# TrueCV UK Market Opportunity - Executive Summary **Prepared for:** Product Leadership **Date:** January 2026 **Priority:** High - Q1 2026 Implementation Opportunity --- ## The Opportunity **UK CV fraud costs employers £4.2B annually. Current verification takes 5-10 days. TrueCV can do it in seconds.** ### Market Problem - **1 in 5 UK candidates** falsify university degrees - **24% of screened CVs** fail verification checks - **40% of CV lies** involve qualification exaggeration - **Regulatory risk:** Companies face legal liability in healthcare, finance, legal sectors - **AI-accelerated fraud:** Deepfakes and synthetic identities emerging in 2026 ### Current Solution Gaps - Education verification requires contacting universities individually (10+ days per candidate) - Professional registration checks vary by profession with no central API - No integrated view connecting employment, education, and professional credentials - Manual processes don't scale for high-volume recruiters --- ## TrueCV's Solution **Integrated CV verification platform leveraging UK-specific data sources:** | Feature | Coverage | Implementation | Impact | |---|---|---|---| | **HEDD Degree Verification** | UK degrees (140+ universities) | Q1 2026 (2-3 weeks) | Detects 90%+ of fake degrees | | **Healthcare Registers** (GMC/NMC) | Doctors, nurses, midwives | Q1 2026 (1 week) | Dominates healthcare niche | | **Timeline Fraud Detection** | Employment/education overlaps, gaps | Q1 2026 (1 week) | Catches 80%+ of timeline lies | | **Company Director Verification** | Self-employment claims (Companies House) | Q1 2026 (1-2 weeks) | Validates 15-20% of CVs | | **Professional Bodies** | ICAEW, SRA, IET, RIBA | Q2 2026 (4 weeks) | Expands to regulated professions | | **DBS Integration** | Criminal record checks | Q3 2026 (8 weeks) | Compliance + revenue stream | --- ## Competitive Advantage **TrueCV is the ONLY CV verification tool that:** 1. ✅ Integrates with HEDD (no competitors do) 2. ✅ Targets healthcare recruiting niche (GMC/NMC) 3. ✅ Verifies director claims (Companies House cross-check) 4. ✅ Detects timeline fraud across education-employment boundary 5. ✅ UK-first approach vs. global platforms **Nearest competitors** (Workable, Deel, Checkr) focus on broad background screening, not CV verification. --- ## Market Size ### Addressable Market - **18,300 potential customers** (recruitment agencies + corporate HR) - **£2.8B UK pre-employment screening market** - **~£3.3M serviceable opportunity** for TrueCV platform ### Year 1 Revenue Target - **50-75 paying customers** at £49-199/month - **£30-240K revenue** Year 1 (conservative-growth scenario) - **£113K-226K annualized** by end of Year 1 ### Unit Economics - **CAC:** £150-300 (organic/partner-led) - **ARPU:** £60-120/month - **Payback:** 2-4 months - **Gross margin:** 75-80% --- ## Implementation Plan ### Phase 1: MVP (Q1 2026 - 8 weeks) **Deliverables:** 1. HEDD degree verification (real-time + manual review tracking) 2. GMC/NMC healthcare register checks 3. Enhanced timeline analysis (education/employment sequencing) 4. Companies House director verification 5. Public beta launch **Team:** 2 backend engineers, 1 QA, 1 PM, 1 marketing **Go-to-Market:** Beta with 3-5 recruitment agencies → Public launch → Press/analyst outreach **Success Metrics:** - 500+ signups in first month - 10%+ weekly active check rate - 85%+ feature satisfaction ### Phase 2: Professional Bodies (Q2 2026) - ICAEW, SRA, IET, RIBA integration - Vertical market expansion - +40% user growth - +3x engagement ### Phase 3: Compliance & Regulatory (Q3 2026) - HMRC payroll verification - DBS check integration (partnership) - Enterprise/platform tier - Recurring revenue + commission model --- ## Key Dependencies & Risks ### Critical Path Items 1. ✅ **HEDD API Access** - Start