RealCV/UK_MARKET_STRATEGY.md

RealCV UK Market Strategy & Product Roadmap

Document Date: January 2026 Focus: UK CV verification market positioning Horizon: 12-month growth plan

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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)

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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"

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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.

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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."

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References & Data Sources

• CIFAS CV Fraud Report
• Reed Screening CV Verification Data
• UK Employment Gap Report 2025
• Companies House API Documentation
• HEDD (Higher Education Degree Datacheck)
• GMC Register
• NMC Register