We think Contractually is pretty neat, but what do we know? We’re interviewing the people who matter, our members, to find out they think about Contractually and how they use it.
Our first interview is with Anthony Nicalo, co-founder and CEO of Foodtree. Anthony is an entrepreneur and a chef who has been involved in numerous sustainable food programs including Farmstead Wines, FarmFed and Inevitable Table. Foodtree uses web and mobile applications to create a global database of local food that brings transparency and democracy to our food system.
“Food is one of those things that isn’t optional. Food is the glue of humanity. I worked in my grandfather’s garden as soon as I could walk and I grew up cooking with my grandmother. I’m not a foodie. I’ve cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants and I can make fussy food, but it’s not something that interests me. I think of food as a must-have, not a nice-to-have.” —Anthony Nicalo
Why did you start Foodtree?
It stemmed from a small wine company that I founded called Farmstead Wines. We wanted to tell the story of each farmer we worked with, because wine just tastes better when you’re sitting around the table with people who made it. Most wine marketing is bullshit. How could we use technology to communicate what is actually in the bottle, in a way that isn’t totally overwhelming? I thought of a New Zealand company called Icebreaker that tracked each wool item back to the sheep that it came from. That’s what we needed for Farmstead Wines.
Anthony Nicalo
How did you get started?
I sent an email to Boris Mann, the co-founder of Bootup Labs, in May 2009 and asked if he had some time to meet. I had an idea. He really liked it and told me I should keep working on it. I spoke to people in the fishing industry who were trying to do the same thing for fish. I convinced a friend from soccer, Derek Shanahan, who had previously built online communities, to hop on board. I met our founding CTO at a Slow Money Alliance Conference in New Mexico. By the Fall of 2009, we had built a prototype, which was initially called ProvenanceID, and we applied to join Bootup Labs. By December 2009 we had changed the name to Foodtree and the founders had moved to Vancouver.
When did you start using Contractually?
I started using the first version in private beta in 2010. It didn’t have e-signatures, something I really wanted, but I used Contractually’s forms to create my contracts. I started using the public beta — with e-signatures — in March of 2011.
How did you get contracts done before you started using Contractually?
We would either have a template, have an attorney give us a copy of a previously-used document and then make some adjustments, or try the old “Google this issue” trick to try and find something. We’d email back and forth, and sign paper documents.
What kind of issues did you encounter with contracts before using Contractually?
There were no immediate issues, but it is the sort of thing that you don’t realize until it is too late. As your company grows and more money is involved, there are bound to be legal issues. Our attorney doesn’t really care about organizing our consulting agreements or intellectual property assignments. However, if we ever wanted to sell company or get investment, we need to be able to immediately hand them all over.
What sort of contracts do you need to get done for Foodtree? Which of these have you made using Contractually?
We mainly use it for consulting agreements and intellectual property assignments. We have used the IP assignment when the consultant had their own contract and we didn’t feel it the IP transfer was clear, so we did up a separate one.
What impact has Contractually had on you?
Initially, I liked the idea of Contractually more than how it worked. There were formatting issues and you couldn’t e-sign, so you still had to do editing and negotiation through email or in person. Now, with the addition of e-signatures, I’m excited when I have a new contract to do: as opposed to thinking “Oh shit, paperwork!”, I can just pull up a form and get it done all to way to signing.
What’s been the best part of using Contractually?
Actually getting contracts done. It’s no longer a hassle or an afterthought. It’s actually a tool that I use to get contracts done before work starts, so we can set expectations in relationships. It defines everything clearly. Contracts were often something that happened as an afterthought, but now we put a contract in place before we start working. After the contract is done, the scope of work is much more clearly defined and the working relationship is stronger.
If you were to recommend Contractually to someone who hadn’t heard of it before, how would you describe Contractually?
It makes it easy to get contracts done, organized, negotiated and signed. The benefits of these features have been obvious to everyone that I have recommended it to so far.
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