There is a not-so-hidden cost of regulatory compliance and an increasingly global economy, the costs and complexities of compliance can increase very quickly when operating across multiple jurisdictions. In large firms, it has been estimated that this cost can routinely run in excess of $10,000 per employee. Navigating ever-changing laws also introduces new challenges. Libryo is an automated, cloud-based platform that helps organizations manage their regulatory requirements in any jurisdiction with a vast registry. Users of the platform can easily understand and comply with their Environmental, Health, & Safety (EHS) legal obligations in real-time, alerted when issues may arise. The platform currently supports 79 countries, with over 15,000 users, covering 13,000+ laws.
London TechWatch caught up with Cofounder and CFO Malcolm Gray to learn more about the motivation for creating a global regulatory data platform, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to £3.85M, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise? This was a convertible note round between Series Seed and Series A of £1.35M led by Future Energy Ventures.
Tell us about your product or service.
Libryo is an automated, cloud-based platform that helps organisations know the EHS law that applies to their business, in every jurisdiction. Law is poorly organised, changes regularly, it’s not searchable, and is written in complicated phrases. Libryo makes it easier to know the law by filtering, configuring, and tracking unique site-specific legal registers, enabling people to quickly navigate regulatory requirements and compliance complexity with certainty.
What inspired the start of Libryo?
Libryo was born out of a previous environmental consulting business in South Africa. At the time it was owned by two of the three co-founders (Pete & Garth), with 2 silent partners. In 2015, I, met Pete and Garth and the idea of Libryo emerged based on our various discussions, respective insights, and recognition that there was a need for a global regulatory data solution. Libryo, we thought, just may be it 
How is it different?
Building the core tooling and content for a standardised global regulatory data platform is pretty unique. It is extremely difficult and complex, and as such we have not come across any meaningful business such as ours.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
Currently, we are focused on the EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) market for corporate companies – a key element of ESG from an operating company perspective. Over the long term, we see Libryo supporting a broad range of niche industry and domain regulatory platforms similar to our own. We also expect to expand our current partner platforms across the broader GRC (governance risk and compliance) landscape.
What’s your business model?
DaaS/P (Data as a Service / Product) – Subscription
SaaS (Software as a Service) – Subscription
How has COVID-19 impacted your business?
Although many of our customers face significant challenges, Covid and the resultant regulatory changes highlighted the essential nature of Libryo’s solution and services to our customers. We sought to support the market and our customers through this time with a range of solutions such as the free Libryo COVID-19 regulation tracker as well as discounts as required.
Although many of our customers face significant challenges, Covid and the resultant regulatory changes highlighted the essential nature of Libryo’s solution and services to our customers. We sought to support the market and our customers through this time with a range of solutions such as the free Libryo COVID-19 regulation tracker as well as discounts as required.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
It has been an unusual time and we did not know what to expect during the pandemic, but our lead investor was very supportive, with strong support from the UK FutureFund and other Libryo investors.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
- The problem that we are solving
- The team
- The progress on the technology
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
- Further our technology
- Advance our key partnerships and products
- Retain and attract the best talent
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Keep pushing – it’s never easy and we are learning all the time.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Keep learning, keeping iterating, keep growing.
What is your favourite restaurant in London?
It has been COVID – so no favourite restaurants.
