Lawyers have left a major mark on the startup ecosystem, but perhaps not as you'd imagine. Their biggest mark is as Founders.In their new book Founder, JD, authors Eric Koester and Raffi Garnighian examine more than 400 startup founders who have also earned a law degree in order to uncover the surprising impact of their contributions across some of the largest ventures, funds and companies in the startup ecosystem. Throughout their research, they uncover a treasure trove of stories from some of the most successful lawyers-turned-founders and share an effective framework for how lawyers and law students can leverage their legal skills, experiences and connections to make their own similar leap into the startup world.As Founder, JDs themselves, Koester and Garnighian share real world insights from other successful Founder, JDs including:*removing the stigma lawyers often face when entering the business world,* leveraging the power of thinking like a lawyer, and* unlocking the keys to making one's startup a success in ventures inside and outside the legal profession. "Raffi and Eric provide an inspiring and thought-provoking take on what it means to innovate as a result of curiosity, reminding us of the critical importance of training and teaching lawyers how to innovate as a result of their desire to provide solutions for their clients. This book couldn't come out at a more relevant time." Danny Thomas, Principal Counsel at The Walt Disney Company "As someone who followed the 'big firm to startup life' route, I truly believe that people with law degrees can do anything they want. Raffi and Eric offer stories and lessons directly from the founder-lawyers behind great startup successes like Paypal, Opendoor, Rover, Avvo, and many more. This is a great read for lawyers, aspirational founders and for anyone thinking if a law degree is right for them." Jason Mendelson, Cofounder of Foundry Group and SRS/Acquiom "As a lawyer who works in the venture space, I'll admit even I was a little surprised to see how many successful startup founders had JDs. Through their own experiences and practical advice, Raffi and Eric have provided a powerful new framework for lawyers to be more innovative and entrepreneurial." John R. McDonald, Attorney and Co-Chair of Emerging Companies Practice Group at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. "As a lawyer-founder myself, I'm a big believer in finding ways to inject the 'Founder DNA' into every lawyer and future lawyer. I'm going to recommend this book to every ambitious law student and lawyer who is looking for a way to stand out, innovate, and make a real impact." Blake llstrup, Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP "A new must read for entrepreneurial attorneys." Joshua Singer, Assistant General Counsel at a Fortune 500 Company Raffi Garnighian Raffi is an attorney in New York City with a practice focused in corporate transactions and capital markets. He graduated from Duke University with a degree in economics and later earned his JD from George Washington University. Besides the law, Raffi's second love is entrepreneurship and inventing. While at Duke, Raffi was named a Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurship Fellow giving him the funding and resources to launch his startup Pinion Pins based on an invention of the same name. Since then, he has grown the namesake product to become one of the top selling Amazon bedding products for several years running. Eric Koester Eric is a professor at Georgetown University where he is the only two-time entrepreneurship professor of the year, and is the founder of the Creator Institute. But, before that, he was a lawyer (emphasis on was) practicing corporate and venture law on the west coast where he was named the 2010 Young Lawyer of the Year in Washington State. He gave up his billable hours for the Founder life where he's gone on to found and run numerous startup ventures including a Fast Company "50 Most Innovative" company, multiple venture capital backed companies, a venture capital firm and lots of things that wouldn't make his highlight reel.