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Fifteen54’s journey from structural steel to software startup, backed by Lawpath

A Tasmanian software startup for the structural steel industry — getting company structure, contracts and accounting handled under one roof, so its founder can focus on winning early customers.

First 2 clients

recently signed, with agreements ready before negotiations began

Full company

an Australian company structure set up with Lawpath, for less than expected

3 agreements

software licences, beta agreements and NDAs drafted so far

Legal + tax

handled under one subscription, with Xero and the bank feed connected

Advice covered by Lawpath

IP & licensing
Contract drafting
Company structures
Tax & accounting
1 The challenge

Local advisers who didn’t get startups

Andrew’s background is in the structural steel industry, and when he founded Fifteen54 — an early-stage software venture on Tasmania’s northwest coast — he needed a lot at once: help to incorporate, a tax and accounting adviser, and a lawyer for software licence, beta and NDA agreements. Looking locally, he found plenty of capable providers, but most focused on everyday matters like conveyancing and estates rather than startups or software. He could see it was going to be a frustrating and costly exercise.

"

The local guys are pretty good, but they mostly do births, deaths, marriages, real estate. I could see pretty quickly it was going to be a frustrating and costly exercise.

Andrew Miller

Founder, Fifteen54

2 The solution

Startup expertise, with legal and tax under one roof

Searching online, Andrew came across Lawpath and realised it supported startups and software companies — the expertise he couldn’t find locally — with legal, tax and accounting under one subscription. Lawpath first advised on the right company structure; unsure whether to be a sole trader or a company, he worked it through and set up a full Australian company, for far less than the ten thousand dollars he’d expected. His lawyer drafted three agreements and asked questions he hadn’t considered, so he had contracts ready before his first customer. On the accounting side, Matt set him up with Xero and a connected bank feed.

"

I know my industry, but I don’t know much about tax, setting up a company or legal agreements. I needed the experts looking after the things I don’t understand, so I could focus on my customers.

Andrew Miller

Founder, Fifteen54

3 Impact & growth

Structured properly, with no nasty surprises

Because Andrew did the planning up front with Lawpath, there haven’t been any real gotchas. With agreements written before he was even in negotiations, he could email a contract to a prospect straight away and save time. He describes getting everything structured properly as cheap insurance compared with running off without a proper structure — and it let him focus on winning his first customers rather than the admin he doesn’t fully understand.

"

Having everything structured properly is pretty cheap insurance compared to just running off and not knowing what you’re doing.

Andrew Miller

Founder, Fifteen54

4 Future aspirations

Growing sustainably, with customers as partners

Still in beta, Andrew wants to grow to four or five customers by the end of the year, at a sustainable pace — finding what customers need and building to solve their real problems. He’s treating his early customers as partners who help make the product better, with Lawpath keeping an eye on his regulations and obligations so he can focus on the business.

"

Give Lawpath a call. They understand startups, they’ll steer you in a cost-effective direction, and it lets you really focus on your business.

Andrew Miller

Founder, Fifteen54

Discover how Lawpath can help your business

Experience the legal and accounting support that helped Fifteen54 get off the ground. Join Lawpath today and start navigating your business’s legal needs with confidence and ease.
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