I was studying law at Cambridge and became keenly aware that there was a large gap between the rights and access to justice that consumers have on paper, and what they actually have in practice. I realised that today’s technology could help to bridge that gap, and at that moment, the idea for CourtCorrect was born.
Tell me about the business - what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on?
CourtCorrect is an online legal system for consumers. They can bring their disputes to our system, connect with the right company, analyse the issue with AI and then have them properly resolved at speed, rather than trying to either slog through over-taxed support systems, or the courts. When you have a claim, you should be able to log into our system and present the evidence to the AI, which then works on your case and passes it over to the defendant. The defendant manages their response and it’s done.
The system is a support mechanism for complaints and disputes handling, and provides concise and relevant information in seconds, rather than forcing legal assistants to comb through reams of documentation and past precedent. It uses a number of LLMs to review evidence, complete regulatory checks, find similar cases and suggest solutions, making the process faster, easier and more comprehensible.
It provides out-of-the-box coverage for UK FCA, UK OIA, UK OfGem regulation and English law in particular, and is customisable, allowing users to fine-tune models on specific user data and rules. Our data is largely hosted with OVHcloud, a secure and sovereign European cloud provider.
How has the business evolved since its launch?
We formally established the company in 2019, and now have a team of thirty and customers across five countries. In the first two years we were bootstrapped and were really working out how to build our system – and where to aim it. The legal system has a large number of stakeholders, from lawyers, consumers, companies themselves, the state, so we spent a lot of time thinking about who to work with and how to launch.
In 2021 we raised seed funding with 20VC, led by Harry Stebbings, Visionaries, Ascension and Concept Ventures, which really helped us to grow faster. We’ve focused heavily on financial services since then, but are also aiming to grow further into housing, energy and telecommunications; essentially anywhere that we can support consumer problem resolution.
Tell us about the working culture at CourtCorrect
We try to keep the startup craziness to a minimum! We’re risk takers and have a young culture, but we want to make sure the ship is sailing smoothly. We’re a hybrid organisation – we do have offices in Fitzrovia, and people come in quite regularly, but some are fully remote. Our culture is really transparent and people know each other, but at the same time, it’s a dynamic workplace and everyone is very focused.
Personally, I feel very strongly that startups are important for the UK, and it’s a big responsibility to make sure the business develops properly. So many bright university graduates get funneled into slightly stagnant sectors, and the startup industry can offer a great career for bright people that isn’t just the traditional corporate path.
How are you funded?
We’ve had one round of seed funding so far and are about to start looking at Series A to push things further and faster.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?
Scope. Our vision was – and still is – to provide a new legal system for the entire world, but as a startup with limited time and resources, we needed to be very specific about how we tackled the challenge! We took a lot of time to break the problem down and work out how to build it step by step, within the constraints of building a company and working with people without infinite time and money – not to mention staying true to our vision in the first place. I think we’ve done very well at keeping the balance, but it’s always going to be a challenge.
How does CourtCorrect answer an unmet need?
Consumers often struggle to access their rights and navigate the various claims and complaints procedures, and the court system isn’t very well-equipped to handle these kinds of issues, so we aim to provide fast, affordable support on both sides. Whether it’s a student housing issue, challenges with tax, payment issues with transport, or delivery drivers receiving fines – or on the other side, helping companies provide legal and support services which are accessible and comprehensible to their customers – there are a lot of very pertinent challenges that we help to address.
What’s in store for the future?
We have two major areas where we want to grow. Firstly, there’s considerable potential to grow further into the financial services market, broadening and deepening the impact that we’ve had. Secondly, we want to expand into other sectors, primarily energy, telecommunications and housing. There’s also scope to work with a broader range of stakeholders, from regulators and the courts, to consumers themselves, and we’re working hard to understand what role CourtCorrect can play for them and how can we make their lives easier.
What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?
Firstly, it’s important to be really confident about what you want to do. You’ve got to believe in what you want to build and have the confidence to put it into the world. Secondly, be as collaborative as you can and learn from other people, especially their successes and mistakes.
Do remember that even though it’s hard running a startup, it’s a critical function for the economy. It’s not an easy ride, but we need new companies in the country to keep the economy vibrant.
And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?
I’m generally an early bird; I’ll get up early, enjoy the calm and get a head start on the day, and I do aikido, martial arts and swimming to stay fit. In all honesty, I try to live as normal a life as possible to balance out the ‘startup intensity’.
Ludwig Bull is the founder of CourtCorrect.
