Profile

Notarize is a remote-first company that provides online notarization services, making it simpler, smarter, and safer to notarize important documents. Founded in 2015, in the heart of Boston, United States, Notarize has become the leader in the online notarization industry, serving customers across several industries, including real estate, automotive, and financial services. The company was established with the aim of making life’s most important moments better by creating user-friendly products for people during times of stress. As of 2023, this remote-first workplace comprises over 500+ employees.

Its services are designed to be available 24/7, allowing customers to access their services from anywhere in the world. The company has also embraced remote work, with employees working from anywhere in the US. Meanwhile, the former Boston office is still available for use as a reservable co-working space or for team meetings if employees are in the area. 

The company has raised a total of $213.3M in funding over nine rounds, with the latest funding coming from a secondary market round on Mar 27, 2022. Notarize is funded by 20 investors, with Jovono and Ethos VC being the most recent investors. 

Notarize services have revolutionized the notarization industry, making it more accessible and convenient for individuals and enterprises. From online mortgage closings to online auto sales and online wills, Notarize has played an integral role in transforming critical transactions into a more efficient and reliable process. The company’s commitment to providing user-friendly products for life’s most important moments has made them a valuable partner for customers across several industries.

Key Products

Products for Businesses

Notarize provides businesses with document preparation tools that reduce signing time and errors by over 50%. The cloud platform offered by Notarize allows customers to store legal documents securely, protected by AES-256 encryption. The platform also offers an open API for developers, enabling thousands of businesses to integrate the Notarize API and deliver a seamless user experience. Additionally, Notarize provides forensic analysis of ID verification and a full audit trail of the transaction to ensure security and compliance.

Products for Title Agents

Title agents can use their notaries or Notarize’s to sign and notarize closing packages via computer, tablet, or smartphone. Notarize helps title agents meet compliance remote online standards with ease by validating notaries’ credentials and maintaining oversight on every state RON legislation. With Notarize, title agents can collaborate with lenders on closing packages and share them with signers. Notarize also provides real-time tracking of closing meetings, offering full transparency throughout the process.

Products for Lenders

Notarize helps lenders close more deals faster, saving up to 2 1/2 hours per transaction. Lenders also experience decreases in error rates by going digital, improving loan quality. With Notarize, lenders can increase their overall ROI, saving up to $444 in costs per loan.

Products for Notaries

Notarize offers three products for notaries. Notary Sourced Transactions (NST) enable notaries to take their independent business digital by providing online notarization services for their customers. On-Demand Notary (ODN) allows notaries to choose when and where to work, with Notarize connecting them to signers 24/7 within their commissioned state. In-House Notary (IHN) enables notaries to refer their employers to digitize their business with online notarization by managing their in-house notary team and all of their transactions from a single platform.

Notarize provides a comprehensive set of products that simplifies the notarization process for businesses, title agents, lenders, and notaries. With its advanced technology and security features, Notarize offers a secure and reliable solution for remote online notarization. By streamlining the notarization process, Notarize enables customers to save time and money while improving compliance and security.

Customer Insights

Easy to use: Customers find Notarize easy to use, with a user-friendly interface. They appreciate the ease of uploading documents and the straightforward process of getting them notarized.

Convenience: Customers value the convenience that Notarize provides. They appreciate the ability to get their documents notarized from anywhere, at any time, without having to travel to a notary’s office.

Time-saving: Customers find Notarize to be a time-saving solution. They appreciate the quick turnaround time and the ability to get their documents notarized without having to take time off work or disrupt their schedules.

Security: Customers appreciate the security measures that Notarize takes to ensure the authenticity of the documents. They appreciate the use of multi-factor authentication and the ability to verify the notary’s identity.

Customer support: Customers find Notarize’s customer support to be responsive and helpful. They appreciate the ability to get in touch with a representative quickly and receive prompt assistance.

As per Capterra, Notarize has an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. On G2, Notarize has an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. These high ratings indicate that the customers are highly satisfied with Notarize’s services. Notarize has positioned itself as a reliable and trustworthy platform for online notarization services.

Customer Quotes

“Notarize elevates our innovative technologies and streamlines our entire customer experience with nearly paperless closings,” said Guaranteed Rate Chief Operating Officer Nikolaos Athanasiou. ”Our loan officers have a track record of staying ahead of the curve and ensuring that our borrowers have fast, productive and efficient closings.”

