Veriglif

Veriglif is a digital platform that connects buyers, sellers, and creators of personal data.

The platform serves three primary functions:

• It connects companies that buy and sell consumer data.

• It ensures brands that use this data have greater confidence when making decisions.

• And it enables consumers to have more control over how their personal information is used.

Similar companies that focus on consumer data have been bought for large sums. In November 2018, for example, SAP acquired Qualtrics, a provider of survey and feedback software, for $8 billion. At the time, Qualtrics’ revenues were $372 million, meaning the deal price was more than 20 times annual revenues.

Veriglif aims to be the next big acquisition target by targeting the $76 billion market research industry.

The company has partnered with IBM to develop its platform, and has already built a significant pipeline of potential customers. Now it’s raising funds to bring its software to market.

In order to make decisions, companies today collect and analyze enormous amounts of personal data. And demand for this information is increasing every year.

But the challenges associated with collecting and analyzing this data are also increasing. GDPR, for example, is a regulation implemented in 2018 mandating that consumers have more control over how their data is used.

As a result, large companies — including Google and Facebook — are running into problems with their business models.

At the same time, consumer data is riddled with problems of its own. There are three main issues: quality, privacy, and connectivity.

With respect to quality, one problem is determining whether information is from a legitimate source. Between fraud and the rise in automated “bots,” companies have an increasingly difficult time verifying the information they receive.

Meanwhile, once this data is captured and stored, much of it is sold and distributed without the consumer’s consent or knowledge.

Finally, because most consumer data is disconnected and inefficient, its true value can’t be fully realized.

Veriglif has spent more than two years developing a solution to solve these issues, and meet the demand for verified, accurate, "permissioned" consumer data that meets the requirements of increasingly stringent privacy legislation.

Veriglif does not compete directly with any market research or data collection company. Rather, the company describes itself as a “network of networks” that allows consumer data to be verified and exchanged with full permission. Because it does not store or process any Personal Identifiable Information, Veriglif is GDPR compliant.

At its core, Veriglif works like a Visa or Mastercard for personal data. It enables secure, high-volume transactions of permissioned personal data across its platform.

A transaction could include a company looking to verify data from a consumer survey, or researching an individual consumer’s purchasing behavior online. Each transaction falls under one of three categories:

Engage: Data gathered to be used for marketing purposes.

Understand: Information collected to be researched or analyzed.

Activate: Data used to promote a business or a product/service.

Veriglif provides the data seekers with a real-time transaction log, enabling them to pay incentives to consumers each time their data is collected or sold. For every transaction that occurs, Veriglif charges a small fee.

Said Chad Andrews, a Global Solutions Leader for IBM, “Veriglif is completely on the right track in terms of creating a shared business network that has, on one end, the integrity of the consumer, but also the ability to federate in a way that is compliant, fair, and transparent.”

The company launched a minimum viable product in May 2019, and has completed a successful pilot program.

In addition, it recently received approval for a patent that protects its software’s validation and sharing processes.

Team Background

James Wilson - Co-Founder & CEO

James has extensive experience in the market research and analysis software markets.

Prior to starting Veriglif, he was Director and Chief Technical Officer for Potentiate, a data intelligence company that creates actionable data for market research and consultancy services.

Before that, he was Chief Technology Officer for iDDrive, a company that designed software to capture customer information gathered during test drives of cars and trucks.

In addition, James co-founded SecureNet Technologies, a computer software security company. And he was a hardware/software engineer for RhinoCo Technology, a security company focused on the electronics industry.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Sydney University.

Henry Cheang - Co-Founder & Chairman

For eight years, Henry was CEO of Potentiate, a data intelligence company. While there, he worked with fellow co-founder James Wilson.

Henry spent 24 years as Director of Information Tools, a company focused on consumer research. In addition, he was Non Executive Director for Red Centre Software, a software company specializing in market research capabilities.

In 2014, he was named Technology Future Leader and received the 2014 Survey Technology Trendsetter Award.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from the University of New South Wales, and an MBA from the University of Sydney.

Glen Robinson - Chief Financial Officer

Glen is a Certified Public Accountant who began his career at Macquarie Investment Bank.

Following that, he served as Director of Corporate Development for Geodis Wilson, a logistics and supply chain company.

For more than two years, he was Vice President of the Private Equity division at Celerant Consulting, a global management consulting firm. He then served as President of Vitamins Direct, a health and wellness company supplying vitamins and supplements.

For the past eight years, Glen has been Managing Partner of VALTEGRA, a private investment company.

He earned an MBA from Duke University and a Law degree from Deacon University.

Phillip Denley - Chief Technology Officer

Phillip is an experienced software engineer and enterprise architect.

He has extensive experience developing API platforms and business-to-business ecosystems in finance, logistics, supply chain, and healthcare markets.

In addition, he is an expert in applied cryptography and security protocol design. He previously developed high-volume and secure applications for global transport and logistics.

Lenny Murphy - Strategy Director

Lenny has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the market research industry.

He built GreenBook Media, the world’s first platform for content and marketing support dedicated specifically for the research industry. In addition, he was Senior Partner to GreenBook’s “sister” company, Gen2 Advisors, a consulting business.

For four years, Lenny served as an advisory board member of Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business. He studied at Oglethorpe University.

Co-Investors