Meet Ryan Alshak, 31, CEO of Ping Inc., based in San Francisco Bay Area. Alshak is a former corporate litigator but been full-time on Ping since 2016. It is his first startup. He attended the 2018 CodeX Futurelaw, and participated at the 2018 “Startup Alley” at ALM’s Legaltech New York. In 2017, Alshak was chosen as a “Legal Rebel” by the ABA Journal (American Bar Association).

 

 

SOCIAL STUDIES

Website: https://www.timebyping.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanalshak

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
ryanalshak

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ralshak

 

EDUCATION

Univerity of California, Berkeley. B.A. 2009, in Political Science.
The University of Southern California Gould School of Law, J.D. 2013. Member: California Bar.

 

Past significant jobs:  Corporate litigator at Manatt, Phelps & Phillip.

 

What problem does your startup solve? We automate time and billing for large law firms. We do this by leveraging machine learning to automatically create a billable timesheet for the lawyer. Currently, this automation is resulting in a 13% revenue lift for the firm and cutting down the time lawyers have to time track in half.

We are currently focused on the enterprise side of the legal market (100+ lawyer firms). Ultimately, we are a tool for the lawyer to make their worst part of the day (aka timekeeping) seamless. But the firm gets to experience increased revenue and cleaner data, while clients get transparency and predictability in their billings.

 

Is the product/service currently on the market?  Yes, we are currently live at Mishcon de Reya, a top law firm in the United Kingdom (U.K.)

 

How did you come up with the name? Our founding team first set out to solve the problem of business cards (hence the name, Ping). We want to kept it as an homage to how we got together in the first place. We also want an agnostic, non-legal, timekeeping name because we believe legal timekeeping is just the beginning.

 

Do you have any patents? We have patents pending.

 

What inspired you to pursue this startup? As a lawyer, there was nothing more I looked forward to less than filling out timesheets. I was awful at doing so and I know I was unnecessarily hemorrhaging time and money as a result.

 

 

Do you have funding yet? Yes, we just wrapped up a major institutional round from Tier 1 Silicon Valley venture capital funds.

 

 

What is your biggest challenge re: the start-up? Getting law firms to entrust a critical business function to a startup.

 

What do you need right now? In six months? In a year?  Right now, we need to hire the best people to scale out our culture and organization. In six months, we need five global law firms to act as customer references. In one year, we need to scale the business to become the standard for legal timekeeping in Big Law.

 

What have you learned that you wish you knew five years ago? You only learn by doing and reading, not school. Don’t wait to create the life you want to live.

 

 

 

Who most influenced you and how?  My peer group from Berkeley have built some of the most incredible companies in the Silicon Valley at very young ages. What they are able to accomplish with their minds and ambition is inspiring to me every single day.

 

 

 

What book changed your life?  (or at least influenced you). The first book I read that made me fall in love with reading was Harry Potter in the sixth grade. I know more about Harry Potter than I care to admit. Business wise, Principles by Ray Dalio changed my perspective on how to build organizational culture and how important it truly is. (See also, Principles For Success.)

 

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs? Choose the right people and don’t ever look backwards. You’ll create the reality you want to live in.

 

What are you afraid of? My parents emigrated from Syria to the U.S. in their twenties for me and my brother. My biggest fear is not justifying that decision.

 

What are you most proud of?  I have a friend group that most people spend their whole lives trying to build but never can. They are the only reason I am successful — in life and business.

 

 

Where do you expect to be in 10 years?  I don’t expect anything. The world will give me what I deserve. What I want in ten years is to be regarded in the same light as Marc Benioff,  the founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.

 

What would be your dream career if you were not a lawyer and entrepreneur?  National Basketball Association player. More realistically, given my vertical challenge, N.B.A. general manager jobs.

 

What does your workspace look like? (Borrowed from Sam Gosling.) Depends on what I’m trying to get accomplished. If it’s something tactical, my work office. If it’s something creative, a coffee shop or off-site. If it’s something personal, my desk at home.

 

 

What’s your favorite vacation destination? Tulum, Mexico (though there are many places I have yet to experience).

 

 

Favorite musician or group: I grew up the biggest Eminem fan ever. I think his lyricism is second to none.

 

 

Favorite food: My Grandma (Alice Numnum)’s grape leaves. (Grape leaves are  stuffed with meat, rice, fresh dill, mint and lemon.)

 

 

Favorite quote:  “I never know when I’m working or playing, I just expect other people to tell me.”

 

What’s your mantra? Live for something bigger than yourself.

 

Who would you want sitting next to you if you got stuck for three hours on the tarmac in a 737? Barack Obama.

 

WANT MORE?

• Presentation at CodeX meeting on December 7, 2017. (It starts at 24 minute mark.)

 

Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX, where she focuses on the CodeX Blog. She also is a freelance journalist at Alchemizing Law LLC (with Sean LaRoque-Doherty.) Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu. Twitter: @MonicaBay.

 

Credits
• Ryan Alshak photo by Earnie Grafton.
• Ryan Alshak and grandmother Alice Numnum, by Mark Alshak.
• Marc Benioff photo from Salesforce, “Salesforce Leadership.”
• Tulum location: Wikipedia.
• Clipart.com: Cover; University of California Berkeley; money.