Hackathon team creates simple voice contracting app to prevent ‘deals gone wrong’
2Sign app allows users to record contracts verbally and creates written agreements
Have you ever bought something online from someone who didn’t hold up their end of the bargain? How about rented an apartment that wasn’t quite up to snuff? If one of these “deals gone wrong” sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone — and are in fact in good company. It’s what inspired a group of Ontario students and recent graduates to create 2Sign, an app that drafts simple contracts based on verbal agreements.
Team 2Sign built their app during the first weekend of the Global Legal Hackathon at the Ottawa location, locally hosted by vLex, Invest Ottawa, and Compass.
Not only did this diverse team of law students, designers, computer science students, and entrepreneurs not know each other before showing up to the first round of the event, but half the team didn’t even know what a legal hackathon was.
As 2Sign’s CEO Mark Asfar explains, “They thought it was a ‘legal hackathon’ as in it was not illegal…and were confused when they noticed all the signs for vLex, or Momentum Business Law, or the Law Society. True story!”
They sure learned quickly, though, making it into the top 14 teams across the globe with their legal tech solution to help people draft simple contracts. Team 2Sign will face off against the rest of the finalists at the last round of the hackathon, taking place April 21 in New York at the Global Legal Hackathon Gala. (You can support them in person by joining the Global Legal Hackathon community in New York that evening. Tickets available here.)
We asked the team about their Global Legal Hackathon experience creating the 2Sign app and why it could be a boon to anything involving a verbal agreement, from subletting to bartering to hiring. But before we grill them on their solution, let’s meet the team behind 2Sign.
Mark Asfar is the Chief Executive Officer of 2Sign, responsible for coordinating the team and the overall vision of the company. A recent graduate of Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Asfar is an Articling Student at Momentum Business Law in Ottawa. He has experience in corporate and commercial law, has sat on several not-for-profit boards in the last few years, and has volunteered with legal aid services. He is passionate about bringing innovation to the legal industry in ways that make law more accessible to average people and consumers.
Andrei Chinguirei is the General Manager at 2Sign in charge of marketing strategy and delivery. He is a third-year law student at the University of Ottawa and an alumnus of York University. Chinguirei has a passion for social justice and making the law accessible and affordable, and works with the Ontario Justice Education Network to coach dispute resolution in Ottawa schools. He is motivated by his personal experience with leases and contracts and a strong belief in making legal concepts less intimidating for everyone.
Ksenia Karaoulchtchikova is the Creative Director on the 2Sign team, responsible for all things visual and advertising. She’s a third-year advertising student at OCAD University in Toronto. In her time free from crying over deadlines, Karaoulchtchikova manages to do freelance graphic design for stratups in Toronto and all over the world, sell magical-themed prints online, and maintain a Russian vlog channel on Youtube.
Ahmed Asif is the Chief Technology Officer at 2Sign and is responsible for coordinating the design and build of the 2Sign app and platform. He is a fourth year computer science student at York University, but is currently working at IBM in Ottawa as a co-op student. Asif is a multi-talented developer who understands the importance of merging good software design with solid business strategy, and is excited about applying business and technology to the legal industry and its unique issues.
Ted Cao is the Managing Director at 2Sign and is developing the company’s business plan and strategic partnerships. Cao is a fourth-year Computer Science student at York University, and is currently working at IBM on a co-op term. Cao is a software developer with extensive business experience, and has previously started a successful software company and worked at other technology companies with a service and business focus. He is excited to be using his business acumen to pursue new opportunities and ideas in the legal industry.
Gabby Bermudez is the Director of Technology at 2Sign and will be taking on the most complicated technical projects and challenges for the company. Bermudez is a third-year Mathematics and Computer Science student at Queen’s University and currently working for IBM in Ottawa as a co-op student. Cao is a skilled coder who loves learning new coding languages and techniques to apply to projects. He is thrilled about the 2Sign app, and is excited to create a product that will be so useful to other students, entrepreneurs, coders, and regular people.
Here’s what the team told us about their experience so far working on the 2Sign app — and the technology behind it.
Each of you cite some personal reasons in your original pitches about why a simple contracting app like 2Sign is important — including leases gone wrong or bad online trades— but I’m curious whether that’s what spawned the idea. Why, specifically, did you decide to build 2Sign?
Mark Asfar: The idea for 2Sign actually started at the offices of Momentum Business Law! My mentor and articling principle, Megan Cornell, is very passionate about legal innovation and technology. We talk about ways to improve processes or legal systems daily.