“I’m a new company with a small team and being able to use Notarize with Dropbox is awesome! We can have documents signed by all parties no matter their location, notarized and saved to our Dropbox virtual office in less than 20 mins! Easy, breezy workflow! I can monitor my teams usage”

“This was my first experience with an online notary. If every online platform could run as smoothly as this one, then productivity across all industries would increase exponentially!”

“We’ve used Notarize 3 times and the experience has been consistently outstanding. Polite, informative Notaries interview you via videoconferencing and help you complete the process with the help of a smart interactive editing interface that you share. The price is right, you download your notarized documents immediately, plus you get a login code that you can email recipients so they can verify your electronic documents independently.  Helped us notarize while socially distancing for health reasons. Problem solved.”

“It seems like Notarize has thought of everything. They make it really seamless, not only for the company, but for the signer as well. Their company as a whole is hands down the leader with the most support behind them.”

“Notarize gives my organization the efficiency and flexibility of being able to easily and quickly set up the closing electronically and send the signers the eClosing transaction email where they know how to connect with us. If there are last minute changes, which there are always within our industry with our lenders, we easily are able to adjust that, update the documents and still keep that same scheduled closing time.”

“I think we’ve moved mountains by offering online notarization through Notarize, because it’s a great service. And many times, clients in a pinch need to do a transaction quickly. And Notarize really helps with that.”

Statistics

• Notarize has raised a total of $213.3M in funding over 9 rounds. 


• Their latest funding was raised on March 27, 2022, from a Secondary Market round. 


• Notarize is funded by 20 investors. The most recent investors are Jovono and Ethos VC.


• Notable investors in Notarize include TrueBridge Capital Partners, Wells Fargo, Osei Van Horne, Canapi Ventures, Camber Creek, Citi Ventures, CapitalG, Second Century Ventures, and Ludlow Ventures.


• Notarize was founded in 2015 and has 500+ employees.

Ratings and Commentary

The company has a strong focus on innovation and has achieved several industry firsts, which sets it apart from the competition. Notarize’s strength as an organization is reflected in its impressive funding history, having raised a total of $213.3M in funding over 9 rounds from 20 investors. The notable investors, including TrueBridge Capital Partners, Wells Fargo, and CapitalG, further demonstrate the potential of the company.

The size of Notarize’s market is immense, with its products and services catering to individuals and major enterprises alike. It offers different products for different market needs for instance, Notarize has different services for large organizations as compared to the services meant for individuals.

The company’s remote-first work culture allows it to attract the best and brightest talent across the country, further enhancing its product development capabilities. Competitive threats to Notarize are present, as the digital notarization space is seeing an influx of new players. Overall, Notarize is a company with a bright future and has the potential to transform industries beyond notarization. With a strong team and notable investors backing it, Notarize is well-positioned to steer the ship and make strategic decisions to continue its growth and success.

Notarize Video

Key Executives

Pat Kinsel, Founder and CEO

He founded the company after his own experience trying to notarize a document. Prior to Notarize, Pat was a co-founder and CEO of Spindle, a company that was acquired by Twitter in 2013. He was also a partner at Polaris Partners, a venture capital firm. Pat has experience building products in various industries, including search, social, legal, finance, and real estate. He has won many first-of-their-kind regulatory and commercial approvals, and has worked to pass 35+ state laws enabling many of America’s largest industries to enter the digital age. Pat is committed to helping the entrepreneurial community and has visited 35+ states for Notarize, where he has been amazed by the opportunities of the digital economy in every corner of America.

Kim Rose, CCO

She leads all customer-facing efforts to deliver exceptional experiences and flawless transactions. This includes all aspects of client onboarding, customer success management and support, and closing operations, as well as workforce management, and notary strategy and operations. Kim has a proven track record building and scaling Customer Success organizations, managing high-performing teams, executing complex, high-visibility, customer-impacting projects, and turning around problematic and conflicting situations with creative solutions and process improvements. She has experience in leadership roles at several startups, including Carbonite, where she worked for nearly a decade through their IPO. Kim was part of the executive team focused on program management and reported to the CEO and CFO.

Organizational Insights

The company’s organizational culture is built on the values of solving problems that matter, saying yes before no, starting with why, and stamping together. 

Notarize’s remote-first workplace policy allows employees to work from anywhere in the United States. This policy allows the company to attract and retain a diverse workforce with varied backgrounds and experiences. Notarize’s employee benefits also include paid time off, monthly wellness days, and company holidays. After five years, the company offers a paid sabbatical to its employees as a way of thanking them for their hard work. These benefits promote a healthy work-life balance, which aligns with the company’s core value of valuing diverse perspectives. This policy also shows that the company values its employees and understands the importance of taking breaks from work to maintain productivity and well-being.

