63. Apperio

Founder: Nicholas d’Adhemar
Founded: February 2013 (Launched August 2014)
Website: www.apperio.com

If ever there was ever an example of why you shouldn’t just ‘stick to your day job’ then look to Nicholas d’Adhemar and his start-up Apperio for inspiration.

Having worked as a lawyer for six years with CMS Cameron McKenna LLP, d’Adhemar decided he wasn’t just going to sentence himself to a life of working for someone else and so set about carving out a career on his own.

Upon noticing a lack of transparency surrounding legal fees within the industry, the former legal counsel decided to take matters into his own hands and Apperio was born.

An online platform designed for both legal firms and large corporates, Apperio offers users access to transparent, real-time information on legal fees and identifies areas for improved efficiency.

Operating on a SaaS based pricing model for law firms and a tiered pricing model for corporates, the start-up has recorded over £37m in fees on its site since inception. 37 law firms and 15 large corporates have used the service including Dentons, Lewis Silkin, Macfarlanes, Deliveroo, Octopus Investment and Zoopla.

Impessively, d’Adhemar has grown the business organically since launch in 2014 and even ran the business sole-handedly for the first 18 months.

Its second Startups 100 appearance (up nine places on 2016) d’Adhemar was also recipient of our prestigious Young Guns award last September; solely reserved for innovative young founders running fast-growth businesses.

Already operating in Europe, the US and Canada, the London-based start-up is intent on deepening its footprint in North America by adding to its sales and customer services team.

Having raised over £3.5m to date from the likes of Notion Capital, IQ Capital, NextLaw Labs, Burford Capital, Apperio is in good shape to become the “central nervous system that powers the business of law globally”.