Jeff Schox, CEO of Schox Patent Group, on how coaching helped him disrupt his own law firm
Schox Patent Group has built patent portfolios for over 500 startups, including Twilio, Cruise, Duo, Coinbase, and Joby at the very earliest stage. When Jeff saw AI coming for the legal industry, he knew he had to disrupt his own firm. He explains how his coach helped him reimagine the business to thrive in the AI era.
I knew that I needed more firepower. I needed to fully disrupt my own law firm to be able to thrive in the AI era.
Jeff wrote about his experience working with a Titan Coach on LinkedIn
See it on LinkedIn →The founder and the company
Who is Jeff Schox?
Jeff Schox is the founder of Schox Patent Group, a San Francisco patent firm for venture-backed startups, and a partner at Trucks Venture Capital. He teaches patent law and strategy at Stanford. He trained as an engineer at the University of Michigan and worked on General Motors' first electric vehicle before becoming a patent attorney.
Who founded Schox Patent Group?
Jeff Schox founded Schox Patent Group in 2004 in San Francisco, after working as a patent attorney at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione and Harness, Dickey & Pierce. He still leads the firm.
What is Schox Patent Group?
Schox Patent Group is a patent law firm that works as a fractional in-house patent team for venture-backed startups. It builds patent strategy and writes applications for a flat project fee instead of hourly billing. The firm has helped more than 500 startups, including Twilio, Coinbase, Joby and Cerebras.
What has Jeff Schox invested in?
Jeff Schox was an early angel investor in Twilio and Cruise. He co-founded Trucks Venture Capital with Reilly Brennan and Kate Schox, where he has led investments in Joby, Skyryse and Universal Hydrogen.
Does Jeff Schox work with an executive coach?
Yes. Jeff Schox works with an executive coach from Titan, which matches founders with coaches who have built or coached companies at scale. In his Titan interview he describes using coaching to disrupt his own law firm for the AI era.
From the conversation
Why did you start looking for a coach?
I first started thinking about getting a coach as I saw this AI legal apocalypse on the horizon, and I knew that I needed more firepower. I needed to fully disrupt my own law firm to be able to thrive in the AI era.
What did the work focus on?
We had to go from, this is how you write great patent applications, to, this is how you make great decisions. This was a huge part of my work with my coach.
How did you choose your coach?
I met with three different potential coaches, and one of them I really clicked with quite a bit.
What does a coach give you that your network doesn't?
I'm surrounded by a lot of great entrepreneurs, and they all have great advice. But there's something really special about having a coach who's going to push back and really help you uncover the truth of a situation.
What did your coach help you understand?
In patent strategy and early-stage investing, I'm being asked to make decisions before something is technically feasible, before something is commercially proven. The core underlying skill is the same, trying to understand value before the market truly understands it. This is what my Titan coach helped me understand.
What would you tell the founders you work with?
Each of those founders is going through a transformation almost annually. To hyperscale a startup is a series of massive transformations, and I would highly encourage them to get a coach as soon as they can.
Full transcript
Jeff Schox, Founder and CEO of Schox Patent Group, in conversation with Titan. Lightly edited for clarity.
What Schox Patent Group does
I'm Jeffrey Schox. I'm the founder and CEO of Schox Patent Group. We develop patent strategies and build patent portfolios for frontier tech startups.
Why AI is a clarifying moment
The legal apocalypse is coming. AI is coming very hard for the legal field, and for many patent attorneys, this is a pretty scary moment. For us, it's clarifying.
We've had an unbelievable string of unicorns come to us at the very, very early stage, whether this is Twilio or Cruise or Duo or Coinbase or Joby. All of these companies have come to us very early on to be able to say, this is our technology, can you help us protect it?
Twilio actually launched from my office. I was the one who ordered them pizza for the evening after their launch.
Why he sought a coach
I first started thinking about getting a coach as I saw this AI legal apocalypse on the horizon, and I knew that I needed more firepower. I needed to fully disrupt my own law firm to be able to thrive in the AI era. We had to go from, this is how you write great patent applications, to, this is how you make great decisions. This was a huge part of my work with my coach.
Choosing a Titan coach
I love my Titan coach. I met with three different potential coaches, and one of them I really clicked with quite a bit. I'm surrounded by a lot of great entrepreneurs, and they all have great advice. But there's something really special about having a coach who's going to push back and really help you uncover the truth of a situation.
Patent attorney or venture capitalist?
People often ask, am I a patent attorney or a venture capitalist? My law firm has filed thousands of patent applications, and my venture funds have made hundreds of early-stage investments. In patent strategy and early-stage investing, I'm being asked to make decisions before something is technically feasible, before something is commercially proven. The core underlying skill is the same, trying to understand value before the market truly understands it. These two skills are the same underneath, and this is what my Titan coach helped me understand.
Creating a new category
Schox Patent Group is creating a new category. We're developing the patent strategy, building the patent portfolios, and investing in these companies to empower them to move forward. Schox Patent Group has worked with over 500 startups over the years, and they've raised collectively over $10 billion.
Why every founder should have a coach
When I look at our clients, our startups, and my investments, each of those founders is going through a transformation almost annually. To hyperscale a startup is a series of massive transformations, and I would highly encourage them to get a coach as soon as they can. Everyone should have a Titan coach.
Jeff Schox and Schox Patent Group: quick facts
| Role | Founder, Schox Patent Group; partner, Trucks Venture Capital; lecturer, Stanford University |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Jeffrey Schox |
| Firm founded | 2004, San Francisco |
| Education | BS in mechanical engineering (1994) and MS in electrical engineering and computer science, University of Michigan; JD, George Mason University (1998) |
| Previously | Patent attorney, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione and Harness, Dickey & Pierce; engineer on the General Motors EV1 |
| Teaches | Patent Law and Strategy for Innovators and Entrepreneurs, Stanford |
| Angel investments | Twilio, Cruise |
| Firm clients | Twilio, Coinbase, Joby, Cerebras, Cruise, Duo |
| Links | LinkedIn · schox.com · Stanford profile · Trucks VC |