Results my clients and I have gotten from our personal brands:

1. Me - Built a $300k per year business (that’s still growing) while investing $0 at the start and only having about $200 per month in expenses right now.

2. Marketing Agency Owner - Got 7 clients in our first 6 weeks work together, then steadily got at least 3 per month until he sold his business after 12 months.

3. SaaS Company CEO - Amassed hundreds of users and became a thought leader in the tech industry.

4. Venture Capitalist - Bought an 8-figure stake in a company after a founder DMed him because of a piece of content I created for him.

I could share 20+ more stories like those, but I think you get the point.

Having a powerful personal brand is a career cheat code, and I’ve cracked the code on building them.

Here are some ways you can do the same:

1. Apply to be one of my clients. I’m very careful about who I work with, but if the fit is right, I’d love to partner up.

2. Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free 45-page personal branding guide (10 viral post templates included).

3. Buy the last course I’ll ever sell. It covers everything in the personal branding game and is $100 off for the first 1000 buyers.

4. Book a 1:1 consultation. If you want personalized advice with no long-term commitment, this is the option for you.

Links to all of those are in my featured section.

And if you're not interested in any of them, just give me a follow. You'll still pick up a ton of useful info from my posts.

I'll see you on the timeline 🤝

Charles Miller

Copyblogger Media

Copyblogger teaches you how to generate high-quality online attention (with content and outreach) and turn it into profit (with copywriting and sales). Click below to join our community ↓

Want to grow on LinkedIn? Get my course (it's free) ↓

Results I've delivered to my clients and customers:

1. Freelancer - Went from 0 to $20k/mo in 5 months.
2. Agency Owner - Got 7 clients in our first 6 weeks.
3. Coach - Went from having 2 clients to 8 in 3 months.
4. Course Seller - 196% sales increase in 3 months.
5. SaaS CEO - Acquired 50+ paid users per month.
6. Founder - Sold his startup to a PE firm for $10m.
7. Influencer - Got 72,000 followers in 9 months.

I've also helped thousands of professionals get jobs, connections, and more.

Having a strong personal brand, great content, and persuasive copywriting is a cheat code, and I know exactly how to get all of them for any kind of creator. Especially ones that sell services.

Here's how you can do the same:

1. Join Copyblogger Academy. It gives you 6 courses, 10 ongoing education videos every month, expert Q&A, and a lot more. Your first month only costs $1. Hit the link in my featured section to join before prices rise.

2. Get hands-on help with your personal branding strategy, feedback on content, and direct growth assistance in my higher-priced LinkedIn Accelerator. DM me "Accelerator" to get more info on this.

I can't wait to work with you.

Founder

I sell a variety of products and services that help people write better, grow their social media pages faster, and increase their online earnings.

MTLegal Team

MTLegal Team is a small team of lawyers helping businesses prevent problems that cost thousands of dollars, if not millions. 

We specialize in Contract Drafting, Legal Consultation, and Compliance for both - For Profit and Not for Profit companies.

I specifically help For-Profit Companies.

___

We Work With: 

1) Fintech and Digital Lending Companies - including NBFCs
2) SaaS/Product Companies
3) IT Companies - Web or Software Development 

___

Contact us if you need help with: 

1) Transactional and regulatory advisory services
2) Tailored legal solutions to fit your business
3) Having strong contracts, especially for B2B transactions
4) Complying with RBI guidelines/rules
5) Complying with data protection laws

And more

Co-Founder | Contract Lawyer

SocioNiti

Strategic Legal Counsel | Contracts Manager

AMEG

Strategic Legal Advisor

The Squirrel

General Counsel | Contracts Consultant

Daily Tips from a Business Lawyer | Building My Legal Firm | Sharing My Learnings from 400+ Successful Projects (And Counting)

I'm Akhil Mishra, a Tech Lawyer. In 2019, my friends and I started a legal firm to make legal services more human.

But that's not all.

I’ve spent 5 years perfecting a client-first approach built on 3 pillars. 

