On Your Terms

In Founder Focus we introduce entrepreneurs and change-makers working on innovative startups, social enterprises and SME’s around Aotearoa New Zealand.

At a glance

Founders: Claire Bodle, Natalie Fennell and Diana Collie

Business: On Your Terms

Founded: 2022

HQ: Auckland

Can you tell us a bit about your business?

On Your Terms is an online legal services platform on a mission to improve access to legal services for startups and SMEs in New Zealand. The platform addresses a critical need for simplified, cost-effective but high-quality legal solutions, accessible anytime, from any device. Our goal is to make it easier, faster and more affordable for businesses to protect their ideas, get paid on time, build positive relationships and comply with NZ law.

Using Q&A chat-bot and document automation technology, we ask customers the same questions a lawyer would ask, then provide customised legal document(s), all in 5 – 25 minutes (depending on the product). The chat-bot questions are easy-to-understand and contain helpful guidance for users to select their answers. Our documents contain simple language (we’ve stripped out legalese) and balanced terms, so businesses don’t waste time and money on long negotiations. All documents have been drafted by highly experienced lawyers (minimum 15 years’ experience), then peer reviewed (twice). The available documents include website T&Cs, privacy policies, service or product sales agreements, confidentiality agreements, leasing agreements, employment agreements, shareholders agreements, constitutions, business sale and purchase agreements and more. They’re all priced from $89 – $599. We also have a knowledge hub with free legal information and we’ve partnered with like-minded law firms who we connect our customers to if they require legal advice.

What’s the backstory for your business idea?

We are all commercial lawyers who have experienced the frustration of not being able to provide cost-effective services to our smaller business clients. We undertook customer research with kiwi business and were repeatedly told legal services in NZ were too expensive, stressful, slow and not always helpful. We considered how technology was improving access to services in other industries and looked at overseas examples of how it was working in the legal industry. We drafted all our documents with plain language that everyone can understand. We then spent many (many!) hours coming up with questions that are easy to understand and still obtain the required information. We launched in August 2023, and we are adding to our document suite all the time. Our goal is to help all businesses gain confidence and peace of mind from having the right information and legal documents in place.

What programmes, learning or mentoring, or resources have been of assistance so far?

We have researched and listened to advice from overseas providers of similar services (Lawpath in Australia, Goodlawyer in Canada).
We have joined a number of NZ Facebook groups supporting new businesses and female entrepreneurs (such as small business connect NZ and She Owns It).
We have looked to examples of recent successful female entrepreneurs in New Zealand, such as Brianne West of Ethique and Sim and Sonia from Girls that invest and have taken advice from their podcasts and websites.