Eureka moment
I led user research on Universal Credit. I was in charge of
the part that made sure people got paid, and understood what they were being
paid. Again and again I saw people coming in with binders full of documents,
but not the “right” documents. There would be people making a genuine claim who
were being turned away, and then people with fake versions of the “right”
documents who would be immediately accepted.
Finance
Although Vouchsafe is VC-funded now with healthy revenue,
we never did the traditional “friends and family” or angel round that’s
supposed to be the starting point. My co-founder and I never had those
connections to people with wealth, so the only option was to bootstrap from
revenue.
Regrets
Our first customer was the government of Scotland. It was a
massive win and solved all of our money worries in one go, but despite that I
wouldn’t recommend the government as a customer. Their needs are just so
specific that it will never be a reproducible deal, and building a business
from zero means reproducible deals.
What would you have changed?
Every single thing that’s happened, every decision I’ve
made, has led Vouchsafe here, so I’d love to say ‘nothing at all’, but
ultimately that isn’t truly how I feel. I would have been more forthright with
my team and tried far too hard to make sure everyone had a good time at work. I
would have been quicker to have difficult conversations when things weren’t
working out and more protective of the delicate culture of an early-stage
company. I would have trusted my instincts more; in customer calls, in 1-1s with
team members and with Vouchsafe’s direction.
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