For individuals and small businesses, attending to legal documentation issues can be a distraction. This is even more so for small and micro-businesses, such that most of them would rather leave the legal hassles until much later – only to abandon them outrightly but run back to it when they face legal challenges.
All these can be avoided with LaniDigital, a tech company that focuses on providing simple and ready-to-use, customizable legal documents for people and businesses. Numerous legal documents, agreements, and filing services can be accessed on LaniDigital for very affordable fees.
Speaking on the Nairametrics Business Half Hour series, the Head of Product at LaniDigital, Adeoluwa Oni, noted that this tech company was created to bring ease and speed to legal documentation challenges previously experienced by individuals and small businesses.
“What we observed is that in starting and running a small business, most entrepreneurs get caught up with building a viable product, conducting market research, gathering data and chasing funding, that they forget to pay attention to protecting themselves and their businesses from legal risks and legal issues. For instance, not having a Founders Agreement or a Partnership Agreement can pose a big challenge for a business in the future.
“There are also issues of business registration, filing annual returns, drafting a supplier agreement, Intellectual Property (IP) protection among artists, and so many other things that should be done early and regularly when the business is growing. If left till much later, opportunities might be lost and problems encountered,” Adeoluwa explained.
To serve this need, LaniDigital serves as a one-stop shop for comprehensive templates for individuals and small businesses. For individuals, there are templates like Non-Disclosure Agreement, Supply of Services Agreement, Tenancy Agreement, Last Will And Testament and several others.
Businesses on the other hand have access to templates such as Founders Agreement, Employment Contract, Trademark Use Agreements, Certificates Of Good Standing, Advance Payment Guarantees, Novation Agreements, Term Sheets, Digital Music Distribution and so many others that are tailored to business needs at different stages of their operations.
Presently, LaniDigital has over 140 different legal documentation templates available on demand. Imagine how much trouble a team of founders can save themselves by getting a Founders Agreement or Partnership Agreement that protects the business interest in case of any eventualities. What about a Non-Disclosure Agreement to protect your unique solution when you have to pitch to potential partners and investors? The available business templates also include statutory forms for Companies Limited by Guarantee, Small companies and Business name registration.
Early challenges
Starting the business in 2020, the founders ran into some early challenges. Adeoluwa recounts that one major challenge at the beginning was the legal literacy gap which had to be filled to get the Nigerian market to acknowledge the need for these services.
“What we experienced in the Nigerian market is that a significant number of individuals and small business owners thought they had no need for legal documentation unless they ran into legal problems. We are bridging that literacy gap, by making them understand that if their legal documentation is done right, they will rarely have to bother about legal problems in the future.
“We have had a scenario where a co-founder wanted to exit barely a couple of months after the business started off. Thankfully, the Founders Agreement clearly spelt the terms of exit and this prevented any kind of quarrels or strain on their friendship,” Adeoluwa stated.
Accessing the service is as simple as visiting the website, www.LaniDigital.com, selecting a template and filling a quick questionnaire and making payment within minutes. There is also a subscription plan for clients who have more frequent legal needs and would like a bouquet of templates and services at a lower price. LaniDigital also offers offline services like filing of Patents and Annual returns.
Though a tech company, LaniDigital has established partnerships with a leading law firm with the best lawyers in the country who helped develop these templates. The core team of developers and customer support focus on ensuring there is a continuously growing library of legal documents and their customer’s needs are well taken care of.
If the legal documentation is done right, more business owners can focus on their business growth, ensuring their business operations is optimal and stay protected against any liabilities.
