The problem we kept seeing
Businesses sign contracts constantly - terms of business, client agreements, supplier contracts, NDAs. Most of the time, nobody reads them properly. Not because they don't care, but because they don't have time, they're not lawyers, and the risk feels abstract until something goes wrong.
When something does go wrong - an uncapped liability clause, a restrictive non-compete, an automatic renewal buried in clause 14.3 - the cost can be devastating. Lost revenue. Legal fees. Relationships damaged beyond repair.
What Vern actually does
Vern is an AI-powered contract review tool. You upload a contract. Vern reads every clause, flags what's risky against your playbook, and tells you exactly what to push back on - in plain English, in under five minutes.
It doesn't replace your lawyer. It tells you when you need one. Think of it as a first line of defence: a way to catch the dangerous clauses before they catch you.
Why we built it
We come from the world of professional services and compliance - industries where contracts fly across desks daily and nobody has time to read them properly. We've seen businesses sign contracts with unlimited liability exposure because nobody caught it. We've seen companies locked into unfavourable terms because the auto-renewal clause was buried on page twelve.
We built Vern because every business deserves to know what they're signing - and you shouldn't need a £400/hour solicitor to get that clarity on everyday agreements.
