Law & Policy

Reading Taleb’s “Antifragile” hit differently as a lawyer.

Realizing we somethimes cause corporate iatrogenics — harm from trying to help.

Let me explain 🧵

Head of crypto practice at Buzko Krasnov law firm
 | 
Law School Adjunct Lecturer

Iatrogenics = when the cure is worse than the disease

Classic example: Doctors removed millions of kids’ tonsils in the 1950s. Turns out those tonsils were actually protecting their immune systems.

This pattern is everywhere:
• Fed smoothing out cycles → bigger crashes
• Bailing out banks → zombie companies
• Overprotective parents → fragile kids

Systems need stress to grow stronger.

Here’s the pattern I see sometimes:

Startup launches → Legal finds 50 issues → Panic mode → All resources go to compliance → Startup dies

Meanwhile, their competitor who ignored legal is now a unicorn 🦄

Best legal advice sometimes = controlled risk with eyes open

The companies that win aren’t perfectly compliant from day 1. They find the sweet spot between reckless and paralyzed.

What’s your take on legal risk in early stage?

What works better:

❌ “This violates 17 regulations, you’ll be destroyed”
✅ “Here’s the risk level and 3 options, you decide”

Context matters. Not all risks are equal.

The irony? Some startups could grow first, pay fines later (if caught at all).

But we lawyers love our worst-case scenarios. We see risk everywhere.