36-Year-Old Entrepreneur Built $760 Million Online Business

During the establishment of Notarize, Patrick Kinsel went through ups and downs. At one point, he even had to lay off employees and lend the company his own money.

Source: Forbes

Starting the business

Source: Tech Crunch

Patrick Kinsel founded Notarize after selling his previous company, Spindle, to Twitter in 2013 and discovering that the notary had neglected to sign his paperwork. Despite being stamped, the documents became void without the signature, causing Kinsel a significant headache.
He founded Notarize to solve problems in online notarization in 2015. With Notarize's online service, including proprietary identity verification tools - customers can skip visiting a notary and instead connect with an expert via video chat.
To get started, he had to persuade state and municipal officials that online notarization utilizing webcams could be as secure as in-person notarization. His secret weapon: co-founder Adam Pase, who previously worked as a policy advisor for Representative Dennis Moore (D-KS) and then spent 7 years advocating on behalf of entrepreneurs.
"I've got the scars and receipts," Kinsel says of the duo's efforts to pass laws permitting virtual notaries in 38 states.

The tough times

Source: Forbes

One of the most painful wounds for Kinsel was his brother, John Nelligan, who sued Notarize in December 2016 through an Oklahoma-based organization named Corsa, saying that Notarize had taken advantage of Corsa's reputation in the Oklahoma business community.
The brothers' relationship was devastated by the litigation, which was eventually dismissed.
Then, in 2018, a significant real estate corporation withdrew out of Notarize's Series B funding, leaving the company cash-strapped. Kinsel personally gave the Boston-based firm $1 million and, disillusioned, laid off 30% of the workers that January.
"It was an ongoing struggle to raise money, pass laws, attract clients, encourage the staff despite our continual finance issues, and improve the business," he recalls.

The fruit of success

Source: Protocol

However, things have improved in the previous two years. Mortgage rates fell and house sales increased as the country went into lockdown as Covid-19 spread in spring 2020, bringing a boost to Notarize's mortgage business. Notarize hired 1,000 new notaries that spring.
Revenue is expected to reach $25 million in 2020, a six-fold increase over the previous year. Notarize currently boasts 2,200 corporate clients, including title company First American and real-estate marketplace Zillow, as well as a large number of individuals who pay $25 to have their documents signed and sealed online.
This expansion has enabled Notarize to sextuple its value from $130 million to $760 million in its most recent investment round by Canapi Ventures in March.
It also aided Notarize's selection as one of the Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups, one of the 25 firms we believe are most likely to become unicorns. "I want to develop a transformative technological firm that will last," Kinsel adds.
H/T: Forbes