One item that came up in conversation was the issue with clients who came to us with disputes over verbal agreements or contracts that did not have all the terms and representations included in the drafting. We talked about how great it would be to have recordings of these conversations to turn into proper contracts, or to use for subsequent negotiations and settlements. This conversation ended with “wouldn’t it be great if there was an easy app to solve this problem?”
When we heard about the legal hackathon it just made sense to try to bring the idea to the event and see if others would be interested in making it happen.
How did you land on the idea to record the parties’ voices in the contract, and why is that an important element?
Mark Asfar: Simplicity is the guiding principle of our product. Legal things are always intimidating, complicated, and time-consuming. Anyone can theoretically draft and sign a contract, you don’t need a law degree to be able to make legally binding agreements, and there are dozens of platforms out there to help people do this, like Rocket Lawyer for example. The thing is that people don’t make their own agreements or use these systems because they involve dense indecipherable legal language, manual drafting, and advance preparation. For deals being made on the spot, or for things that seem simple at the time, people don’t want to get a contract.
Simplicity is the guiding principle of our product. Legal things are always intimidating, complicated, and time-consuming. — Mark Asfar, 2Sign
Voice input and a smartphone app are our solution to this problem. People are already talking about the terms of their deal and making representations to each other. It is incredibly simple to just pull out their phone, hit a couple of buttons, and record the terms and representations that they are already discussing. No going online to find long confusing contracts, downloading them, manually editing them, printing them, and then having to bring them along and get them physically signed. Just hold out one phone, hit a button, and get the deal on the record.
What separates 2Sign from its competitors — is it primarily the voice feature?
Ksenia Karaoulchtchikova: Our competitors offer written contracts which need to be filled by typing, and which usually need to be printed and signed, or sent for e-signature by email. A lot of them are also only available on websites, instead of convenient smartphone apps, and the better platforms charge a substantial amount for their products.
2Sign permits easy verbal input for answers, lets the users “sign” with their voice, and then produces both audio and written agreements for their records. We do all of this at a more accessible price point, depending on the complexity of the agreement.
Can you briefly describe the underlying tech that facilitates your platform/sets you apart?
Mark Asfar: Our platform is still in development, so things are always likely to change. But at this time we are not using anything ground-breaking or new, and that is part of the appeal of 2Sign. Our app uses hardware and features we are already familiar with, and which come standard in modern day smartphones — audio recording, video capture, email, etc. These are systems people understand and trust, and that makes our product less intimidating and more accessible as a whole.
What was the biggest challenge in developing — and launching — the platform and how did you overcome it?
Ahmed Asif: The biggest challenge in developing the app was choosing a platform that was stable enough to bring this unique idea to reality. Given the limited time frame, we chose to develop this app for Android, and are currently working on publishing it to the iOs store. In the future, we intend to make this available on the web as well.
What will be the biggest challenge going forward and how do you plan to address it?
Ahmed Asif: The biggest challenge going forward will be developing this app in a way to make it more secure for our users. As we strive to make it as secure as possible, finding the correct platform and developing it will be one of our biggest challenges. That being said, with the team of developers and lawyers/designers that we have, I believe we can go over this hurdle very quickly.
Will you continue to work on 2Sign post-hackathon?
Mark Asfar: Absolutely! We love the idea of 2Sign and we’d like to see where it can go after the hackathon. Part of our passion for this product comes from the fact that it is something we would want to use as students and young professionals for our deals, purchases, services, and so on.
We would like to complete the application and develop a library of contracts for people to use, and to get the word out that it exists. We are hoping that people like us will see the value in it, and want to use it in their day to day transactions, and maybe from there we can begin to change the way people see contracts.
We are hoping that people like us will see the value in [2Sign], and want to use it in their day to day transactions, and maybe from there we can begin to change the way people see contracts. — Mark Asfar
What has been the most exciting part of building this product as part of the hackathon?
Ahmed Asif: The most exciting part of building this product was working with these exceptionally talented people. The learning experience has been incredible, the idea is unique and the way we combined our talents to build this idea from scratch has truly brought legal and tech closer than ever.
The way we combined our talents to build this idea from scratch has truly brought legal and tech closer than ever. — Ahmed Asif, 2Sign
Amen to that. So, when will the app be available for Android and iOS?
Ahmed Asif: The app will be available on the Android Play Store in the second week of April. It is currently under development for IOS, with an expected release date in the fourth week of April.
For updates on 2Sign, follow them on Twitter (@2SignApp) or visit 2Sign.ca. And to watch them compete in the final round, join us that Global Legal Hackathon finals on April 21 in New York, New York. Tickets are available here.