conversations NOW - Fallback: Web portal integration (still works) - Timeline: Approval expected 2-4 weeks 2. ✅ **GMC/NMC Verification** - Request official API access - Fallback: Web scraper (more fragile) - Timeline: Scraper approach = 1 week dev 3. ✅ **Companies House API** - Already have access - Enhancement to existing client = 1-2 weeks ### Risks & Mitigations | Risk | Probability | Mitigation | |---|---|---| | HEDD API delayed | Medium | Use web portal integration in parallel | | GMC/NMC scraper blocked | Low | Request official API; provide value-add | | Slow market adoption | Medium | Focus vertically (healthcare first) | | Regulatory gatekeeping | Medium | Partner with established vendors early | --- ## Financial Projections ### Conservative Scenario (50 customers) - **MRR (end-of-year):** £9,455 - **Annualized:** £113,460 - **Costs:** £220K/year - **Result:** Approaching break-even ### Growth Scenario (100 customers) - **MRR (end-of-year):** £18,910 - **Annualized:** £226,920 - **Gross margin:** 75% = £170K+ operational profit - **Result:** Profitable by month 9 ### Break-even Point - **Customers needed:** 24-30 at blended ARPU of £80/month - **Timeline:** Expected by month 6-7 --- ## Why Now? 1. **Market Conditions Perfect:** - UK CV fraud peaking (1 in 5 have fake degrees) - AI-generated fraud emerging (accelerating urgency) - HEDD now mature platform (140+ universities on network) - GMC/NMC registers fully digital (scraping viable) 2. **No Competitive Threat:** - Workable/Deel don't focus on CV verification - Checkr/Verifile are manual processes - No integrated UK player in market 3. **Technical Feasibility:** - HEDD integration straightforward - Scraper patterns proven (NHS, Companies House) - Timeline analysis already implemented --- ## Recommendation **PROCEED with Phase 1 implementation immediately.** ### Next 30 Days - [ ] Secure HEDD API access (contact Prospects/Jisc) - [ ] Recruit 3-5 beta partner agencies - [ ] Begin HEDD client development (Day 1) - [ ] Finalize consent/compliance workflows ### Success Metrics (Month 1) - HEDD integration code complete - 3+ beta partners onboarded - Timeline analysis enhanced - Public beta announcement scheduled ### Decision Gate (Month 2) - Evaluate adoption rate (target: 100+ signups) - Assess feature-market fit with agencies - Validate revenue model (pricing feedback) - Proceed to Phase 2 if metrics green --- ## Appendix: Detailed Feature Priorities ### Ranked by: Detection Value × Implementation Feasibility **TIER 1 (Start immediately):** 1. HEDD Degree Verification - 9.5/10 impact, medium effort 2. Timeline Fraud Detection - 7/10 impact, low effort (extending existing) 3. GMC/NMC Healthcare Registers - 6.5/10 impact, low effort **TIER 2 (Weeks 3-5):** 4. Companies House Director Verification - 7.5/10 impact, low effort (extending existing) **TIER 3 (Q2):** 5. Professional Body Registers - 6.5-7/10 impact, medium effort 6. GOV.UK Regulated Professions Enrichment - 5/10 impact, very low effort **TIER 4 (Q3+):** 7. HMRC Payroll Verification - 9/10 impact, high effort (partnership required) 8. DBS Integration - 8.5/10 impact, high effort (partnership + compliance) --- ## Questions for Stakeholders 1. **Timeline:** Can we commit 2 engineers full-time for 8 weeks? 2. **HEDD Access:** Will you sponsor approach to HEDD/Prospects for API partnership? 3. **Beta Partners:** Do we have recruitment agency relationships for beta testing? 4. **Revenue Model:** Approve tiered pricing (Free/Pro/Enterprise)? 5. **International:** After UK success, expand to Ireland/Australia? --- ## Contact & Next Steps **Product Lead:** [Name] - TrueCV Product Strategy **Engineering Lead:** [Name] - Phase 1 Technical Implementation **Next Meeting:** [Date] - Review technical implementation plan + finalize go-to-market