Notarize offers up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, with the option to work flexible hours upon their return. This policy shows that the company values family and understands the importance of supporting new parents during this critical time. This policy aligns with the company’s core value of solving problems that matter, as the policy aims to solve the problem of balancing work and family life for new parents.

Notarize’s employee benefits include an ever-growing learning and development program and a professional development allowance. This policy shows that the company values employee growth and development. The company’s investment in employee development aligns with its core value of starting with why by asking honest questions and listening to feedback to gain insight and build trust.

Notarize offers comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits, with the company paying 90% of the cost for employees and their dependents. This policy shows that the company values the health and well-being of its employees. This policy aligns with the company’s core value of valuing diverse perspectives by recognizing that each employee has unique healthcare needs. Notarize’s employee benefits also include a monthly Grubhub stipend, meditation classes, a wellness allowance, and access to an Employee Assistance Program. 

Notarize’s core values include solving problems that matter, saying yes before no, starting with why, and stamping together.

Board Members

Dave Barrett

He has 17 years of experience as an operating executive and entrepreneur who has mentored tech innovators in Boston, San Francisco, and New York City. He has invested in healthcare tech and fintech startups that focus on data science-driven platforms. Barrett has served as an investor, board member, and advisor to several early-stage and high-growth innovators in different industries, such as Archivas, LegalZoom, LogMeIn, and Notarize.

Jacob Fingert

Jacob is a Partner at Camber Creek, a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in technology companies that are transforming the real estate industry. He has focused his career on driving large-scale transformations in both the public and private sectors. Fingert serves on the leadership team of the Urban Land Institute’s Technology Council and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also a proud father of three children and husband to an amazing wife.

Neil Underwood

Neil is a General Partner and co-founder of Canapi Ventures, a strategic fintech venture fund, and serves as President of Live Oak Bancshares. Underwood helped incubate several companies through the venture arm of Live Oak, including nCino, Finxact, Payrailz, DefenseStorm, and Greenlight. He has served on the board of several companies, including Notarize, nCino, Blend, Payrailz, and Finxact. Underwood holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Investors

Jovono

A venture capital firm, invested in Notarize in 2022 in a secondary investment round. The amount invested was not disclosed, but the funding round was completed. Jovono invests in missionary founders who build world-class companies that solve hard problems or create delightful products.

Ethos VC

A San Francisco-based venture capital firm, has also invested in Notarize in a secondary market round for an undisclosed amount in 2022. The firm invests in both primary rounds, tenders, and secondary transactions with company executives or employees.

Canapi Ventures

Canapi Ventures is a venture capital firm based in the United States. It was founded in 2015 and focuses on investing in early-stage and growth-stage companies operating in the financial technology (fintech) sector. The firm primarily targets investments in companies that leverage technology to transform traditional financial services and improve efficiency, accessibility, and affordability for consumers and businesses.

Key Milestones

• In 2023, Pat Kinsel, CEO of Notarize, won the Inman Best of Finance Award for his company’s innovation in the legal tech industry.


• In 2023, ServiceLink and Notarize partnered to make remote online notarization (RON) adoption for home equity lending easy.


• Notarize was recognized as a winner of the 2023 HousingWire Tech100 Real Estate awards for its innovation in the real estate industry, enabling real estate closings to go fully digital and saving significant time and money for lenders and title agents.


• In 2023, Notarize partnered with Northteq to bring Notarize for Salesforce into their suite of products to better serve lenders and customers.


• Notarize Unveils a Sleek, New Platform Navigation (2023)


• Introducing Notarize Panels, Giving You Complete Control of Your Customer Experience (2023)


• Say Hello to HELOCs: Notarize’s Newest Supported Transaction (2023)


• Easy Come, Easy Go: Notarize’s New Approach to Retail (2023)


• In 2022, Notarize was listed as one of the Best Remote-First Places to Work by Built In, recognizing the company’s commitment to remote work and creating a positive work culture.

