Balancing exams and clients, these college students launched a legal tech startup with business first, school second

A hackathon sparked the idea

Lim, 23, and Teng, 24, met in 2022 and bonded over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and video games. Lim studies computer science at the National University of Singapore, while Teng is a law student at Singapore Management University.

They placed second in a collegiate legal tech hackathon in 2024, prompting them to explore a business serving law firms. Teng said investment in companies such as Harvey and Legora convinced him there was a market for the work.

They launched Jam & Raph in November, during finals season for both founders. The company received SG$2,500, about $1,950, from SMU’s entrepreneurship incubation program and recruited 10 college students.

Charging for legal tech services

Jam & Raph offers workshops lasting two to three hours, priced at SG$2,000 to SG$3,000. It also charges SG$120 an hour for consultations. The founders’ studies have been affected differently. Lim said his GPA suffered, while Teng reported better grades in classes combining law and technology, but a decline in core law courses.

Client demands meet exams

Client issues have arrived at difficult moments, including during exam preparation. Lim said clients have reported product outages by email while the founders were with friends, requiring them to respond immediately.

Lim said he spent time coding while peers pursued academic work and social activities. The two no longer meet for martial arts or video games; their time together now centers on the company.

A chance to learn by doing

Teng views the company as a way to try entrepreneurship before entering the workforce. He said student founders can learn in a relatively safe setting and that others tend to be more welcoming toward them.

The work also lets him see how ideas from his studies apply in practice. Lim described the project as something they built out of enthusiasm and a wish to contribute.