DocuSign

DocuSign, Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: DOCU
Founded 2003
Headquarters San Francisco, California
Number of locations
 13[1] (2015)
Key people
 Daniel Springer (CEO)[2]
Tom Gonser (Co-founder)[3]
Court Lorenzini (Co-founder)
Keith Krach (Chairman)
Products Electronic signature and digital transaction management software and services
Website docusign.com

DocuSign is a San Francisco–based company that provides electronic signature technology and digital transaction management services for facilitating electronic exchanges of contracts and signed documents. DocuSign’s features include authentication services, user identity management and workflow automation. Signatures processed by DocuSign are comparable to traditional signatures based on the product's compliance with the ESIGN Act[4] as well as the European Union’s Electronic Signatures Directive (1999/93/EC).[5]

In April 2018, DocuSign filed for an initial public offering. The largest shareholders are venture investment firms Sigma Partners, Ignition Partners, Frazier Technology Ventures, and chairman and former CEO Keith Krach as the largest individual shareholder unaffiliated with a venture investment firm. None of the original founders nor current CEO Daniel Springer are major shareholders at this time.[6][3] The company went public on the NASDAQ on April 27, 2018.

History

DocuSign was founded in 2003 by Court Lorenzini, Tom Gonser and Eric Ranft. The original concept for the company came from Tom Gonser while he was still involved in NetUpdate, a company he founded in 1998 and had previously served as CEO, and where he was still an active Board member. Through its history, NetUpdate had acquired several companies, including an early-stage e-signature start-up in Seattle called DocuTouch,[7] founded by Mir Hajmiragha.[8] DocuTouch held patents on Web-based digital signatures and collaboration, but had no material revenue. With internal support from Gonser, Lorenzini negotiated the purchase of certain DocuTouch assets from NetUpdate and started DocuSign. Gonser then left the NetUpdate Board to focus on DocuSign full time.

The firm began sales in 2005 when zipForm, now zipLogix, integrated DocuSign into its virtual real estate forms. Mock trials featuring licensed attorneys and real judges highlighted the admissibility of DocuSign contracts in court based on encrypted audit logs of signature events as well as the impossibility of changing contracts.[9]

In January 2007, Court Lorenzini stepped down as CEO and Chairman of the Board and took a less active role as Executive Vice President of Business Development. He was replaced as CEO by Matthew Schultz[10] who served in that role until January 2010, when he was replaced by Steven King, who subsequently moved the corporate headquarters from Seattle to San Francisco. Keith Krach became DocuSign's chairman of the board in January 2010 and its CEO in August 2011.[11]

In June 2010, DocuSign added support for iPhone, iPad and phone-based user authentication.[12] DocuSign also began referring to its service as “eSignature Transaction Management” to reflect the functional growth beyond signing. By the end of 2010, the company handled 73 percent of the Saas-based electronic signature market with 80 million signatures processed.[5] Scale Venture Partners led an investment round of $27 million in December 2010.[13]

Through July 2011, DocuSign had processed a total of 500 million pages. The company made a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation that month in recognition of the positive environmental impacts of electronic signatures.[14]

DocuSign opened an office in London, England in September 2011.[15] In the same year, DocuSign opened an office in San Francisco, which now functions as its global headquarters.

DocuSign signed an agreement, in April 2012, with PayPal, that allowed users to capture signatures and payments in a single transaction with DocuSign Payment.[16] Similar partnerships with Salesforce.com,[17] and Google Drive[18] preceded the PayPal agreement.

In July 2012, Business Insider reported that about 90% of Fortune 500 companies had signed up to use DocuSign,[19] and that the firm reached 25 million users who had completed 150 million signatures in 188 countries.

