At first glance, it does seem unfair.

However, I'm assuming that this law was put into place because

(a) Most non-lawyers can't do a good legal job and don't know the law (or loopholes). So they are likely to do themselves harm.

(b) I think that verdicts can be reversed if it is proven that counsel was unqualified. This means that the case will need to be retried with a more qualified lawyer.

That said, I think that judges can make exceptions in some cases and let a non-lawyer represent themselves.I'm assuming that this may be true for a founder representing his/her company as well.