→ Good communication which is quite rare
→ Advice that makes sense to people receiving it - no Latin phrases here
→ Not just sharing with Founders what to do, but also *WHY* it's necessary

⭐ "Akhil knows his craft. He went with me through my contract and showed me not only what flaws it had but also which things it missed." - Thomas Zydron

Over these 5 years, I've completed 400+ projects with my friends. That’s the result of doing the little things right.

But who do I mainly help? Entrepreneurs in these 3 sectors:

1) Fintech and Digital Lending Space
2) SaaS/Product
3) IT Sector - Web or Software Development Companies

Every day on LinkedIn, I share no-BS insights for IT, SaaS, and Fintech business owners. Follow me for posts you can actually apply.

⭐ "Akhil had a different approach to a lot of the other conversations with people I have had. If you ever need a deeper undertaking of the legal side of things for your offer Akhil is your man to see!" - Harry Wenham

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to support entrepreneurs in meaningful ways, leading to some of these wins:

→ Recognized as a Top 1% Consultant on Topmate 
→ Helped Over 160+ Founders
→ Featured on Forbes 
→ Helped founders dodge millions in potential legal disasters

⭐ "He's so fantastic, a cordial law-person is all one needs! Cleared many doubts, and gained great confidence in the legal aspects." - Bratin Das



Finally, if you’re curious about working together, I’ve set up two options - one free, one paid.

It depends on where you are in your entrepreneurial journey.

1) Free Way - Join My Newsletter 

Learn how to keep your business safe from legal risks through simple legal solutions.

Join 120+ Founders getting my steps, systems, and strategies. 

Focused on IT, SaaS, and Fintech. GO HERE -> https://akhil-mtlegal.beehiiv.com/subscribe

2) Paid Way - You Have 2 Options

a) 30-minute Clarity Calls 

30-minute strategy session for urgent deals or high-stakes questions

GO HERE -> https://topmate.io/akhil_mtlegal/1289780

b) Done-For-You Contracts

Let me and my team draft/review agreements while you focus on scaling. 

You can submit your requirements here -> https://forms.gle/h73yF4F797oUMy6d6

---

Thank you for reading up until here! Have an awesome day!

Email: akhil@mtlegalteam.com  
X: @ItsAkhilMishra

Akhil Mishra

India has officially rolled out the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025.

And they change everything about how businesses must handle personal data.

No jargon. No fluff. 

Just clear, actionable rules that every company processing Indian user data needs to understand.

I’ve reviewed the Rules in detail.

And this week’s newsletter breaks them down in plain language for anyone working in:

• Tech
• IT 
• SaaS
• Fintech
• Any digital business.

Inside, you’ll learn:

1) What these Rules actually require in day-to-day operations
2) How they affect your data handling and compliance efforts
3) The timelines to prepare and implement these changes

If your company collects or processes personal data from individuals in India, this is essential reading.

👇 Read it here:

Tech Lawyer for Fintech, SaaS & IT | Contracts, Compliance & Strategy to Keep You 3 Steps Ahead | Book a Call Today

View newsletter: Business Protection 101 

On 14 November 2025, India officially notified the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025, bringing the landmark DPDP Act, 2023 into oper

Open article: Understanding India’s New Digital Personal Data Protection Rules (2025)  by Akhil Mishra • 5 min read

Understanding India’s New Digital Personal Data Protection Rules (2025)

You showed up.

Good.

But that’s only half the battle.

The other half?

Learning from what didn’t work.
Owning the missteps.

And adjusting. 
Again and again, until you’re not just showing up....
You’re moving forward with intention.

Because talent, funding, and momentum aren’t guarantees.

The graveyard’s full of startups that had all three....
But stumbled on the one thing nobody talks about until it’s too late:
Legal and compliance mistakes.

They seem small at first.
A missed clause here.
A rushed product rollout there.

And slowly, that startup story turns from headline to warning.

The good news?
You don’t have to learn the hard way.

Most mistakes are predictable.
Which means they’re preventable.

