# RealCV UK Market Strategy & Product Roadmap **Document Date:** January 2026 **Focus:** UK CV verification market positioning **Horizon:** 12-month growth plan --- ## Market Opportunity ### Problem Statement **UK CV fraud costs employers £4.2B+ annually** and is accelerating: - **1 in 5 candidates** claim false university degrees (Cifas, 2025) - **40% of CV embellishments** relate to qualifications - **24% of screened CVs** fail verification (Reed Screening, 2025) - **AI-generated fraud emerging:** Deepfakes, synthetic identities, proxy interviews now feasible - **Regulatory risk:** Companies failing due diligence face legal liability in regulated sectors **Traditional Pre-Employment Screening is Broken:** - Manual background checks take 5-10 days - Education verification requires contacting universities individually (10 days+) - Professional registration checks vary by profession with no central access - No integrated view across employment, education, and professional credentials --- ## Market Size & Addressable Opportunity ### TAM (Total Addressable Market) **UK Recruitment Market Segment:** - **190,000 recruitment companies** in UK (2024) - **~3,500+ recruiting via dedicated screening tools** - **Estimated £2.8B spent on background screening annually** ### SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market) **RealCV Target Segment:** - Mid-market recruitment agencies (50-500 staff): ~800 companies - Corporate HR departments (100+ employees): ~15,000 companies - Specialist vertical recruiters (healthcare, finance, legal): ~2,500 companies - **Total TAM:** ~18,300 potential customers **Estimated SAM value at £180/customer/year:** ~£3.3M annually ### SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) - Year 1 - **Target:** 50-100 customers at £50-200/month (various tiers) - **Projected revenue:** £30-240K in Year 1 - **Growth trajectory:** Doubling annually if market adoption strong --- ## Competitive Landscape ### Current Competitors | Competitor | Coverage | Strength | Weakness | |---|---|---|---| | **Workable** | ATS + basic screening | Broad platform | No CV verification focus | | **Deel** | Global hiring + screening | Compliance authority | Not UK-focused; expensive | | **Checkr** | Background checks + DBS | Scale and integrations | No CV-specific verification | | **Verifile** | Pre-employment screening | Established relationships | Traditional manual process | | **Veriff** | Identity verification | Strong deepfake tech | Not employment-focused | ### RealCV Differentiation | Feature | RealCV | Workable | Deel | Checkr | Verifile | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | **Degree Verification (HEDD)** | ✅ Q1 2026 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Healthcare Register Checks** | ✅ Q1 2026 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Timeline Fraud Detection** | ✅ Q1 2026 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Director Verification** | ✅ Q1 2026 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Companies House API** | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | **Professional Bodies** | ✅ Q2 2026 | ❌ | ❌ | Partial | Partial | | **DBS Integration** | ✅ Q3 2026 | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | **Key Advantage:** *First-to-market with CV-specific, UK-integrated verification stack* --- ## Product Strategy ### Phase 1 (Q1 2026): MVP Launch - "The Verified CV" **Positioning:** "Every UK degree verified. Every timeline verified. Every claim validated." **Core Features (8 weeks):** 1. HEDD degree verification (real-time + manual review tracking) 2. Timeline fraud detection (overlaps, gaps, education-employment sequencing) 3. Companies House director verification 4. GMC/NMC healthcare register checks 5. Enhanced CV parsing (education/employment entity linking) **Target Customer:** Medium recruitment agencies (50-200 hiring/year) **Pricing Model:** - **Freemium:** 3 free CV checks/month (companies house + timeline) - **Professional:** £49/month - Unlimited checks + HEDD verification - **Enterprise:** £199/month - Pro features + API access + custom integrations **Launch Strategy:** - Partner with 3-5 recruitment agencies for beta testing (Week 2-4) - Launch public beta (Week 5) - GA release (Week 8) - Press/analyst outreach highlighting fraud prevention angle **Success Metrics:** - 500+ signups in first 4 weeks - 10%+ weekly active check rate - 85%+ feature satisfaction (NPS >40) --- ### Phase 2 (Q2 2026): Professional Bodies Expansion **Positioning:** "Verify degrees. Verify certifications. Verify everything." **New Features:** 1. ICAEW accountant registration checks 2. SRA solicitor registration checks 3. IET engineer registration checks 4. RIBA architect registration checks 5. GOV.UK regulated profession enrichment (API layer) **Target Market Expansion:** - Financial services recruiting - Legal recruiting - Engineering recruiting - Niche vertical specialists **Business Impact:** - +40% monthly active