“Before SeedLegals I had many sleepless nights and waking panics”: How VisaDoc swapped fundraising anxiety for investor confidence

Every year, 10% of global business travel plans are cancelled because of incorrect visa documentation. It’s an expensive, entirely preventable problem – and James Tomlin has built the solution.

VisaDoc is the world’s first dedicated platform for corporate business visa infrastructure: handling visas, compliance assessments and cross-border document fulfilment for enterprise clients at scale. It’s niche, it’s technical, and the market opportunity is enormous. James had the vision, the technology and the team. What he didn’t have, at least at first, was practical fundraising support that reduced complexity rather than adding to it.

SeedLegals helped VisaDoc:
✅ Build instant credibility with investors
✅ Negotiate better terms – and know exactly what to push back on
✅ Replace cap table chaos with a single source of truth
✅ Get fast, 360 support without judgement
✅ Close their raise with confidence

With strong traction behind them, VisaDoc is now beginning conversations for its next funding round, again using SeedLegals, to accelerate growth.

Here’s how James and the team turned a stressful raise into a process they could run with confidence.

How small filing issues became big stress

James came to SeedLegals from a different platform. With his first small ticket raised and every penny counting, cost was at the front of his mind, so he went with an alternative platform that seemed to be more cost-effective upfront.

At first, the problems seemed small: unclear processes and confusing next steps. But they multiplied quickly. When James made mistakes on filings, the support he received was just a link to pages of guides to read on his own.

The advice James was getting on how to structure his raise wasn’t helping either. He had gone down the ASA route and collected a significant number of them before receiving conflicting advice that he should have approached it differently. With half his raise already done, that uncertainty was deeply unsettling.

The tipping point came from an investor. When James shared VisaDoc’s data room, the response was blunt: the documents weren’t tying up, the structure wasn’t right, and it didn’t inspire confidence. The investor told James he needed to move to SeedLegals.

Real support when the stakes are high

Switching platforms mid-raise is not a small decision. What James found at SeedLegals wasn’t just better software – it was actual support from people genuinely in his corner.

For first-time founders navigating a raise, this kind of support is hard to put a price on. The legal and admin side of fundraising is unfamiliar territory – and having someone who’ll give a straight, unjudgmental answer every time makes it a much less nerve-wracking experience. For James, the SeedLegals team’s unlimited support made the difference between nights lying awake and being able to focus on actually running his business.

Deal negotiation: knowing what to push back on

The terms you agree to will shape your business for years. During most early-stage negotiations, founders are at a significant disadvantage.

Armed with that clarity, James pushed back. And it worked. VisaDoc came out of negotiations with the terms they wanted.

Accepting unfavourable terms under pressure is one of the most common, and most costly, mistakes early-stage founders make. The impact often doesn’t show up immediately; it compounds quietly in the background, round after round.

With SeedLegals, you have someone experienced by your side who can tell you clearly what’s standard, what isn’t, and where you have room to move. It’s one of the most financially significant things SeedLegals can do for your business.

A single source of truth for your cap table

A cap table sounds simple. In practice, during a live raise with multiple investors, it rarely is.

Before SeedLegals, James had different versions of his, each one slightly different depending on signing dates, payments received and share issuance.

With SeedLegals, everything lives in one place and there’s no need for version control. It’s updated in real time – always accurate and clear. For James, the relief was immediate.

Any advice for fundraising founders?

Raising soon? Get standout support and get it right first time

Through fast and affordable access to top-quality legal documents and unlimited support, SeedLegals makes it simple to get your funding round done – with guidance at every step.

We’ve helped startups close over £2.5 billion in investment. Book a free strategy call with our fundraising team to find out how we can help you.