Software company gone big

People competition: Recruitment of new talent has been a consistent effort by the company.

OPPORTUNITY lies in times of crisis. This age-old advice holds true for Juris Technologies Sdn Bhd.

The financial technology (fintech) firm, which specialises in financial software development, took shape and grew in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, thanks to the opportunity that co-founder and chief executive officer See Wai Hun saw and pursued.

At a time when the financial markets were under great stress, the company saw an opening in the banking and financial sector. Banks were struggling to deal with bad debts and delinquencies. With non-performing loans on the rise, Juris Technologies looked into how it could help banks generate sales through data mining.

“It was a period where no one wanted to spend or was willing to invest in technologies. But there was a need, in fact, a great demand for recovery and legal services as the number of defaults increased.

“We started to engage with the lawyers and bankers by offering software that cater to loan and debts recoveries,” says See.

The company found its first customer in a foreign bank, and has since grown from strength to strength.

Cosy corner: The workplace is designed in such a way to allow creativity to flow.

More than 20 years later, Juris Technologies has since evolved from just offering debt recovery software services for distressed assets into one of the pioneering local companies in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and technology advancements.

Apart from the debt collection system, Juris technologies has also developed some of the most advanced and sought after software including those that facilitate loan origination systems, credit scoring systems, and conveyancing and loan documentation systems.

With the banking sector now one of the most stable and resilient in the country, there is growing

opportunity for the company in the fast-moving technology scene.

The sector’s requirements have also changed over the years, presenting Juris Technologies with a different kind of challenge.

Today, its work centres on staying ahead of the curve in terms of AI advancement. Instead of loan recovery, its loan origination system, which helps to predict the probability of default and new credit application screening, is now the main driver for Juris Technologies’ growth.

Most of the large banks in Malaysia, as well as leasing and law firms, have been using Juris Technologies’ software system.

However, not all banks or financial institutions are fully on board the digital bandwagon. Some, notes See, are still not comfortable about adopting AI and using financial software developed by external third parties.

Nonetheless, this also means there is untapped opportunity for Juris Technologies. If the company, along with the fintech segment, is able to convince these established firms about the benefits of using AI, Juris Technologies will be able to tap into a bigger base of clients.

Acquiring new talents

If there is one thing every ambitious and fast growing company needs, it is talent. Of course, having a team that is hungry for success also helps a lot.

Although See considers Juris Technologies a relatively minor name in the employer list for top talents, the company still managed to attract ambitious new recruits by offering unconventional benefits.

“We have to compete with multinationals in job fairs, and obviously, most of the job seekers will be looking to join global companies. But we managed to beat some of the bigger players and attract good attention with offers such as on-the-spot hiring once they pass certain tests and free IQ test scores,” shares See.

The competition for talent is not just with the big boys. As the technology scene continues to evolve rapidly, the multitude of startups coming onstream are also competing to hire. And with everyone looking to scale up quickly, talent acquisition can be a challenge.

Serious business: Juris Technologies takes its task of harnessing talent very seriously.

In fact, recruitment of new talents has been a consistent effort for Juris Technologies. See and her team take pride in bringing on board many recruits with non-tech background and have nurtured them into leaders who are fit to head teams and departments within the company.

Juris Technologies take its task of harnessing talents very seriously, says See.

The team has also put in a lot of effort to design the entire workplace – from its wide open workstations and multiple discussion rooms, to the ‘rest and relax’ corners – in a way that would allow creativity to flow.

“The fact that we compete for the same talents also means that we have to offer the same or better physical benefits and conducive workplace,” explains See.

Future options

Now that the company has passed the 20-year milestone, what’s next for Juris Technologies?

That is a question that has become one of the main topics of discussion among its top management as they chart the company’s future path, admits See.

She highlights the company’s challenging position in growing to the next level.

Strategic tie-ups: See is on the lookout for partnerships with synergistic value rather than financial support.

“At the beginning, when the business is still small, the focus of the management will naturally be on getting in people who can help establish the company. But once you have reached a level where the business is already established, the challenge has now morphed into how fast we are able to train people to be good and be able to replicate what you can do to grow new customers,” says See.

But apart from trying to strengthen the team and position the company for organic growth, See is not ruling out any possibility of exploring potential merger and acquisitions or partnerships with private equity (PE) funds by next year to support the company’s inorganic growth strategies.

Juris Technologies is keen to diversify its customer base to include more non-financial institutions and also explore regional markets for its software services. Certainly, a strategic partnership will help boost the company as it looks at regional options.

According to See, Juris Technologies was, last year, approached by a local based PE fund with regional presence that was keen to invest in the company.

Unfortunately, the stars were not aligned and the timing was not right, says See, as the company was still in its growth stage at the time. This meant that Juris Technologies had to prioritise its efforts on putting its internal structures in place to support its expansion this year before exploring a stake sale to any external investors.

The company has not made any decision regarding a potential stake size or whether it intends to bring any external investors on board. But See is hoping to look at partnerships with more synergistic value rather than financial support.

Juris Technologies has also received offers from bankers for a listing exercise but its owners do not see an initial public offering as a suitable exit as part of the company’s short term strategies.

Currently, the company’s chief technology officer John Lim, chief operating officer Naaman Lee and See collectively control 100% of the company.

The team still has big ambitions for the company.

Banking on experience: The company intends to stay focused on its expertise in the financial sector.

While the company’s AI is basically sector agnostics, See says Juris Technologies’ expertise is in the financial sector and this is something that the company intends to stay focused on in order to grow.

Should the company be successful in pushing its boundaries and growing beyond its current markets, things could look up for the team on the global scale.

According to See, Juris Technologies’ bigger global peer in the financial software space is San Jose, California, based FICO.

Juris Technologies recorded a revenue of more than RM30mil last year, and has been growing at an average of 25% over the last four years.

It currently employs more than 180 staff and See says the team is growing, comprising mainly recruits from the non-tech background as well as trained programmers and IT engineers.

No technology last as-is forever. And with trends changing rapidly, maintaining leadership in the business is crucial for a company’s survival.

See spends a lot of her effort and time in engaging her young and fast growing team. The average age of her team is below 30 years old.

See says the staff at Juris Technologies come together for a town hall session every month to have a better idea of the challenges faced by the company, and industry at large, to be better prepared at overcoming them.

The quality of a leader is tested in times of crisis. But See and her team at Juris Technologies seem to have cracked the code on the kind of service and technologies that will likely withstand the vagaries of the financial markets. This will help the company retain its position at the forefront.

The next challenge is to take the company beyond the local market and compete with the regional and global boys.