Here are the 3 most common legal pitfalls fintech founders face.
And what you can learn from them:

1) Operating in gray zones - you’re not immune until you’re authorised

• The mistake: Launching before you know the licence position - “We’re just a tech platform” or “We’ll get the licence later.”
• Real risk: Regulators will treat function, not label. That’s why big players have been forced to stop parts of their business.
• How to avoid it: Get written legal confirmation on licensing before launch. If you’re touching payments, lending, or investments, apply early and document the reasoning. Don’t assume a partner shields you from responsibility.

2) Weak KYC / AML - compliance that looks good on paper but fails in practice

• The mistake: One-off identity checks and a PDF policy that never drives action.
• Real risk: Missed STRs, missed patterns, and heavy penalties when monitoring is superficial.
• How to avoid it: Build risk-based KYC from day one, automate transaction monitoring, train staff to spot red flags, and audit the program quarterly. Treat AML as a live system, not a tick-box.

3) Treating data protection as an afterthought

• The mistake: “We’ll fix privacy later” or “Our policy is fine” while practices differ.
• Real risk: DPDP penalties, breach fallout, and loss of partner trust. Data mistakes scale faster than product features.
• How to avoid it: Classify data, get purpose-specific consent, localise financial data where required, encrypt in transit and at rest, and have a tested breach-response plan.

The fintech founders who thrive aren’t the ones who avoid mistakes altogether.

They’re the ones who show up consistently, learn from visible mistakes in the market, and adjust their compliance practices before regulators come knocking.

Your job isn’t to avoid mistakes.
It’s to avoid repeating mistakes that others have already made.

That’s how you build something that lasts.

So your next adjustment keeps you moving forward, not falling behind.

---

✍ Which of these 3 pitfalls do you see founders underestimate the most?

I remember this deal clearly...

It looked perfect on paper.

A long-term collaboration with a well-known startup.
Ongoing legal work. Predictable revenue.
The kind of partnership that promises stability and depth.

We went through rounds of discussions.
Calls, clarifications, drafts.
Everything falling into place.

And then it didn't.

The tone began to shift.
The scope started to stretch.
More work, more responsibility, more urgency, but the number on the page?
The same.

Then came the familiar line:
“We just need to move fast.”
“Let’s sign now. We’ll figure it out later.”

That’s when the hesitation appeared.
Quiet, but clear.
That inner voice professionals often hear and just as often silence.

I didn’t, this time.

I looked at the draft.
Saw the imbalance forming.
And said no.

Not with drama. Not with frustration.
Just a calm, steady no.

Walking away hurt.
We had spent hours aligning.

It was almost there, the kind of deal that brings visibility and credibility.
But it didn’t feel right.

That hurt slowly turned into relief.

Because saying no protected something far more valuable than the deal itself - clarity.

If we had moved ahead, expectations would have shifted again.
Deadlines would shrink.
Trust would erode.
And what began as promise would slowly turn into pressure.

That no became one of the most important lessons of my career.

It taught me this: clarity matters more than opportunity.

Every time you compromise too early, you pay for it later, in confusion, rework, and quiet resentment.

So now, my team and I have a rule:
If something feels rushed, uneven, or unclear, we pause.

We ask:
• Is the scope defined?
• Do both sides understand what’s expected?
• Are we equally committed?

If not, we wait.
Sometimes, we walk away.

That choice has saved us countless hours, and strengthened every partnership that followed.

Because the truth is, not every deal is meant to close.
And that’s okay.

When your principles guide your yes and your no, the right clients don’t need persuasion.

They recognize alignment when they see it.

The wrong ones fade quietly on their own.

That’s how you grow, not by chasing every opportunity, but by protecting the integrity of your process.

Clarity isn’t a luxury. It’s protection.

And the deals that are meant for you?
They never feel forced.

— Akhil

---

✍ Is there any deal that you regretted signing?

I’ve seen 3 ways Fintechs are rewriting the rules of banking.

Are you paying attention?

There was a time when being a bank meant one thing - size.

Big branches. Big teams. Big balance sheets.

The bigger you were, the stronger you looked.
Stability was status.

Then came the Fintechs.