News and Press Releases

• April 13, 2023 – Ensure Fast, Accurate Signings with Conditional Fields (Read)


• March 17, 2023 – Our Role in the Real Estate Winner’s Circle: An Interview with Notarize’s Grant Brittain (Read)


• February 28, 2023 – Notarize Applauds House for Passing the SECURE Notarization Act of 2023 (Read)


• February 9, 2023 – Notarize Expands Its Award-Winning App Experience to Mobile Web (Read)


• February 9, 2023- TechNet Welcomes Three New Members: Notarize, Ro, and Wing (Read)

Competitors

DocVerify

It provides a cloud-based e-signature solution that enables individuals and businesses to securely sign and manage legally binding documents. The platform is affordable, easy to use, and designed to help users automate the process of document signing. DocVerify offers a robust set of features and integrates with various business tools, including Salesforce, to help accelerate sales, reduce costs, and improve productivity. Its security features are top-notch, and all signed documents are legally enforceable.

DocuSign

It is a popular e-signature solution that offers a wide range of features and integrations. The platform is trusted by more than a million customers and over a billion users in 180 countries. It helps businesses standardize the agreement process, save time, increase accuracy, and improve customer satisfaction. DocuSign’s eSignature solution is secure, lawful, and court-admissible. The platform offers 24/7 customer support, has 350+ integrations and APIs, and saves an average of $36 per document compared to traditional paper processes.

Adobe Acrobat Sign

It is a powerful e-signature solution that combines simple and secure e-signatures with the power of Adobe Acrobat. With Acrobat Sign, users can create, sign, send for signature, manage, and track documents – all from one Adobe platform. The solution seamlessly integrates with Microsoft apps, Salesforce, Workday, and many more apps. Acrobat Sign is globally compliant and legally binding in nearly every country in the world. Users can create delightful signing experiences for their customers and teams by enabling them to sign documents on any device or browser.

PandaDoc

It is an all-in-one document automation software that streamlines the process of creating, approving, and eSigning proposals, quotes, contracts, and more. The platform is designed to improve document workflows, insights, and speed while delivering an amazing experience for customers. PandaDoc’s powerful document creation and workflow capabilities enable teams to provide their customers with a more professional, timely, and engaging experience.

SafeDocs

It is an online platform that provides electronic notarization services. The platform is designed to enhance security, reduce costs, and minimize the carbon footprint associated with the notary process. SafeDocs is revolutionizing the US notary market with its simple, secure, and cost-effective solution.

In summary, Notarize faces stiff competition from various e-signature and notary solutions, including DocVerify, DocuSign, Adobe Acrobat Sign, PandaDoc, and SafeDocs. Each of these platforms offers unique features and benefits that can help individuals and businesses to securely sign, manage, and track legally binding documents from anywhere and anytime.

Corporate Responsibility

The traditional notarization process requires a lot of paper usage, printing, copying, shipping, and driving, which leads to a significant impact on the environment. Notarize aims to digitize the notarization process to reduce paper usage, decrease carbon footprint, and provide a greener option to businesses. Notarize commissioned Bridgespan Social Impact to estimate their company’s environmental impact and potential impact based on growth projections.

Environmental Impact of Notarize

According to Bridgespan, the Notarize platform’s positive environmental impact is due to a reduction in driving by 90%. In traditional notarization, at least one party must drive to a different location, which increases the carbon footprint of the transaction. The reduction in driving as a result of digitizing the notarization process is equivalent to removing ~78K gas-powered cars from the roads per year (~360K metric tons GHG). Digitizing all notarizations can lead to removing ~800K gas-powered cars from the roads per year (3.7M metric tons GHG), equivalent to removing the emissions of the city of Paris.

Future Impact of Notarize

The shift towards digitization may have some negative impacts, such as increased data storage, power usage, and video calls. However, these negatives are outweighed by the significant positive impact of reducing car emissions. Bridgespan projected that as the adoption of online notarization increases over the next four years, Notarize’s environmental impact on per-car emissions avoided will increase by 12,000%.

Long-term Benefits of Notarize Platform

The Notarize platform leads to a material, positive environmental impact with market potential, providing additional impact opportunities. Switching from traditional, in-person notarizations to online notarizations can lead to a 10% decrease in printing on a per-notarization basis and a reduction of 1.9 Kg of GHG emissions per notarization in e-commerce transactions. It can also lead to a reduction of 2.3 Kg of GHG emissions per notarization in business transactions and a staggering 9.8 Kg reduction of GHG emissions per notarization for real-estate transactions. Furthermore, there is a significant reduction in car emissions in rural and suburban areas, which are the biggest contributors to GHG emissions per-notarization.

Notarize’s corporate responsibility to reduce its environmental impact is commendable, and its platform’s benefits can help other industries reduce their carbon footprint.