from Bhubaneswar. My educational journey took me from Hyderabad to Pune, where I graduated from ILS Law College in 2012. Post-college, I worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Mumbai for almost three years, had a brief stint at KPMG in Delhi, and then spent over six years at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
During my time in law school, I maintained a keen interest in technology. I noticed that legal process outsourcing (LPO) was booming in India, especially in Pune and Bangalore, for document discovery and automation related work on U.S. laws, and I was curious why India wasn’t leveraging technology for legal processes as effectively as the U.S. Legal systems in the U.S. are less complicated and more technology-driven compared to the intricate and descriptive Indian laws.
This curiosity, combined with my professional experiences, led me to consider how technology could alleviate the repetitive and time-consuming aspects of legal workflows. This idea stayed with me throughout my career and eventually inspired me to venture into entrepreneurship.
Transition to Entrepreneurship
Raamesh Chandra: That’s fascinating. How did your experiences shape your entrepreneurial journey?
Shiladitya Dash: My stint at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas was particularly influential. Our Chief Innovation Officer, Komal Gupta, introduced us to various legal technologies aimed at contract review and document formatting. Despite the potential of these tools, the implementation was nascent and often hindered by the demanding nature of legal work, which left little time for exploring new technologies.
After COVID-19, I decided to take a leap. I established Infinity Technical Solutions in mid-2021 to explore legal technologies used in Western markets. Through projects in insolvency and family law, I observed how technology could automate drafting and filing processes. However, the existing solutions were still tedious and not sufficiently refined for the Indian context.
Around this time, I connected with my co-founder Piyush Chopra, a Chartered Accountant. Based on our exchange of experiences, I realised that we both had experienced the inefficiencies in our respective fields. We identified that repetitive and mundane tasks in legal, tax and regulatory assignments consumed significant time with minimal return on investment. This realisation motivated us to create a solution that would address these issues.
The Birth of KonProz
Raamesh Chandra: It sounds like you found a significant gap in the market. How did Konproz come into existence?
Shiladitya Dash: During my college days, I sensed the potential of using technology to simplify legal processes. This idea grew stronger as I faced these challenges in my professional life. I realised that technology could be a game-changer in the legal industry, which is how KonProz was born.
My co-founder and I shared a vision of leveraging generative AI to power our solutions. When ChatGPT emerged in late 2022, it was clear to me that the era of generative AI was upon us. We were determined not to miss this technological revolution.
Vision for the Future
Raamesh Chandra: How do you envision KonProz impacting the legal industry in the next five years?
Shiladitya Dash: Our goal is to automate repetitive and time-consuming legal workflows like research, analysis, and basic drafting. By leveraging AI, we aim to enhance efficiency and reduce the burden of mundane tasks for legal, tax and regulatory profession. In the next five years, we hope to become a global GenAI brand in the legal, tax and regulatory space , helping these industries focus more on strategic and complex aspects of their business.
Shiladitya Dash’s journey from a curious law student to a tech-driven entrepreneur is a testament to the transformative power of technology in traditional industries. With KonProz, he is poised to revolutionize the global legal landscape, making legal processes more efficient and accessible.
