DocuSign has to be one of the most convenient products of the last few decades. Thanks to DocuSign, the rigmarole of printing, signing, scanning, attaching, and returning leaves of paper in order to carry out a simple legal function is replaced by a wholly online ‘e-signature’. With over 1 billion users worldwide and over 1 million paying subscribers, DocuSign sees strong and consistent revenue growth though the company remains unprofitable.

Founded by Court Lorenzini, Tom Gonser, and Eric Ranft in San Francisco in 2003, DocuSign received early support from venture capitalists Timberline. It took two years for DocuSign to begin sales, at first offering compatibility with Microsoft Windows. A key development was their unique hash system, whereby every document signed with DocuSign had a checkable hash that would not match the central database if tampered with. This was key in establishing the technology’s acceptance in a legal setting. Lorenzini stepped down as CEO in 2007, though he remained in the company.

2010 saw the launch of an iPhone compatible app, and in 2011 DocuSign opened their first international office in London. A series of partnerships with major firms including PayPal, Facebook, and Microsoft brought DocuSign renewed attention and the company went through highly successful subsequent funding rounds.

DocuSign operates a ‘freemium’ business model, with most users paying nothing for the service. Institutional users have the option of paying extra for cloud services, including verification and storage of all signed documents used by the company. DocuSign also offers paying subscribers additional services, such as contract lifecycle management and analytics.

DocuSign went public on the NASDAQ exchange in a 2018 IPO at $29 per share, valuing the company at just under $4.5 billion. Since then, the stock has become extremely popular with institutional investors which hold over three quarters of the company despite its lack of profit. The largest individual shareholders are Vanguard and BlackRock.