HalloLex offers legal services for everyone
Twenty-three years old, “impatient by nature,” convinced of himself, “strong-willed,” and, in four years” time, founder of three companies... Regarding Bas van der Werf, we are not talking about just any “average starter.” In October 2019, with HalloLex he introduced an idea for legal services from his own experiences in previous companies.
After a “false start” in 2015 whilst studying technical business administration in Eindhoven, Van der Werf switched to Tilburg University six months later, to study business economics. Soon he also started doing a board year at the Academic Business Club. "During that year," says Van der Werf, "I started my first company, an organizational consultancy firm, WEMEB—Werfs Mediation for Business. With this company, I advised corporations about innovations on already existing business models. I did that for a while, after which I started a second company in February/March 2018, an investment fund, in which we traded in crypto coins—for which there was a lot of demand and interest at that time. And now, since the end of last year, HalloLex. ”
No entrepreneurial family
Despite three companies in four years, Bas van der Werf does not want to speak of an “urge to do business” although that may seem to be the case. It just happened this way: "Neither of my parents is an entrepreneur. My grandfather did have several businesses but mainly in trade. His last company was called WEMEX, so when I started my first company, I called it WEMEB, somewhat as a tribute and because I thought it was very beautiful and important myself. ”
Things I ran into…
"HalloLex originated from the things I ran into with WEMEB," says Van der Werf. "Every entrepreneur needs legal documentation when he starts or during the process. As a starting entrepreneur, self-employed worker... you have to have General Terms and Conditions and invoices. Nowadays, you also have to comply with GDPR legislation. So an X number of documents are required.
However, when I started WEMEB three years ago, I had no legal knowledge, and what do you do in that case? Because calling a lawyer is too expensive, you search on Google for a bit. At a trade association, for example, or something like that. Copy-paste, you fill it out yourself in a slightly different way and you throw it online. But that’s not the way to go at all. The annoying thing, however, was that there was a big gap between paying a lot for legal advice from a lawyer, or nothing for Google. There was nothing."
In January/February 2019, via the Tilburg University startup program, Van der Werf discusses the structures of foundations and private limited companies with a law firm—still prior to the investment fund at that time. "I also told them the story of the legal documentation and said: ‘Hey, I think we should do something with this, that there is actually a large market and demand for it.’
The reason I went to pitch with them was that the law firm employs 20 lawyers. I don’t have a legal background, so I needed a party behind me that was known and competent in the legal field. We work together now, but it’s my business. As a shareholder, they take care of the legal branch. I do everything around it. The customized contracts we sell are taken care of by them. That definitely has the advantage of quality assurance."
The accessible Lex
The name HalloLex symbolizes the “simplicity” of the product. In his pitch to the law firm, Van der Werf came with the idea that he wanted to make the legal world a lot more accessible, especially for a younger target group and small businesses. That simplicity and accessibility was captured in a caricature: Lex. Easy to reach: Hello, Lex! And “Lex” itself, is no more and no less than “Law” in Latin.
Increasingly the focus on HalloLex
When asked whether it is possible to combine entrepreneurship—three companies—with his studies, Van der Werf is clear: "That’s not possible."
In the meantime, he stopped the investment fund: "Due to the increasingly complex legislation and regulations in the Netherlands, it simply could not be done anymore. That took so much time and it became so complicated, especially when it came to investing for third parties."
So Van der Werf now has two companies left. Currently, WEMEB is, according to him, a somewhat “neglected child”: "In the sense that it has become more of a “hobby thing”, with lectures, workshops, and training sessions. I still do it mainly because I actually enjoy it".
The focus is really on HalloLex: "Without my studies that takes up enough time. Studying and working side by side are just hard for me to plan, despite the Tilburg University dual career scheme, which allows the combination of two careers (studying and business). I would like to finish my studies, but I just don’t know how...
People's opinions are divided about that, too. The business world says: you have to finish it, it’s a kind of “insurance.” Others say: you want to become an entrepreneur so badly, so you have to take the risk. There’s some truth in both.”
Doing what you like
From the very beginning, Bas van der Werf, as a starter and also in his next steps, went his own way: "Personally I said, from the beginning with WEMEB—I was 19 at the time—that I only do things, projects or whatever, that I am intrinsically motivated for and that I like above all. And that’s still true, especially now that we are in a time of burnouts, stress complaints, and all kinds of hassle. If I notice that something takes too much energy, I don’t do it, or I stop. Because if you don’t, it is not sustainable to keep on working like that."
Added to that the fact that Van der Werf prefers to discover everything for himself: "I’m strong-willed. I can really see when I have to listen to others from time to time, but when it comes to my company, I can be very stubborn. That has brought me to where I am now.
What I did—and I’m very glad that I did—is talk to some kind of mentor, who guides me a bit, because I run into quite a few things. Of course, that’s diametrically opposed to what I just said, but you also have to be realistic: sometimes it’s really necessary. It’s great to have a sounding board in the form of a person who looks at things from a different perspective.
Still, I keep thinking: let me do it my way. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But I want to try it at least.
I think that as an entrepreneur you need to have a very clear vision for yourself. If you don’t have one and you follow someone else’s vision, then you are actually “employed”; then you do what someone else imposes on you ..."
They already call me Lex...
HalloLex is the exponent of Van der Werf’s vision: young, headstrong, unique. "I’ve even been addressed with Lex... I’ll listen to that. It also shows that after two and a half months things are going pretty well. But... there’s always room for improvement.
We’ve got HalloLex pretty much on the ride. We started very lean with the law firm. Focus was, is, and will remain online: HalloLex as a digital concept, with webshop, portal, and all the documents we can sell."
One step ahead
Now that HalloLex has customers, Bas van der Werf is already looking ahead: "We are constantly improving. Even though we’ve only been working on it for two and a half months, it’s great to launch another new product, in the form of subscriptions and a chatbot built around Artificial Intelligence.
With this we are going to separate the service of HalloLex from the products. Where the service can be seen as "Lex as a personal company lawyer."
Only at the start...
Once in a while, Bas van der Werf laughs during the conversation. Especially when he tells (and realizes) how short HalloLex has existed. Only for such a short time and already accomplished a lot. Does that make him a “successful entrepreneur”?
For this, he will have to accomplish much more, says Van der Werf: "I am not there yet by far. Actually, I still have to start."
Plenty of plans, by the way. In the meantime, Van der Werf has already stepped into a new company. He doesn’t think that’s a big risk: "I’m not tied to anything. That is the advantage of a “young” entrepreneur. No mortgage, no expenses, nothing. And if it fails, I’ll just sleep on the couch at my mother’s and go back to studying."
Incidentally, this is not the future perspective that Bas van der Werf sees as a dot on the horizon. "I see myself standing at the foot of a huge office building. And that when I look up, on top of the building, in large letters, I see the name of my company. Then I give myself a pat on the back and say: "You did it after all."