SINGAPORE, June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the current global market uncertainties, Sleek, the startup making it easy for other startups to incorporate and operate in Singapore and Hong Kong, celebrates its 3rd year anniversary with a hopeful and positive outlook.
Initially frustrated at how slow and paper-based the company registration process was, French entrepreneurs Julien Labruyere and Adrien Barthel founded Sleek in 2017 to use technology to provide incorporation and governance services to startups, entrepreneurs, and investors from around the world. The cloud-based solution enables users to manage their business and access their key documents at any time.
When reflecting back on the journey, Co-founder and CEO Julien Labruyere said "Three years in the startup life is quite something! From the beginning with just the three of us, hiring our first teammates, we're now in three countries, and a team of 100+ builders." Like any other growing startups, the journey comes with challenges and learnings. After two years of operating and adding new services such as accounting and tax filing to its portfolio, the team made a strategic move to expand to Hong Kong in mid-2019 to unlock new market opportunities. In spite of the various situations and now, the on-going pandemic, the team doubled down on growth and investment, showing faith in Hong Kong and its business communities.
During the three years of operating, Sleek has accumulated many accolades and impressive figures that continue to prove itself as a thriving innovator in a rather traditional industry. Contributing a total of 0.07% to the overall Singapore GDP, Sleek prides itself on assisting its users to conduct business in 43 different currencies and digitizing over 2.9 tons of physical mails received on behalf of the companies. Its services are designed to enable users to operate seamlessly, no matter where they are.
The company also recruited the support of many distinguished industry leaders as board members and investors - including Martin Crawford, former Group CEO of corporate services giant Vistra, Eric Barbier, founder of TransferTo, and Pierre Lorinet, non-executive Director of Trafigura Group, raising $5M in seed financing last December.
To commemorate the anniversary, Sleek announced the launch of SleekSign, an in-house developed e-signature platform that was previously exclusive to Sleek users. SleekSign provides an easy to use and legally binding e-signature solution with unlimited free usage. "We want to make the tool available to everyone as a part of our commitment to helping businesses and entrepreneurs during these challenging times," the company's Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, Adrien Barthel said.
Sleek now helps more than 2,500 startups and companies in Singapore and Hong Kong. What started as a nimble team of 3 now has over 100 employees across 3 different regions. When asked about plans for the future, Sleek will soon be launching new features on its platform, and continue to expand in the months and years to come!
