In 2018, co-founders Olly Thornton-Berry and Jack Bidgood of Thirdfort Limited joined MDR LAB. Inspired by a mutual friends experience of being defrauded when buying a flat, they set out on a mission to solve this problem by building a secure payment platform combining digital on-board verification.
During their time in the LAB, Olly and Jack worked with the Mishcon de Reya LLP Real Estate Department and members of the firms Risk and Compliance teams to understand the problem from lawyers and Law firms’ perspective and to immerse themselves in the frustrations of the existing conveyancing process. It was this insight that helped them figure out what to build first.
Since leaving the LAB, the start-up has seen great success – which has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as the need for digital verification and onboarding has increased. Thirdfort has raised a fantastic £3.6M in funding to date and are now onboarding over 30,000 clients each month across property and legal markets, a ten-fold increase on pre-pandemic numbers with more demand starting to rise in other areas.
While they continue to grow their customer base, the team at Thirdfort has also grown rapidly between January 2020 and now, going from a team of 15 to 67 and expanding geographically with offices in London, a client hub in Manchester and a new development office in Singapore.
“The LAB was an invaluable launchpad for Thirdfort. Being part of Mishcon de Reya for 10 weeks gave us a unique and unprecedented insight into the nuts and bolts of how a law firm operates. Coupled with hands on mentoring from Mishcon’s experts, the LAB had a profound effect on our product development and ensured we were building a solution that met the needs of a law firm and its clients. Beyond the business, they’re also a great bunch of friendly and helpful people who welcomed us into their firm for 10 weeks and made us feel part of the Mishcon family. I’d strongly encourage any company considering the LAB to apply. It was a unique opportunity that helped shaped Thirdfort at a crucial stage and an experience we will always remember.” (Olly Thornton-Berry, MD and Co-founder)
This video was made in 2018 and it is amazing to see how far Thirdfort Limited have come in their journey, well done and congratulations to all.
Does the above experience sound exciting to you? There are now only 2 weeks left to apply for the MDR LAB Autumn Improve programme, details of how to apply here.
To learn more about MDR LAB and the programme visit our website.