On January 10, 2013, DocuSign and Equifax announced a partnership to simplify electronic delivery of the Requests for Transcript of Tax Return Form 4506-T to the United States Internal Revenue Service. Under the partnership, Equifax allows lenders to use DocuSign to securely send requests to loan applicants. DocuSign and[20] Equifax were among 14 firms that participated in a nine-month feasibility study of electronic signatures for 4506-T forms in 2011.[21]

In October 2015, Keith Krach announced he would step down as CEO but remain chairman through the search for a new CEO.[22]

In 2016, DocuSign was ranked #3 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list.[23]

In January 2017, veteran software executive Daniel Springer was named as the new CEO. He took over from Keith Krach, who remained chairman of the board.[24][25]

In 2017, DocuSign was ranked #4 on the Forbes Cloud 100 list.[23]

In July 2018, DocuSign acquired SpringCM for $220 million.[26]

Funding

In 2004, DocuSign raised $4.6 million from Frazier Technology Ventures.[27] Additional rounds of investments between 2006 and 2009 raised $30 million that allowed the firm to add corporate clients and process 48 million signatures.[28]

In July 2012, DocuSign raised $47.5 million in venture funding from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; the round later grew closer to $56 million.[29] At this time, venture capitalist Mary Meeker joined the Board of Directors.[30] In March 2014, the company announced it had raised $85 million in a new funding round.[31] Though unconfirmed, The Wall Street Journal reported the round was based on a company valuation of $1.6 billion.[32]

In May 2015, the company announced it had raised $233 million in a new funding round, with some estimating a $3 billion company valuation.[33][34]

In 2018, the company announced plans for an initial public offering on the NASDAQ,[35] with the goal of raising up to $543 million when the company goes public. Neither the original founders nor current CEO Daniel Springer are major shareholders at this time.[36] Chairman and former CEO Keith Krach has become the person most closely associated with the company, and the largest individual shareholder at 5.5%, about 8.5 million shares. Venture capital firms Sigma Partners, Ignition Partners, and now-defunct company Frazier Technology Ventures are additionally large shareholders.[3]

Products and structure

DocuSign services are offered either by subscription or for free as an app. Signatures and documents are encrypted, then treated with a hash to reveal whether the document has been tampered with or compromised.[37]

DocuSign Professional emails recipients an electronically signed document requesting review of a document after it is uploaded. Each party must agree to complete business electronically, review the document and apply a signature. Signatures may be added from a stored copy of a signature or generated automatically by the software. Phone confirmation and background checks are offered as premium services.[38]

DocuSign released its mobile app DocuSign Ink in November 2011.[39] It is available for free and runs on Apple iOS, Google Android and Windows Phone operating systems. DocuSign Ink allows users to sign and annotate documents by attaching a stored signature, which may be created in graphic design software, captured from an image of a paper document or selected from a variety of prefabricated signatures based on the user’s legal name.[40] The saved signature can be applied to PDFs, word processing documents and images. To complete a document, participants apply their signatures and send completed documents to cloud storage for review.[41]

DocuSign Ink achieved 100,000 downloads in the first month of its release. The Apple App Store ranked DocuSign Ink as the second most downloaded productivity app in 2011.[42]