Lean, fast, API-driven startups that didn’t care about vaults or marble floors.

They built with data, not brick.
They grew through partnerships, not branches.

And slowly, the rules of the game began to change.

The market started noticing.

This week, the RBI’s Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar shared something important.

He said the future of banking won’t be decided by who has the largest balance sheet, but by who has the most digital agility.

Banks, he warned, need to reinvent themselves.

Their old IT systems, built for compliance and stability, are now slowing them down.

Their processes are too rigid. Their costs too high.

Meanwhile, Fintechs are innovating faster and pulling the ecosystem forward.

But with that innovation comes something else: risk.

More APIs mean more data flowing between entities.

More integrations mean more exposure to fraud, cyber threats, and compliance failures.

That’s why the new banking landscape requires more structure.

Because every partnership between a bank and a FinTech...
Every outsourced service, every platform integration....

It all adds one more layer of legal and operational responsibility.

Which is also why I believe these 3 things to be true:

• Data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity are now legal priorities
• Compliance with RBI, SEBI, and IRDAI guidelines CAN NOT be skipped.
• Contracts and governance systems must clearly define roles, liabilities, and responsibilities, and be custom to the company.

And as innovation accelerates, legal clarity becomes your biggest competitive advantage.

In the past, banks competed through size.

Today, they’ll survive through agility, partnerships, and compliance discipline.

The RBI is calling for accountability within the digital transformation.

And those who get that right will lead India’s next financial decade.

---

✍ Share your top concern below: Is it agility, compliance, or risk?

Happy Monday, everyone!

Today, I am back with another weekly update for the Fintech Companies.

Covering updates in the regulatory or economic side of the Fintech market for Indian companies.

If you run a Fintech Company in India.

Or you plan on expanding your Fintech Company in India.

Then this becomes important for you.

Here are the main things that happened in the last week.

-> RBI’s Minor Wallet Go-Ahead: Junio’s UPI-linked PPI enables QR payments with parental controls

-> Groww’s Strong Debut: Lists at 14% premium (₹114 BSE), ₹70K Cr valuation

-> Lentra’s IPO Horizon: 4x revenue to ₹1K Cr via AI, listing in 3 years

-> MobiKwik’s Forex Debut: T+0 USD via NBBL for remittances/fees; shares up 1.79%

-> Paytm’s AI Refresh: Total Balance, Magic Paste, Gold Coins, Playback raps

-> Mettupalayam Penalty: ₹1.5L for director loans/nominal member excesses

For a more detailed cover, with additional updates, check this out:

Happy Monday everyone! Today I am back with another weekly update for the Fintech Companies. Covering updates in the regulatory or economic side of th

Open article: Last Week’s 12 Fintech Updates You MUST Know in India by Akhil Mishra • 8 min read

Last Week’s 12 Fintech Updates You MUST Know in India

It’s happened to me more times than I can count.

A client emails me the contract.

Not before signing it.
Not when they’re unsure.
Not when they first sense a red flag.

But right AFTER they’ve signed.

“Hey, can you quickly review this?”

And I’m sitting there thinking:

This is like checking the expiration date after the first bite.
Or reading the terms after you’ve already clicked “I agree.”
Or agreeing to a partnership, and only then asking what the other side promised.

I can keep going...

At that point, you’re not reviewing.
You’re undoing.

Because once a contract is signed, everything becomes heavier.

• Every clause is locked.
• Every word carries legal weight.
• Every change needs consent.
• Every consent slows operations.

Sometimes, the whole deal freezes while everyone tries to backtrack.

And all of it... for something that could have been fixed in minutes before the signature.

That’s the real difference:

Before signing → proactive.
After signing → damage control.

Yes, amendments are possible.
But prevention is quieter, cleaner, cheaper, and much less dramatic.

Contracts are commitments.

And commitments are easiest to fix before they’re locked in ink.

Better to pause before you sign than to rebuild everything after.

---

✍️ What’s the biggest contract mistake you’ve seen happen because someone checked it too late?

Build fast. Scale fast. Fix compliance later.

That's how most fintech founders work.

