Name: Danae Shell
Company: Valla Ltd
Position: CEO and founder
Website: https://valla.uk/
About Danae Shell
Danae Shell set up Valla in 2022 with the goal of making legal services affordable for the millions of people that cannot afford lawyers fees. As a senior female leader in tech, she was amazed that so few people knew where to turn if they had a dispute with their employer. Valla is an AI-enabled legal platform that empowers UK workers to raise a complaint, settle with employers or go to tribunal without huge legal costs. Essentially, it turns its users into lawyers. The success of Valla, which employs 7 people and 15 specialist legal coaches and has grown its sales 10-fold since its creation, has led to Danae receiving a 2025 Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award worth £75,000 to further develop the platform. Her clients, who have won payouts from just a couple of thousand pounds to tens of thousands, have described her platform as “game changing”.
Lewis Lawrence, just one of those to have won their cases using Valla, said, “I used their timeline to help me put my story in perspective and my Valla coach went above and beyond, helping me to prepare legal documents including witness statements. I was so nervous going into the court, but despite having no legal experience, I presented my case with confidence and professionalism – I just know they weren’t expecting it – and it resulted in a significant payout for unfair dismissal.” Danae added: “For women to know that it is not just the more junior roles that you can get to, but you can get to those very senior levels, and then you can lead your own company in exciting new ways and really make a difference, I hope that is really inspiring.” Valla has grown to over 12,000 users and 100,000 social media followers and was selected to work with UK legal regulators in the prestigious LawTech Sandbox in 2022.
The company was named “One to watch” by Sifted Magazine and Danae was named “Disruptive Innovator” by AccelerateHer in 2022, as well as being appointed to the LawScotTech Advisory Board for the Law Society of Scotland. She is also a member of the National User Group for Employment Tribunals in England and Wales. Danae has an ambition to become the Martin Lewis of dispute resolution and employment law. There is evidence of widespread non-compliance with employment laws in the UK today. A recent report by the Resolution Foundation found that every year 12.4 million employees, that is 37% of the workforce, are impacted by violations ranging from discrimination to unpaid holiday entitlement. Danae hopes to close a new funding round in Q1 2025 to make the platform even more accessible to those who need it most.