References

  1. ↑ "Contact Us". DocuSign. 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  2. ↑ "Leadership". DocuSign. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  3. 1 2 3 "DocuSign unveils IPO filing". TechCrunch. March 28, 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  4. ↑ ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT Federal Trade Commission June 2001
  5. 1 2 DocuSign Releases Updated Version of E-Signature Software Hachman, Mark PC Magazine June 30, 2010
  6. ↑ "When DocuSign goes public, it could be worth over $3.8 billion — here are the biggest winners". April 17, 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Online Signatures: DocuTouch Introduces DocuSign Internet News July 11, 2000
  8. ↑ NetUpdate Buys DocuTouch National Mortgage News August 22, 2001
  9. ↑ Work Smarter with a Tool Your Mom Can Use Archived July 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Bui, An DocuSign July 10, 2009
  10. ↑ BusinessWire January 25, 2007
  11. ↑ "Keith Krach: A dot-com CEO returns". Fortune. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Docusign launches new tools to entice greater e-signature adoption Diaz, Sam ZDNetJune 30, 2010
  13. ↑ Washington Startups See Spike in Investing Dollars in December Kutz, Erin Xconomy January 28, 2011
  14. ↑ With a Half Billion Pages Signed, DocuSign Launches Free Edition Empson, Rip TechCrunch July 19th, 2011
  15. ↑ Gage, Deborah (September 2, 2011). "DocuSign Opens First International Office, In London". Dow Jones Private Equity & Venture Capital.
  16. ↑ PayPal partners with DocuSign to help businesses collect signatures for online payments Brian, Matt The Next Web April 11, 2012
  17. ↑ DocuSigns Delivers Close it in the Cloud! Integrated ESIGN Solutions to Salesforce Reuters November 5, 2009
  18. ↑ Google Drive Kicks Off with DocuSign Integration King, Rachel ZDNet April 24, 2012
  19. ↑ At DocuSign, Keith Krach Continues His Epic 16-Year Quest To Reinvent The Business World Huspeni, Andrea Business Insider July 13, 2012
  20. ↑ Helft, Miguel . "DocuSign raises $47.5 million, adds Mary Meeker to board," Fortune. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  21. ↑ Equifax and Docusign Help the IRS Accelerate Forms Processing With eSignature PR Newswire Daily Markets January 10, 2013 Archived January 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ Swisher, Kara. "DocuSign CEO to Step Down After New CEO Search Is Complete". www.recode.net. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  23. 1 2 "Forbes Cloud 100". Forbes. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  24. ↑ Roof, Katie. "A new CEO for DocuSign". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  25. ↑ Konrad, Alex. "DocuSign Names Former Responsys Chief As New CEO, Ending A Lengthy Search". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  26. ↑ Gagliordi, Natalie. "DocuSign buys SpringCM for $220 million | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  27. ↑ Digital signature firm raises $4.6 million Cook, John Seattle Post-Intelligencer June 14, 2004
  28. ↑ DocuSign Scores $5M More Huang, Gregory Seattle Post-Intelligencer May 7, 2009
  29. ↑ Marino, Jonathan. "DocuSign Beefs up its Series D & Adds Google Ventures," PE Hub. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  30. ↑ E-Signature Company DocuSign Raises $47.5M Led by Kleiner Perkins Ha, Anthony TechCrunch July 12, 2012
  31. ↑ Hoge, Patrick. "DocuSign raises $85 million for electronic signatures and more," San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  32. ↑ Rusli, Evelyn M. and Douglas MacMillan. "DocuSign Raises $85 Million at $1.6 Billion Valuation," The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 March.
  33. ↑ Lizette Chapman. "DocuSign Hits $3 Billion Valuation in Latest Funding Round". WSJ. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  34. ↑ Alex Konrad. "DocuSign Doubles Valuation To $3 Billion With $233 Million Raise". Forbes. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  35. ↑ Levy, Nat (17 April 2018). "DocuSign ups IPO target to $417M on stock price of $24 to $26, new filing reveals". GeekWire. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  36. ↑ "DocuSign Readies Plans For $543 Million IPO". Seeking Alpha. April 18, 2018.
  37. ↑ E-Signatures Safer than the Real Thing, Experts Say Liebowitz, Matt NBC January 25, 2011
  38. ↑ DocuSign Pro PC Magazine September 28, 2011
  39. ↑ Digital Signatures Let You Ditch That Old Fax Machine West, Angela PC Magazine January 23, 2012
  40. ↑ DocuSign Ink App Enables Electronic Signatures on Android Devices Android Mag January 26, 2012
  41. ↑ CES: Another Death Knell for the Fax Machine Grant, Kelli SmartMoney January 12, 2012
  42. ↑ Electronic Signatures Come to the Masses Forbes November 18, 2011
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