Founders need to find investors that are ready to be fully involved in the whole journey and who share the same vision for the startup, LawPath CEO Damien Andreasen says.
LawPath has closed a “bridging” round of $1.3 million to help shore up the platform and provide a runway towards a larger series A round in 2017.
Investors in this round include Brook Adcock from Adcock Group, who’s been with LawPath since early last year after contributing $600,000 in May 2014.
The round was also led by Macdoch Ventures and a syndicate formed by Fort Street Advisors principal Ben Keeble.
Andreasen says he and the LawPath team worked out to bring on board a team of investors that were ready to go on a journey with them.
“We focused on the people who were passionate about the idea, who believed in the journey and wanted to come on board with it,” he says.
“Investors have to understand what you’re doing, and we had to help them understand that there’s a big shift happening in legal and that we can change traditional legal services.”
Eyes on the rest of the world
LawPath offers a cloud-based legal hub for businesses to access legal advice and services.
After some product updates and improvements and securing partnerships, the startup will be setting its sights on the US and Asia, LawPath CEO Damien Andreasen says.
“We have an eye on Asia but we want to make sure the platform is ready for when we move,” Andreasen says.
“That’s what the next 12 months are about – getting the right resources for the right time.
“The focus is to bolster the platform and resources we have, and push the LawPath branding and marketing.”
The latest round brings the total investment in the startup to $2.4 million.
A legal shift
There’s been a general trend towards businesses turning to the internet for professional services and this has contributed to large growth for LawPath, Andreasen says.
It now has 13,000 businesses on board, a 400% year-on-year growth for the user base, while its revenue has grown by 800% in this time.
The shift towards cloud legal services is a no-brainer for all types of businesses, Andreasen says.
“The beauty of what we do is the simplicity and immediacy,” he says.
“In five minutes you can be locked in and editing a legal doc or you can put yourself in front of what you need to educate yourself.
“We want to be a one-stop shop for anything you need online, for everything you need to start and run your business.”
This shift has also seen the online legal services market become more competitive and rivals have emerged, but Andreasen says this can only be a positive for all involved.
“There are a few popping up and we welcome them,” he says.
“Having more players helps to validate the business. It’s fantastic opportunity and it is a huge market.”
From servicing startups to businesses of all sizes
LawPath launched in 2013 and first focused on helping early-stage startups work around new privacy laws, but Andreasen says the move towards servicing businesses of all sizes was always the plan.
“At the early stage we validated the business model with early-stage tech companies, and there was a huge demand for putting the right structures in place for an early-stage business,” Andreasen says.
“That traditionally came with large expenses – we had a more cost-effective way and we validated it.
“Through organic growth we went to traditional industries, from tradies to hairdressers. Our big aim is to continue that trend and become a household name for online legal services.
“We want to be synonymous with the ability to go online and find whatever you need.”
Legal is a crucial aspect for any business, Andreasen says, and an online platform makes this process easier and cheaper for the companies.
“Early stage tech companies, large enterprise, tradies – everyone needs legal to run and manage a business,” he says.
“Every single business needs legal. It’s not a want; it’s a have to have.”
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Denham Sadler is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne.
