Peter Foster
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RealCV 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. RealCV 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
RealCV'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
RealCV is the ONLY CV verification tool that:
- ✅ Integrates with HEDD (no competitors do)
- ✅ Targets healthcare recruiting niche (GMC/NMC)
- ✅ Verifies director claims (Companies House cross-check)
- ✅ Detects timeline fraud across education-employment boundary
- ✅ 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 RealCV 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:
- HEDD degree verification (real-time + manual review tracking)
- GMC/NMC healthcare register checks
- Enhanced timeline analysis (education/employment sequencing)
- Companies House director verification
- 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
-
✅ HEDD API Access - Start conversations NOW
- Fallback: Web portal integration (still works)
- Timeline: Approval expected 2-4 weeks
-
✅ GMC/NMC Verification - Request official API access
- Fallback: Web scraper (more fragile)
- Timeline: Scraper approach = 1 week dev
-
✅ 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?
-
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)
-
No Competitive Threat:
- Workable/Deel don't focus on CV verification
- Checkr/Verifile are manual processes
- No integrated UK player in market
-
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):
- HEDD Degree Verification - 9.5/10 impact, medium effort
- Timeline Fraud Detection - 7/10 impact, low effort (extending existing)
- 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
- Timeline: Can we commit 2 engineers full-time for 8 weeks?
- HEDD Access: Will you sponsor approach to HEDD/Prospects for API partnership?
- Beta Partners: Do we have recruitment agency relationships for beta testing?
- Revenue Model: Approve tiered pricing (Free/Pro/Enterprise)?
- International: After UK success, expand to Ireland/Australia?
Contact & Next Steps
Product Lead: [Name] - RealCV Product Strategy Engineering Lead: [Name] - Phase 1 Technical Implementation
Next Meeting: [Date] - Review technical implementation plan + finalize go-to-market