PleaseSign
Interviewee: Philip Waldren, Owner
Industry: Electronic data management
Company size: National reach
Solution focus: Australian solution offering easy, convenient electronic document signing.
Product: PleaseSign.com.au online service
PleaseSign is an Australian entrepreneurial success story. When owner Philip Waldren needed a digital signing solution for a different business a few years ago, he quickly discovered no cost-effective Australian alternative to the global industry leader.
Introducing an Australian-made solution
Enlisting Webbernet’s expertise, they mapped out an Australian-owned and operated service. Combining Philip’s vision with the skills of Jake Webber and the team, they planned and built the management software and online platform to deliver a seamless and painless electronic answer to obtaining time-consuming, labour-intensive wet signatures - a necessary part of any business needing customer signatures or verification. Customers can reduce turnaround times by days, with no physical records to manage storage, saving both time and money.
And then a pandemic
The PleaseSign platform was building an enthusiastic customer base very steadily. But practically overnight, businesses of all shapes and sizes had to deal with staff and customer isolation plus the inability to travel, not to mention slow-downs in postal or courier services for document hard copies. PleaseSign was in the right place at the right time.
“We’re seeing 100% growth year on year for the last three years”
Keeping up with customer demand
With customers looking for a ready-to-go solution, the pandemic dragged the business forward faster than anticipated. Development of the platform needed to keep pace with size as well as originality. Philip explains it this way:
“It’s like building a house. Your new home is shiny with everything new. But over time, it starts to fade and needs renovations or extensions. IT software’s the same – the initial application and features have to grow and change as consumers require more features and modernisation.”
Working with software developers who truly listen– a key component of success
Philip confesses to being in the minority of IT-literate people, so he has worked with several third-party developers on his PleaseSign product and other businesses. He’ll admit his frustration in communicating with some IT providers because, as he says,
“Finding someone who understands what you’ve got and can transform it from an analogue to a digital product is crucial.”
Philip has found that many IT companies tried to impose their own products and methods over and above his vision because they believed they could “do it better”. His experience with Webbernet has been the opposite – their deep comprehension of the PleaseSign concept, added to their flexibility to come up with a workable solution – and the skills to deploy it, has been a breath of fresh air.
Maintaining business growth and stability
PleaseSign’s mission is to be the Australian owned and made solution for primarily Australian businesses at a price that Australians can afford. The team’s not out to conquer the global market.
But they are highly focused on maintaining and building trust in a resilient, robust product. One that withstands cybersecurity challenges and easily meets constantly changing regulatory requirements with fiscal responsibility standards. And satisfies the evolving needs of Australian businesses, small and large.
Webbernet is proving to be an invaluable strategic partner, working in the background to maintain and build the platform’s ability to meet APRA regulations and SOC-2 certification standards. It’s a non-negotiable feature that PleaseSign can assure data integrity and security, from a one-person startup to enterprise-level businesses.
Matching IT expertise to each project
As a true entrepreneur, Philip constantly throws out ideas. It’s up to the Webbernet team to interpret them correctly and accurately, then make it happen in reality!
Because Webbernet’s boutique style creates bespoke teams for front to end solutions to each project and client as needed, the results are always cost-effective, industry-compliant and efficient.
Through a dedicated Webbernet contact who is in communication daily, Philip is confident that the PleaseSign business is hitting the mark – and future growth is always possible.
Webbernet can help. We operate a lean team, scaling our software solutions to your requirements and focusing specialist developers on getting the job done right, first time. Set up your no-obligation discovery call, and let’s see what’s possible.