Nicolas Bustamante

Cofounder, Doctrine

Search every verified Nicolas Bustamante interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Nicolas Bustamante, cofounder and CEO of Doctrine, discussed the company's journey from seed to Series A funding in a 2019 talk. He described Doctrine as a legal research and analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence to provide legal professionals with data to support their clients and decision-making. Bustamante stated that the company was founded in June 2016 with two cofounders and raised €2 million in seed funding in September 2016 from investors including Awesome Ventures and Khema Ventures. He noted that the company grew from zero customers to 850 customers in 11 months and raised €10 million in a Series A round in June 2018. Bustamante emphasized the challenges of the seed-to-Series A transition, citing a 75% mortality rate among seed-funded enterprise software companies. He attributed Doctrine's success to rapid iteration, listening to customers, and prioritizing investment in engineering talent over early marketing. He also advised against building products for free users, stating that startups should focus on paying customers who see value in the product. Bustamante reported that 10% of judges in France use Doctrine.