And for a while, it works.

But the RBI has tightened the space.

Payment aggregators have been paused.
Wallets have been restricted.
Cross-border flows have been scrutinised.

Founders who were once expanding suddenly found themselves fixing the mess.

But that's not always the story. 

Pine Labs just showed the entire industry what the future looks like.

While most companies view compliance as a hurdle, Pine Labs treated it as strategy.

They didn’t wait for a notice.
They didn’t scramble after a disruption.
They moved early.

And it paid off.

Pine Labs has now secured all three major RBI licences:

• Payment Aggregator
• Payment Gateway
• Cross-border Payments

A full 360-degree regulatory green light.

This puts them in a rare position:

They can process domestic payments, international payments, manage settlements, and expand their merchant network across every major channel - online and offline.

All while being fresh off an IPO oversubscribed 2.46X.

That’s how preparation meets regulatory clarity.

Every fintech founder should pay attention to this, because Pine Labs didn’t just raise money.

They raised the standard.

Being proactive with compliance is no longer a “good to have.”
It’s the only way to build something that lasts.

Licences aren’t paperwork.
• Licences are your moat.
• Licences are your growth engine.

Fintech is entering its next phase, and the winners will be the ones who take regulation seriously before they’re forced to.

Pine Labs did that.
Others can too.

---

✍ Are we witnessing a shift from growth-at-all-costs to growth-within-guardrails?

You can’t build an empire on discounted dreams.

Because people quit when they feel undervalued.

And they feel undervalued when you underpay them.

It never works out in the long run.

You can tell yourself the person is getting “experience.”
You can tell yourself they’ll “grow with the company.”

But it hardly ever plays out that way.

You hire someone good, they learn fast, and then they leave.

Not because they didn’t like the job.

You can tell yourself that lie.

The main reason is that someone else valued them more.

They paid them more. 

And now you’re back at square one.

Spending more time hiring, more money training, and more energy fixing what could’ve been avoided.

Pay isn’t just an expense.
• It’s retention.
• It’s culture.
• It’s a signal of respect.

When you pay people what they’re worth, they stay long enough to make your company worth more, too.

So no, you can’t build an empire on discounted dreams.

You build it on fairness.
On respect.
On the quiet loyalty of people who know they’re seen.

So pay fairly.
Not because you have to.
But because they’ve earned it.

And the more you value people, the more valuable your company becomes.

---

✍️ How do you keep great people when budgets are tight?

There’s a silence every lawyer fears.

The kind where the client goes quiet and hovers over "End Call."

That’s when you know you’ve lost them.

They’re nodding. Smiling politely. But you can see it in their eyes:
"Can we just sign this thing already?"

That’s exactly where I was one Thursday afternoon.

Midway through a call about an indemnity clause that should’ve taken ten minutes... and didn’t.

The client was about to close a million-dollar SaaS deal.
They were tired, under pressure, chasing the Friday deadline.

And then I said the line that sucked all the air out of the room:

“We can’t keep this indemnity one-sided.”

Silence.

To them, it sounded like resistance.
To me, it was risk.

Because that single clause, left untouched, could shift unlimited liability onto them.

One lawsuit, and everything they’d built could crumble overnight.

But they didn’t want to hear about risk.
They wanted momentum.

So I did what lawyers do when nerves kick in. I explained.

• Liability allocation
• Third-party claims
• Negligence
• Duty of care

They blinked. Nodded. Checked phone.

That’s when I realized the problem wasn’t legal.
It was language.

I stopped mid-sentence.

"Let’s try this," I said. "Imagine you’re on the other side. We’re asking you to take on all the risk, even if we mess up. Would you sign?"

Long pause.

Then the frown softened.

We’d finally switched from lawyer-speak to real talk.

Because this was never about the clause.
It was about trust.

"If we push this language," I said, "we might win the argument. But we lose trust, and that’s the slower way to lose a deal."

They nodded - this time for real.

We rewrote the clause: mutual, clean, balanced.
The other side signed it in hours.

No tension. No delay.

