Meet Julia Rodgers, a Trust Trailblazer in Online Notarization

As a divorce attorney at a top family law firm in Boston, Julia Rodgers understood the challenges couples were facing while seeking prenuptial agreements. The high cost of hiring attorneys and unpredictable pricing, time-consuming process of negotiating through attorneys, and traditionally adversarial power dynamic left many engaged couples feeling emotionally exhausted and financially drained. It was apparent that this traditional process was broken and engaged couples did not want to feel this stressed while entering one of the most exciting chapters of their life.

She also knew from seeing so many divorce cases that prenups have the power to improve marriages and she didn’t want that fact to be overshadowed by the intimidating process of hiring divorce attorneys. After working with clients on their prenups, Julia was inspired to leverage technology to create a more collaborative, cost-effective, and timely solution that empowered couples.

Her co-founder, Sarabeth Jaffe, was an engaged software developer from Seattle, and encountered similar frustrations to many of my clients when she tried to find an attorney for her own prenup. She experienced first-hand how intimidating it was to call divorce attorneys to talk about a prenup. After spending a ton of time calling attorneys without much luck and a lot of sticker-shock over variable pricing based on high retainer fees, she knew there had to be a better solution. She cold-emailed Julia and they began working together. Together, they created the first platform that would make prenuptial agreements affordable, approachable, and accessible for all couples—regardless of net worth or goals.

How did being on Shark Tank help your business?

Shark Tank was a crucial part of our success. The show gave us a national platform to normalize a traditionally taboo topic that was previously only discussed by financially privileged individuals, but that could benefit all couples, regardless of their net worth. Our goal for the show was ultimately to let couples know “there’s a better, faster, smarter way to get a prenup and improve your marriages—without spending thousands of dollars or hours to get on the same page prior to marriage.” The icing on the cake was getting two iconic entrepreneurs and investors, Kevin O’Leary and Nirav Tolia to back our idea and join our mission-driven team to propel our business forward—and we are so thrilled we did.

‍Tell us about the customers you usually work with. What are they like?

I’m honored to be able to answer this question, as HelloPrenup has an incredible community of couples. I regularly sit down with our couples to discuss their marital goals and get to know them personally. The one consistent thing I see throughout all of these unique and personal stories is how financially-savvy, loving, and responsible these couples are. They want autonomy over their lives. They love being able to make decisions for themselves, and they see HelloPrenup as a place where they can take control of their financial future and avoid what they’ve seen their parents, friends, co-workers, or community go through when a marriage just doesn’t work out. They see a prenup as a financial-planning tool designed to open communication between the two of them, so that they can discuss any goals, fears, anxieties related to a marriage and end up getting closer to their partner because of it. But most of all? They love love, and want to make sure that stays the focus of their relationship—regardless of what life throws their way.

‍Why did you decide to incorporate remote online notarization into your customer journey?

Notarization is key to a prenup. The identity verification process and notarial stamp helps for enforceability of the document. But more importantly—it’s the official process of signing the document together as a couple where they recognize and honor the terms of their agreement. It’s the “I do before the official I do” that seals their goals and ambitions for their marriage and helps the couple truly feel like they are literally on the same page prior to getting married.

‍How have your customers responded to using RON?

HelloPrenup couples want convenience and efficiency. They love a better, more modern mouse trap. Thus, the  overwhelming majority of our couples choose Proof and the RON process to e-sign and notarize their agreements. They prefer the ease of use of not having to leave their HelloPrenup account or couch to finalize their agreement and are thrilled that this is an accessible option for them. And if folks opt-out of using the RON process, it’s purely because they prefer to go in person to notarize for their own personal comfort level.

‍What do you like specifically about using Proof?

When we first started our search for a notarization partner, we were religious about finding a company that matched our mission-driven ethos of providing high quality tech through an efficient, enjoyable user experience. We wanted someone who would not forfeit quality for quantity and would keep our customer’s in mind every step of the way. 

After a single discovery call with the Proof team, it was apparent that the organization is built by passionate, motivated individuals who carry this same mission forward through different tech. Pun intended, we were ready to propose to them on the spot. The team behind this organization is so knowledgeable and genuinely cares about their customers and we’re thrilled we partnered with them to support our couples.

How has online notarization changed your business overall, in terms of efficiency, customer experience, revenue?

The biggest success metric for partnering with Proof was our ability to offer a trust-worthy, efficient service to our couples. Our prenup process was built to supply a high-quality agreement in an approachable, affordable way, but it was missing that same efficient experience for the finalization of the document. 

In addition, customers feel more assured that the document they are signing meets legal enforceability requirements, which ultimately brings them peace of mind.

Do you have any advice for companies considering incorporating Proof into their workflows?

If you’re looking for a reputable, user-friendy platform to share with your customers, Proof is right for you. Their team and technology are extremely reliable and have brought a lot of comfort and support to our team and customers. The only thing I wish we would have done differently was partner with them sooner.