users - +3x engagement (more verifications per customer) - +2x ARPU (professional tier premium) **Pricing:** Professional tier → £79/month; Enterprise → £249/month --- ### Phase 3 (Q3 2026): Compliance & Regulatory **Positioning:** "Full employment verification. Complete compliance confidence." **New Features:** 1. HMRC payroll verification (partnership model) 2. DBS check integration (partnership + commission) 3. Right-to-Work verification API 4. Audit trail & compliance reporting 5. Batch processing API **Target Markets:** - Large corporate HR departments - Pre-employment screening agencies - Temp/staffing agencies (compliance-heavy) **Business Model Evolution:** - Per-check commission on DBS (£5-15 per check) - HMRC verification licensing (custom pricing) - API/platform access (£500-2,000/month) --- ## Go-To-Market Strategy ### Sales Channels #### Channel 1: Direct Sales (Lead) - Target recruitment agency owners (LinkedIn outreach) - HR directors at 100+ employee companies - Sales pitch: "Reduce hiring risk. Verify every claim. In minutes." - Expected conversion: 5-8% from qualified leads - Sales cycle: 2-4 weeks #### Channel 2: Partnerships - Integrate with ATS platforms (Workable, Bullhorn, Lever) - White-label for existing background check providers - API marketplace (Zapier, Make, etc.) - Expected impact: +30% user acquisition annually #### Channel 3: Content & SEO - Blog: "UK CV Fraud Patterns" (targeting "CV verification UK" search) - Case studies: "How we caught 18 fake degrees in Q1" - Thought leadership: Webinars on fraud detection for HR - Expected impact: +20% organic users #### Channel 4: Vertical Specialists - Healthcare recruiter outreach (GMC/NMC checks as entry) - Financial services (ICAEW verification) - Legal recruiting (SRA verification) - Expected impact: +25% high-value customers ### Marketing Messaging **Tagline:** "Hire with Confidence. Verify with RealCV." **Core Messages:** 1. **For Recruiters:** "Catch 90% of degree fraud in seconds. One-click HEDD verification." 2. **For HR Teams:** "Complete CV validation pipeline. Reduce hiring risk by 70%." 3. **For Compliance:** "Full audit trail. DBS integration. Regulatory confidence." **Proof Points:** - "Trusted by 5+ UK recruitment agencies in first 30 days" - "1 in 5 candidates have false degrees — we find them" - "Average savings: £8,000 per bad hire prevented" --- ## Pricing Strategy ### Tier Analysis | Tier | Users | Monthly | Annual | Features | |---|---|---|---|---| | **Free** | Solo recruiters | £0 | £0 | 3 CV checks, Companies House | | **Professional** | Small agencies | £49 | £490 | Unlimited checks, HEDD, Timeline | | **Enterprise** | Large orgs | £199 | £1,990 | API access, custom integrations, DBS | | **API/Platform** | Integration partners | £500-2K | £6-24K | Batch processing, white-label | ### Unit Economics (Target - Year 2) - **Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):** £150-300 (organic/partner-led) - **Average Revenue Per User (ARPU):** £60-120/month (mix of tiers) - **Payback Period:** 2-4 months - **Gross Margin:** 75-80% (SaaS model) - **LTV:CAC Ratio:** 4:1+ (healthy SaaS) --- ## Organizational Requirements ### Team Structure (12-month horizon) **Now (Q1):** - 2 Backend Engineers (full-time on Phase 1) - 1 QA Engineer - 1 Product Manager - 1 Marketing/Growth Lead **Q2 Addition:** - +1 Full-stack Engineer (vertical expansion) - +1 Sales/BD Lead (partnership development) **Q3 Addition:** - +1 Customer Success Manager (onboarding) - +1 Part-time Data Analyst (metrics/LTV) --- ## Key Risks & Mitigations | Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation | |---|---|---|---| | **HEDD API access delayed** | Medium | High | Use web portal integration; request API access in parallel | | **NHS/GMC scraping blocked** | Low | Medium | Request official API access proactively; provide value-add | | **Regulatory gatekeeping** | Medium | Medium | Build partnerships early; engage with regulators directly | | **DBS/HMRC integration delays** | Medium | Medium | Partner with established vendors (Verifile, DDC) handling compliance | | **Market adoption slower than expected** | Medium | Medium | Focus on high-value verticals first (healthcare, finance); expand TAM gradually | | **Competitor response** | Medium | Medium | Maintain first-mover advantage; deepen integrations; expand internationally (Ireland, Australia next) | --- ## Success Metrics (12-Month Goals) ### Business Metrics - **Revenue:** £250K+ annualized (Mix of Professional/Enterprise) - **Customers:** 50-75 paying customers - **Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR):** £20K+ - **CAC Payback:** <4 months - **NPS:** >50 (positive) ### Product Metrics - **HEDD Verification Accuracy:** >98% match rate - **Timeline Detection Rate:** 85%+ of actual gaps/overlaps caught - **Directorship Verification:** 95%+ accuracy (vs. Companies House records) - **Feature Adoption:** 80%+ of Professional tier customers using HEDD - **API Uptime:** 