Law
Here’s the 14-page pitch deck that legal-tech startup Proof Technology used to raise a $7 million Series A
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- Proof Technology announced in March that it raised $7 million for its Series A.
- The legal-tech startup streamlines the initial stages of launching a lawsuit.
- CEO and founder Eric Voogt walked Insider through the deck it used to impress investors.
Proof Technology’s Series A
Proof Technology
Proof Technology, a service of process and e-discovery platform, announced in March that it had raised $7 million in Series A funding.
In 2017, longtime trial lawyer Eric Voogt founded Proof because he grew frustrated with an inability to provide legal services to the 80% of Americans who can’t afford them.
The legal-tech startup streamlines the first stages of the litigation process, helping law firms deliver complaints and subpoenas to parties of a lawsuit more quickly and cheaply.
Growth-equity firm Blue Heron Capital and the LegalTech Fund led the funding round. Clio Ventures and existing investors including Crossbeam Venture Partners and Forward VC also participated in the round.
The existing process
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In the US, it is constitutionally required to hand-deliver notices of lawsuits to involved parties.
Problems with the current process
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The current process can be lengthy and inefficient, often involving multiple phone calls and emails and waiting on hold. It can take 60 to 90 days on average to successfully deliver the documents, according to Voogt.
Using Proof’s geolocation technology and streamlined process, law firms can cut that time down to an average of just one and a half days, Voogt said.
Market size
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“Investors get pretty excited” about the $4 billion estimated market, Voogt said.
Roadblocks with using technology
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Some might ask why lawyers can’t serve documents over email, but Voogt explained that they can’t guarantee that emails are opened. This roadblock means that court precedent is unlikely to change, and hand-delivery will likely always be required in the US.
Proof’s marketplace
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Proof connects law firms, pro se parties, and government agencies with process servers. These process servers aren’t employed by Proof, but are notified of jobs through its app, including information on how quickly and how the documents must be delivered.
A fragmented competitive landscape
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Process servers are paid twice as much as the industry average, according to Voogt.
How Proof works
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Documents are uploaded onto Proof’s web app and run through its machine-learning technology, which pulls out defendants’ and witnesses’ names, Voogt said. Lawyers then look up the parties’ addresses, plug those into the app, and Proof will find the nearest process server.
All the process server needs to do is show up at the nearest FedEx, which Proof has a partnership with, and pick up the documents. The easy and no-cost process is a big selling point for process servers, Voogt said.
Proof’s services
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A standard seven-day serve through Proof costs law firms $85, which is within the market rate. A three-day serve costs $125, and same-day serves cost $225. Voogt said these are similar costs as the traditional process, but the process server gets a much higher share of the fee.
It’s free to join the platform, and there are no subscription or recurring fees. Proof splits payments with the process server about fifty-fifty, Voogt said.
Value proposition
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“All financial incentives are aligned between us, the clients, and the process servers,” Voogt said. Clients can save time by delivering the documents more quickly, and process servers are paid faster and don’t have to draft or print documents.
The team
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Proof has 50 employees across the country, and works with 1,500 process servers active in the market, according to Voogt.
Revenue growth
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Until a few weeks ago, Proof didn’t have a sales team — just one part-time lawyer who made calls to contacts on an actual Rolodex, according to Voogt. Instead, he said Proof has grown quickly because of “superior” product-market fit.
The startup originally had just a handful of law-firm clients. They’ve since onboarded 3,500 law firms and government agencies.
Financial outlook
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Proof plans to use the fresh $7 million in Series A funding to build out its integrations with case-management software like Clio and Litify, as well as add e-filing functions to its product.
The startup will increase its employee headcount by 50% to 75 people, including in engineering, sales and marketing, and operations.
Proof is also eyeing potential acquisitions of other process-serving companies to help scale its reach, Voogt said.
Final slide
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