A week later, the client called. "That clause," they said. "It could’ve cost us everything."

That day taught me something every lawyer should print on their desk:

Clarity beats precision. Every time.

Because clients don’t fear legal complexity.
They fear feeling lost in it.

When they understand you, they trust you.
And when they trust you, they listen.

So now, when I find myself explaining indemnities, IP, or limitations, I remind myself:

• Don’t sound smart. Make sense.
• Don’t block progress. Protect it - intelligently.

Because our job isn’t to impress.

It’s to speak their language. 

— Akhil

---

✍ In your field, what’s the one thing people always misunderstand until you explain it differently?

When something goes wrong in fintech, everyone points fingers.

The founder blames the partner.

The partner blames the vendor.

The vendor blames the system.

But regulators don’t care whose fault it was.

They care about one thing: accountability.

And if your contracts don’t define that clearly, guess who ends up carrying the weight? You.

Most founders learn this the hard way. They assume compliance is about following rules. 

It’s not just that. 

Because it also involves anticipating blame.

When the RBI comes knocking, explanations don’t matter. 

What matters is proof.

Contracts that define duties, split liability fairly, and show that you built accountability into your structure before things went wrong.

That’s what I’m unpacking on November 19th:

• The myth of shared responsibility
• Why contracts should be more than role sheets

Join my newsletter to learn more.

(Link in the comments and on my featured section.)

---

✍ Do you believe in shared responsibility?

Most IT companies don’t hire for growth.

They hire to look like they’re growing.

At least that's what I've noticed.

It could usually mean adding layers of middle management or coordinators who add structure but not necessarily output. 

Sometimes, even overhiring developers, just to project momentum to clients or investors.

And the result is bad.

Because it creates a maze of half-defined roles and overlapping responsibilities. 

Developers start making product calls, product managers drift into operations, and “shared accountability” quietly becomes no accountability.

Then come the endless syncs and alignment meetings.

• Standups balloon from 10 minutes to 45.
• Management reviews turn into debates about metrics instead of outcomes.

It’s a cycle of talking about work instead of doing it.

That’s why I’ve always preferred lean teams.

When a team is small, communication flows directly.

• Every role has weight.
• Every person feels seen.

You see it in faster delivery cycles, quicker client responses, and tighter feedback loops. 

Internal conflicts drop because everyone knows who owns what.

At our firm, it’s just the three of us.

• One focuses on delivery and operations,
• One handles strategy and legal,
• And I manage client relations and business development.

Decisions move fast because ownership is clear.
No one waits for consensus when trust already exists.

Many founders believe hiring will reduce their workload.
But hiring without clarity only multiplies complexity.

Growth is only good if it multiplies outcomes.

So before expanding headcount, ask:

Does this role create measurable value?
Or does it just make us look busy?

Because a company isn’t strong because it’s big.

It’s strong because it’s built on clarity, not clutter.

---

✍ If you had to cut your team in half today, what roles would truly stay essential?

Happy Monday, everyone!

Today, I am back with another weekly update for the Fintech Companies.

Covering updates in the regulatory or economic side of the Fintech market for Indian companies.

If you run a Fintech Company in India.

Or you plan on expanding your Fintech Company in India.

Then this becomes important for you.

Here are the main things that happened in the last week.

-> Groww’s IPO Test: $6,632 Cr issue amid F&O reset, 34-44x valuation scrutiny

-> Bajaj’s Festive Win: 27% volume surge, 52% new-to-credit from GST/tax reforms

-> Zynk’s Cross-Border Boost: $5M seed scales liquidity-free settlements from 5 FIs

-> Latur Co-op Fine: ₹8L for director loans/KYC delays

-> IFF’s UPI Warning: 80% duopoly risks; proposes 10% incentive cap

-> Kamath’s IPO Nod: 20% Groww applications from Zerodha users show ecosystem synergy

For a more detailed cover, with additional updates, check this out:

Open article: Last Week’s 13 Fintech Updates You MUST Know in India  by Akhil Mishra • 8 min read

Last Week’s 13 Fintech Updates You MUST Know in India

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