Many people wait their entire lives for the perfect conditions to start their own company. Sometimes, all it takes is one event to make that dream come true. The Startup Weekend could be that event.
Photo: Matthieu Sarrazin co-founded Legal Finder with Yannick Copin after winning the Startup Weekend / Credits © Kaori Anne Jolliffe / Silicon Luxembourg
The Startup Weekend as a starting point
When Matthieu Sarrazin and Yannick Copin decided to take part in the “Startup Weekend” in December 2018 at the Technoport, they wanted to test a business idea they had been discussing for the past two years. Based on their combined experience in the legal and IT sector, they wished to implement a technical solution for both lawyers and people facing a legal issue to find each other in a transparent and efficient way.
They did not realize at the time that the Startup Weekend would be the starting point of a more serious adventure: their idea and profile seduced the jury and made them win the competition! By immediately integrating after the Founder Institute, their business plan and idea got challenged further by experienced mentors. In exchange, they committed to create their company during the program in which the Institute can have a participation at a later stage.
In May 2019, only five months after the Startup Weekend, Matthieu and Yannick officially co-founded Legal Finder.
A love money round to keep growing
The co-founders get their constant motivation from reaching milestones and try to appreciate them no matter how big or small they are.
In July 2019, the Legal Finder web solution became available online and for free: lawyers only pay when an appointment is confirmed. The same month, the first appointment was made through the platform between a lawyer and their new client. This first success gave them the needed motivation to move things forward.
In September 2019, two trainees joined the team to reinforce the marketing strategy and support the IT development which allowed them to attract more lawyers to their platform.
During the pandemic, they adapted to the user needs by building their own video solution to maintain appointments. They intend now to sell this tool independently. The specificity of this new offer? The video space can be personalized with the colour and logo of the professional and no data is collected, the security and the privacy of the confidential discussions are ensured.
In April 2021, the company managed to raise its first 50k from private investors to pursue its development.
Going international
The LegalTech company plans to extend outside of the Luxemburgish borders: this summer, the platform will become available in France and Belgium.
Addionally, the team is developing a Suite for lawyers to manage all aspects of their business (appointments, payments, video calls) and plan to propose presentations to lawyers such as Legal Design introductions, as well as a larger catalogue of trainings in partnership with Avocat 2.0.
One advise from Matthieu? “Launching a business is like having your first child: you will never be ready, the only way to learn is to go for it!”
