Salzburg start-up “sproof” wants to replace DocuSign in Europe
Salzburg (OTS) – The Salzburg startup sproof.io, a spin-off from the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, was able to acquire prominent major customers and thousands of private customers shortly after it was founded in 2020. The European Super Angels Club and the renowned business angel Michael Repnik recently invested and want to replace the DocuSign market on the European market with the Salzburg founders.
The spin-off of the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, around the founders Clemens Brunner, Fabian Knirsch and Erich Höpoldseder, has set itself the task of making the handwritten signature disappear from everyday life. For small businesses, medium-sized companies, large corporations and public institutions, daily signatures and contracts are part of everyday life. Although the qualified electronic signature has been legally equivalent to the handwritten signature since the beginning of the 2000s, many organizations are not yet making use of this digitalization option. Clemens Brunner, founder and managing director of sproof.io.
Handwritten signatures are bare history
In addition to the Federal Accounting Agency, the Chamber of Commerce and Sony DADC, the Vienna City Business Agency has also recently started using sproof.io to make signature runs digital, legally valid and efficient in accordance with the GDPR. When issuing certificates within universities and technical colleges, sproof is used, as is the case with the renowned law firm Binder Grösswang or with the legal software provider ADVOKAT.
Especially in the field of human resources, in the real estate industry and in public administration, the founders of sproof.io are feeling a growing interest in legally valid digital signatures. “There are currently countless providers of digital signatures, especially on the American market. The problem with this is that many of these providers do not meet the high European data protection standards. In practice, due to the lack of legal certainty, disputes can ultimately end in court and lead to high costs, ”says Fabian Knirsch, co-founder of sproof.io.
No growth without capital
Startups usually need larger sums of venture capital, and this problem has also been solved for sproof.io for the time being. The President of the European Super Angels Club and founder of Venionaire Capital, Berthold Bauk-Karlic, recently invested a high six-figure sum as a lead investor, but this is only the beginning. “We used sproof.io ourselves and this is how we got into discussions about a possible investment. The founders are technically very strong and were able to convince institutional clients early on – our investment is a start, but it certainly doesn’t stop there. With the company, we have an opportunity to replace the market leader DocuSign in Europe and we will spend a couple of times more money in return, ”said investor Berthold Bauk-Karlic.
In addition to the European Super Angels Club and its Business Angel, the startup was also able to win the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) for a grant. “With the European Super Angels Club, we have a strong partner at our side, which means that nothing stands in the way of further growth. We see the first completed financing round as an important step towards our goal – to become the largest digital signature provider in Europe, ”the founders are convinced.
Inquiries & contact:
Lisa Wimmer, Venionaire Capital – Lisa@venionaire.com
Clemens Brunner, sproof GmbH – clemens@sproof.io | +43 50423