Redefining client communication. Efficient, secure and innovative professional to client communication.
Business overview
Location | London, United Kingdom |
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Social media | |
Website | thelinkapp.co.uk/ |
Sectors | SaaS/PaaS Digital Mixed B2B/B2C |
Company number | 09173056 |
Incorporation date | 13 Aug 2014 |
Idea
Introduction
Have you ever waited for a contract to come through the post, or had to take time off to go to the solicitor to sign a contract? With The Link App, this becomes a thing of the past.
The Link App redefines the way clients interact with solicitors and enables solicitors to be more proactive in their communications.
Key benefits of Link App:
• Cloud-Based
• Encrypted
• Multi-device
• Supports document sharing
• E-signatures
• Paperless
Too many rely on outdated and insecure methods to update their clients. Letters and emails are a thing of the past. Consumers want to communicate quickly and securely. Instant messaging and high-profile cyber-attacks have changed the way we all communicate.
The Link App is a multi-device, cloud-based, encrypted communication platform that delivers updates to clients instantly on their smartphone or web portal.
Firms can update their clients instantly, share documents, offer e-signature requests or forms that can be completed paperless and on the go, reducing the need for constant phone calls, emails, and letters.
We're the answer to what’s next after email.
Intended impact
Our founder is a qualified solicitor. She saw that communication was a major source of complaints across the legal profession and client’s expectations were rising. The solution is The Link App, the idea was formed organically when she was sat behind her desk experiencing the pain points our technology addresses. We believe this product revolutionises the way businesses interact with their clients.
Initially our product has been sold to the legal sector, but the technology is completely agnostic and can already work across any sector. Specific future target markets are healthcare, property, and financial service.
Our secure solution for professionals and clients across multiple platforms is already attracting positive case studies and partnerships with many firms in the UK legal market.
Substantial accomplishments to date
- Revenue producing
- To date, we have had a total of 21 paying law firms
- Pre-seed investment from Advisory Board
- Version 2 of the product released
- SEIS investment round secured from an institutional fund
- 1,100 clients of firms using the app
- Featured in Cyber Security Toolkit (published by The Law Society)
- 38 press articles written about us
- Currently have 2 live partnerships, with commitments from 2 more businesses
- Live in South Africa, sold remotely
- 88% Firm clients install the app when they are registered (March to April 2017)
- 94% of notifications read by clients during March-April 2017
- Finalist in KPMG Best British Mobile Startup 2018
- Accepted on a Silicon Valley Accelerator for Spring 2018
Monetisation strategy
We are already revenue producing. Our business model is simple: we are a Software as a Service company (SaaS) charging £25 per professional user per month. Additional revenue can be made from integrations and bespoke development charged at £600 per day. We also charge £2 for each document sent that requires an e-signature or form to be completed.
We have plans to offer a consultancy arm for complementary services when a firm rolls out The Link App; marketing, PR, business analyst, etc. This is applicable to firms who do not have the in-house resources to make the most of the competitive advantage using The Link App brings.
Although our product has initially been sold to the legal sector, the technology is completely agnostic and has the potential to work across any sector. Future target markets are healthcare, property, and financial services.
Our total addressable market is £2.7 billion per annum in the 4 chosen UK verticals only. And of course, we have the potential to be a truly global business.
Use of proceeds
We are raising £300k, the vast majority of the investment is for growth. To date we don’t have a full-time sales or marketing team, our growth has been very organic so it's exciting to replicate our successes at scale.
Tech 18.3%.
Sales and Marketing 53.7%.
Ops 28%.
We plan to employ a tech team made up of 3 full time and 2 part time members which will see us continually develop and improve our product.
Our current operations team includes our CEO full time and CFO part-time.
We also plan to employ a sales and marketing team including a part-time Head of Sales and Head of Marketing, 3 full-time BDMs, and 2 sales and marketing apprentices.
Our Chairman and notable advisory team continue to support us without payment as part of their commitment to our success.
Please note, the company has three outstanding loans: a loan of £5,918 with an interest rate of 6%; a loan of £13,826 with an interest rate if 6.2%; and a director's loan £21,163. None of the funds raised will be used to repay these loans.
Market
Target market
Created for lawyers, by lawyers, The Link App has been specifically designed to help professional firms improve client communication.
Our typical users are law firms specializing in B2C, although we do have some B2B use also. A medium size law firm with a large private client base including volume transactions such as property law is an ideal target firm.
The end user of our product is the individual (or business) that instructs the professional service firm.
We have a clear path to growth in this sector but our opportunities extend far beyond the UK legal professional. We have the opportunity to be the communication platform of choice for; estate agents, IFA's, accountants and medical practitioners worldwide.
Characteristics of target market
There are almost 12,000 law firms in the UK alone, which we estimate to employ nearly 320,000 potential users. This is an estimated total addressable market of £95m per annum.
We believe that this sector is ripe for disruption, having traditionally under-spent in technology, persuasive articles are published weekly by sector media about the movement towards technological innovation.
In recent independent surveys; 80% of UK law firms see their digital strategy as critical to success, and 95% of firms are planning IT projects to improve efficiency in the next 12 months.
Second sector; Property (UK)
583k potential users - Total Addressable Market £174m
Third Sector; Financial Services and Insurance (UK)
1m potential users - Total Addressable Market £323m
Fourth sector; Other professionals (UK)
3m potential users - Total Addressable Market £905m
Fifth sector; Healthcare (UK)
4.3m potential users - Total Addressable Market £1,298m
Marketing strategy
We have added an experienced B2B marketing director to our team. His remit will be to raise awareness of The Link App and to fill the pipeline with qualified opportunities.
Our CEO regularly speaks at conferences and contribute to features in the media. This has proved extremely successful and will continue to be an important role in our brand awareness efforts.
But, at the heart of our strategy will be a digital marketing approach. We are launching a new website which will address the pain points that our target organisations experience, educate on the importance of technology and illustrate why The Link App will offer potential clients a competitive advantage.
We will drive traffic by ensuring the site is fully optimised for search engines, by undertaking targeted ad campaigns and being active on social media.
We will then nurture this traffic through the sales stages to point of conversion, via relevant email marketing, video marketing, in-person breakfast events, webinars etc.
Competition strategy
As we are changing behaviour our biggest competitor is the status quo. Firms use the following:
Post: Slowest form of communication available. High cost: printing, personnel and postage.
Email: Important messages are usually delivered in the same inbox that receives high volumes of spam. Lacks security: mail is not typically encrypted by default.
Instant Messaging Apps (WhatsApp, etc.): Lacks functionality: e-signing, form filling, audit trail. Compliance issues: data could be kept anywhere in the world.
To our knowledge, there is one small player with a similar product to ours. As we aim to expand to different markets in the future, there are a few new entrants that will be competitors. These are cyber security plays and aim a generic messaging product outside of the legal sector. The Link App is in the fortunate position to have a scaleable product, positive traction and brand awareness, ready for immediate growth.
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