MSMEs and startups are leveraging the internet to gain more visibility and grow the business. While nearly every other business requirements are ticked by MSMEs and startups, the legal element is left tentatively or totally ignored. There are so many reasons for this action but one stands out which is capital. These startups do not have the luxury of capital established companies have access to. Thus they have to prioritise and anything legal is likely to be at the bottom of their list which is not supposed to be. The consequences of this action could be dire in the long run especially when the startup starts encountering legal troubles.
However, a startup dubbed mylaw.ng, is addressing this shortcoming by providing access to legal services to individuals and MSMEs at the most affordable rate. Innovation-village caught up with Israel Aye, the co-founder of mylaw.ng and he exclusively gave insights into how his digital platform makes legal services affordable to startups/MSMEs, how he bootstrap the startup and much more. Excerps.
Can you share your startup concept with us?
I.A.- My name is Israel Aye, Co-founder of MYLAW.NG, a digital platform that facilitates the delivery of legal services to individuals and MSMEs.
What prompted you to establish mylaw.ng?
I.A.– We believe that MSMEs, if well structured are the wealth making machines for any economy. Also, a society which desires to truly grow and be prosperous must in actual fact be in a just society. Our suite of solutions creates access to justice for individuals that hitherto don’t have access on the one hand and access to affordable legal services to businesses on the other.
Tell us about the beginning of your business. How will you describe the reception? How were you able to overcome the problem of capital?
I.A. – Well, it is a journey and we are still on that journey. When we envisioned the concept of Mylaw we saw the big picture and the mass of people we could reach. The resources we required to reach out to this mass was huge. But eventually, we were able to scale the dream to the point where we could run a pilot scheme. The seed fund for the pilot was contributed by the promoters. This got us started, which took us straight to the bootstrapping phase. Also, we have leveraged relationships to negotiate flexible payment plans for some critical inputs and services we require to take-off and get ourselves out there. We are immensely grateful to all of the partners at this phase who have made it possible to be here.
It has been established that a lot of Nigerians do not know their rights. What is the role of mylaw.ng in changing this unpalatable trend?
I.A.– We found out early that we needed to engage in massive and aggressive education of the populace on not only their legal rights but indeed how the law can help them. We are constantly, putting out subjects like, the law as a tool for growing your business; the law as a means of protecting your business relationships; the law as a means of protecting your business identity and intellectual property; the law as a tool to enable civil society and a whole lot of things people are not aware of. We are basically committed to massive education.
How do you intend to scale your business and eventually get returns on investment?
I.A. – Well, the elephant in the room is whether retail legal services is a business that can scale? We are going to aggregators of our potential users and offering their members access to our platform and negotiated rates. We believe that this strategy will bring the first wave of users. However, when those users come, we intend to convert them to our protagonists and collaborators who will, in turn, spread the word. In essence, our scaling strategy is to provide excellent services.
Startups and businesses in Nigeria encounter a lot of legal hooplas. How is your law business helping in this area?
I.A.- That is a major reason why we exist, to create access to affordable legal services for startups and MSMEs. The traditional mode of procuring legal services typically entails visiting a physical space as well as paying a lump sum, which is intimidating to the small guys. At Mylaw, we eradicate that physical barrier by providing a digital platform where you can obtain legal services without visiting an office from the comfort of any device. Also, our billing system comprises of commoditization and modularization, which makes our services affordable to ordinary man or woman.
What are the challenges of running your startup? Where do you see mylaw.ng in the next five years?
I.A.- Taking off requires enormous energy. At this point you are trying to build your structure, processes, you are dealing with regulations, funding, markets, identifying and managing talents. You have to be creative, learn how to do more with less, find a way to buy gold without money. Like our name, we hope to be Nigeria’s lawyers in five years from now.
What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs?
I.A. – I would say, don’t underestimate the learning process. I believe that the gap in entrepreneurial pursuit is not money but knowledge. So, apprentice, take a job or join a more experienced team and learn. Take every opportunity to learn. Attend entrepreneurial schools and seminars, whatever you do, learn and build capacity in the first instance. After that, I would say people should explore partnerships. There is a whole lot you can achieve if you have the right partners. Where one person is tired, the other party can draw him or her up. At Mylaw for example, I run point on day to day running of the business but my co-founders bring other critical inputs like finance, their relationships and contacts, and so on to make this happen. Of course, to partner, you have to be temperate, humble, transparent and trustworthy.
For more information about mylaw.ng, you can follow the legal platform on social media @mylawngcom for IG and LinkedIn, @mylawng_ng for twitter.
