Max Junestrand
Dressed in a Legora hoodie, he moves easily through the company’s brand-new 4,000-square-meter headquarters near Stockholm Central Station. He greets colleagues with relaxed familiarity. The office still carries the scent of new furniture. The pace is high, but the atmosphere feels open and surprisingly calm. Conversations flow easily. So does Max.
Legora, the AI platform he co-founded, is on track to soon serve over a thousand companies. The ambition is clear: to transform how legal work is done, by humans and AI alike. But the path here was anything but linear.
From KTH and SSE. At the same time
Max began studying computer engineering at another school in Stockholm, KTH, in 2018. At the same time, he worked full-time as a programmer.
“It didn’t really feel like a full-time job,” he says. “So, I had my eyes on SSE as well.”
His first attempt did not go as planned. After retaking courses to improve his grades, he forgot to upload the updated transcripts. He missed admission to SSE by a technicality and had to wait another year. Eventually, he entered the Bachelor program in Business & Economics as one of the final reserve candidates.
For several years, he studied both at KTH and SSE simultaneously, combining computer engineering with business studies. He graduated from SSE in 2023, but he hasn’t completed his master’s thesis at KTH.
“That’s actually perfect,” he jokes. “When I talk to investors, I’m a dropout. When I talk to my girlfriend’s parents, I graduated.”
Community at SSE and building momentum
It’s easy to get swept away by Max's charm and energy, and by how he makes everything sound so effortless. Working multiple jobs, studying at two universities at the same time, and being part of the student association SASSE while working with start-ups. You rarely meet these people with such a strong drive, ambition and a passion that feels burning.
We talk about his time at SSE and what he carries with him today. What stood out most, he says, was the culture.
“At SSE, the students have this drive and ambition that is hard to put a finger on. Students apply for internships, jobs, and volunteer opportunities directly during their first semester. That environment pushes you to be bold and brave, something that is just as necessary in your career as a great education.”
During his studies, Max worked across venture capital, startups, and management consulting. At one point, he held six different roles in a single year.
“By studying at SSE, you get enormous opportunities,” he says. “But it can also be challenging to choose a direction to go. Many students try to maximize breadth. I actually think specialization is often more powerful.”
Beyond academics, he was involved in student life, from the Nobel NightCap organized by SASSE to programming committees and training events like Tough Viking.
“The community at SSE gives you these soft skills you don’t even realize in the moment that you’re building.”
The start of Legora
So, where does Legora come into the story? It began when two friends approached Max about joining their startup idea and applying to SSE Business Lab. One requirement was that at least one founder had an SSE affiliation. Which Max had, but not his two friends pitching the idea to him.
That ended up with Max joining as co-founder. He immediately set the bar higher and thought they should apply to the startup accelerator Y Combinator in the United States. Where they were initially rejected.
“It was of course frustrating,” he admits. “But setbacks are good.”
Instead, they were accepted into SSE Business Lab, which became their launchpad. Later, they were admitted to Y Combinator as well.
“SSE Business Lab was a crucial springboard for us. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It gave us space, community, and credibility. It meant a lot.”
When talking about incubators and his experience with them, Max is candid about his views.
“All incubators are different. For me, building the product and creating customer value always come first. That is the core of everything. Everything else is secondary.”
What is Legora?
It might be a great idea to explain what Legora does. From the conversation, you can tell Max has a clear way of presenting the company. Legora is an AI-native platform where legal professionals can work dramatically more efficiently, both with each other and with AI agents.
“We see Legora as the system where all legal work happens. Whether it’s M&A, disputes, or in-house legal tasks. This is the platform.”
The company now works with hundreds of organizations worldwide and is expanding rapidly. And their ambition is clear. Not only become a Nordic success story, but a global category leader.
Maintaining culture while growing
With growing so fast as Legora does, it brings challenges to keep the initial culture and start-up atmosphere. Max agrees that culture building and attractive talent are key to continued expansion. He presents Legora’s internal motto, which is LFG.
“It can have several meanings. But for us, it means Lean in. Fight for excellence. Grow together.” Max says with a grin.
He describes the culture as intense, but transparent. “If you’re in engineering, you’re building features customers will use next week. If you’re in sales, you see immediately whether we win a deal or not. Everyone’s contribution is so visible here.”
Young employees come in and quickly take on responsibility and grow here. Several team leads are in their early twenties.
“What matters most is growth trajectory. We look at what we call the Y-slope, meaning how fast you develop. Skill level at entry matters less than your learning speed and ambition.”
Grades of course matter. But so does initiative, resilience, and having experience from taking on challenges, whether in sports, projects, or side ventures.
Entrepreneurial mindset
Max reflects on whether he was born an entrepreneur or simply someone who just struggles with authority.
“Probably both,” he says. “I have low tolerance for inefficiency. If something doesn’t work, I’d rather fix it myself.”
He works long hours, often late into the night, but insists that it energizes him. “If I worked the same hours in consulting, which many people do, I’d be exhausted. But when I do it for my own company, it gives me energy.”
He grew up in an entrepreneurial family and saw both success and setbacks early on. A perspective that shaped his risk appetite.
“When we later got into Y Combinator, it was full throttle for us. Total focus.”
Visibility and responsibility
As Legora grows, so does public attention. Max has found himself in rooms he once only read about. He scrolls for a short time on his phone and shows us an email from Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, that he received yesterday.
“Those moments are actually surreal,” he says.
He has also met world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron. “He had a very steady handshake,” Max says with a smile. “You start to notice things like that.”
Yet for Max, visibility and being in the spotlight are not the goal.
“It’s part of the CEO role to represent the company and tell our story. But what matters most is building something that lasts.”
What drives him is scale and impact. He reasons for a while on the responsibility of being the CEO of a company that grows so fast. Legora receive ten thousand job applicants from people all over the world. Which is incredibly impressive but also a big responsibility.
“When so talented people choose to join us, I feel a responsibility to build something truly meaningful. To give my everything and create something global.”
The future
For now, Legora remains laser-focused on legal work. But Max sees long-term expansion into areas such as tax, compliance, and risk.
He often references companies like Google, businesses that built a strong core product and later expanded into entirely new domains.
When asked about tips for coming graduates, the recommendation is clear:
“If I were early in my career today, or soon to graduate from SSE, I would absolutely join an AI-native company. That’s where the whole future is being shaped.”