99.9% ### Market Metrics - **Brand Awareness:** 15%+ of recruitment agencies aware of RealCV - **Market Share:** 0.5-1% of addressable recruitment screening market - **Vertical Penetration:** 3%+ of healthcare recruiters, 2%+ financial recruiters --- ## Financial Projections ### Conservative Scenario (50 customers by end-of-year) **Revenue Breakdown:** - 30 × Professional tier at £49/mo: £1,470/mo - 15 × Enterprise tier at £199/mo: £2,985/mo - 5 × API/Platform at £1,000/mo: £5,000/mo - **Total MRR (Dec 2026):** £9,455 - **Annualized:** £113,460 **Costs:** - Engineering (2 FTE): £150K/year - Infrastructure/APIs: £20K/year - Sales/Marketing: £30K/year - Operations: £20K/year - **Total Cost:** £220K/year **Result:** Break-even at ~24 customers; profitable at 50+ customers ### Growth Scenario (100 customers by end-of-year) - **MRR (Dec 2026):** £18,910 - **Annualized Revenue:** £226,920 - **Gross Margin:** 75% = £170K+ operational profit --- ## Next 30 Days Action Plan ### Week 1-2: Preparation - [ ] Contact HEDD for API access / partner discussions - [ ] Reach out to GMC/NMC about verification APIs - [ ] Identify 5 recruitment agency beta partners - [ ] Finalize HEDD compliance & consent workflows ### Week 2-4: Development - [ ] Complete HEDD integration (see Phase 1 technical doc) - [ ] GMC/NMC scraper development - [ ] Enhanced timeline analysis - [ ] Companies House director verification ### Week 3-4: Beta & Validation - [ ] Beta launch with 3-5 agencies - [ ] Collect feedback on UX/value - [ ] Measure fraud detection accuracy - [ ] Iterate on flag messaging/severity ### Week 4+: Go-to-Market - [ ] Public launch announcement - [ ] Initial outreach to 20-30 qualified prospects - [ ] Content marketing (first blog post live) - [ ] Track signup rate & activation --- ## Long-Term Vision (2-3 Years) **Expansion Opportunities Beyond UK:** ### Ireland (Natural Extension) - Similar legal framework to UK - HEDD equivalent exists (HEA) - Revenue opportunity: +£50-100K annually ### Australia/New Zealand - English-speaking markets - Similar professional regulation frameworks - Revenue opportunity: +£150-300K annually ### EU Markets (Longer-term) - Different regulatory landscape (more complex) - ENIC-NARIC degree verification network - Professional body registration varies by country ### Vertical Integrations - HR software integrations (Workday, SAP SuccessFactors) - Talent acquisition platforms (multi-tool suites) - Compliance software (audit logging, reporting) --- ## Conclusion RealCV addresses a massive UK market problem (£4.2B+ annual cost from CV fraud) with a focused, integrated solution. By launching with HEDD degree verification + timeline fraud detection in Q1 2026, we capture first-mover advantage in a gap no competitor fills. **The opportunity:** Become the UK's trusted CV verification layer for recruitment, reducing fraud while accelerating hiring processes. **The path:** Start with core features, expand vertically into professional bodies, then horizontally into compliance/regulatory, then internationally. **The outcome:** Build a defensible, recurring revenue business with 10-15% of the UK recruitment market within 3 years. --- ## Appendix: Customer Personas ### Persona 1: Agency Owner (Mid-Market) - **Name:** Sarah, 48, runs recruitment agency (80 staff) - **Problem:** Wasting 2-3 hours per hire verifying degrees manually - **Budget:** £3K-8K/year on screening tools - **Decision-making:** Speed & cost focus; wants manual verification eliminated - **Buying signal:** "Can you reduce our verification time from 5 days to 5 minutes?" ### Persona 2: Corporate HR Manager - **Name:** James, 35, Head of HR at financial services firm (200 employees) - **Problem:** Regulatory liability; reputational risk from bad hires - **Budget:** £20K-50K/year on compliance & screening - **Decision-making:** Compliance & audit trail critical; automation secondary - **Buying signal:** "We need proof every hire has verified credentials for audits." ### Persona 3: Specialist Vertical Recruiter - **Name:** Dr. Lisa, 42, healthcare recruitment founder (20 staff) - **Problem:** Need to verify GMC/NMC registration quickly; manual checks break hiring velocity - **Budget:** £2K-5K/year (cost-sensitive) - **Decision-making:** Speed & accuracy for regulated professions - **Buying signal:** "If you verify healthcare pros instantly, we're in." --- ## References & Data Sources - [CIFAS CV Fraud Report](https://www.cifas.org.uk/newsroom/1-in-5-lie-about-uni-degree-cv-fraud) - [Reed Screening CV Verification Data](https://www.reed.com/) - [UK Employment Gap Report 2025](https://www.livecareer.co.uk/career-advice/uk-employment-gap-report) - [Companies House API Documentation](https://developer.companieshouse.gov.uk/) - [HEDD (Higher Education Degree Datacheck)](https://hedd.ac.uk/) - [GMC Register](https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/our-registers) - [NMC Register](https://www.nmc.org.uk/registration/search-the-register/)