From Startup to Corporation: The Evolution of Legal Risks Faced by Tech Companies During Rapid Growth

Rapid business growth is always a moment for reflection and a catalyst for significant transformation across internal processes, including the management of legal risks. At the same time, the very nature of legal risks evolves as companies progress through different stages of development, along with the tools required to address them. In the early stages, speed and flexibility are critical for structuring deals to raise capital and for establishing mechanisms that attract and retain high-calibre teams. As the company matures, the focus shifts to challenges such as competing with major digital players, protecting proprietary technologies, and complying with regulatory requirements specific to the business model or the digital product under development. In this context, it is worth taking a closer look at what sets companies developing innovative products, particularly startups, apart. What regulatory considerations around corporate governance and structuring need to be addressed to avoid slowing the growth of such businesses? To what extent do existing approaches in Russian regulation support effective investment attraction and team building? How do tech startups manage the risks of digital market monopolization, which is increasingly cited as a key driver of the regulatory agenda, especially regarding the influence of factors such as corporate access to data?