When you think of word processing applications, two probably come to mind Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Word was initially developed in 1993; Docs in 2006. Since then, there has been a meteoric explosion in digital storytelling, fueled by creators and the need for additional content on digital channels. Lex is a native-digital AI-powered word processor that allows writers to instantly develop copy with built-in writing advice, brainstorming, and collaboration capabilities. The platform itself is constantly reviewing your document and is equipped to respond to prompts in a chat box to guide you through building style and clarity but also assist with research. The most common application of AI in writing is for content generation to churn massive amounts of passable text; Lex is focused on helping writers create great content powered by AI. The web-based application is free with plans to introduce a paid version with enhanced features in the future.
LA TechWatch caught up with Lex Founder and CEO Nathan Baschez (early-Substack employee, co-creator Product Hunt) to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Lex raised a $2.75M seed round led by True Ventures.
Tell us about your product or service.
Lex is building an AI-powered word processor that gives writers instant access to copy editing, writing advice, brainstorming, and more.
What inspired the start of Lex?
My previous company was Every Media, a newsletter collective focused on technology, AI, and productivity. I was frustrated by my experiences as a writer and editor in Google Docs and originally built Lex for myself as a better option. More broadly, I’ve been thinking about how to improve writing and storytelling for a long time as the former first employee at Substack and head of product at Gimlet (the podcast network acquired by Spotify in 2019).
How is it different?
Lex is building AI to help people unlock their best writing, not simply generate content. We believe that the ocean of “commodity writing” generated by AI will make the storytelling and analysis that only humans can do more important than ever. Lex is a collaborator, researcher, and editor for writing that really matters.
What makes Lex unique is it can “see” your document. For example, Ask Lex is a chat box where you can ask Lex for feedback (or help changing tone, or research…) Lex’s suggestions will be specific to and in the context of your writing because it has already “read” your work. You can also direct Lex to focus on a specific part by creating a comment and tagging @Lex with your request – just like if Lex were a human collaborator!
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We believe people will choose to write and think in Lex over Google Docs and Word in the future, so suffice to say Lex is targeting a big market.
What’s your business model?
Lex does not currently charge, but we’re down the road we will introduce paid subscriptions.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Lex is growing fast and has ample funding. We’re hiring a small team of great people, but not primarily to reduce monetary cost. Rather, we believe smaller teams can ship better products, faster.
What was the funding process like?
We were fortunate to spend very little time on fundraising. Several of our partners at True are early Lex users and fans of the product, so they approached us before we ran a formal process.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We have a ton of features on our roadmap—both involving AI and not—that we want to ship. The main goal is to keep accelerating our growth rate, mainly by improving retention, activation, and referrals. The biggest obstacle to that is finding fantastic engineering teammates.
We have a ton of features on our roadmap—both involving AI and not—that we want to ship. The main goal is to keep accelerating our growth rate, mainly by improving retention, activation, and referrals. The biggest obstacle to that is finding fantastic engineering teammates.
What advice can you offer companies in Los Angeles that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
That’s a tough one. There are no easy answers. The only thing I can say, which I’ve heard repeated from founders and investors I look up to many times, is that it’s better to be aggressive and act early than to delay the inevitable.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re going to keep shipping new features and improvements, and learning from our users how to build the best writing experience.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in LA?
I love hiking with my family, especially the trail system around the Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park.
