Toronto based eQuibbly is a startup that has developed a unique way to resolve disputes. Lance Soskin is the founder of the web site and also happens to be a lawyer and investment banker turned entrepreneur. Soskin developed eQuibbly to serve as an online forum that allows two parties to resolve disputes by posting their problem in a private room that only has an arbitrator. The other more interesting choice the two parties have is to post their dispute in a public section where the website’s community will come to the aid of both parties to come to a conclusion to the problem. The idea of going public is to get as many ideas and paths to a resolution as possible. People can bring any sort of problem they have and after all types of solutions have been presented, everyone can vote for their favourite option to be used as a resolution.
The company states that, “eQuibbly is a free web app created to help people and companies resolve their disputes quickly and fairly online with the help of their social network and crowdvoting.” The company goes on to say that, “This method of resolving issues between Parties is known formally as Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), which is a subset of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). It provides disputing parties with an alternative to the government-run justice system, which often takes many months, if not years, and many thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands of dollars, to arrive at a resolution.”
eQuibbly is serious about its service and parties that use said service have the option to make any resolution that is reached legally binding. The two people involved can sign contracts at the beginning of the process or they can go with a dispute resolution that is not legally binding.
According to eQuibbly, justice is not cheap in Canada or the US and the start up helps solve that problem by giving a free service that bridges the gap. The company says that, “Although both Canada and the U.S. pride themselves on having a fair and accessible government-run justice system, the truth is that for approximately 80% of the population, which has an income under $50,000, justice is neither fair, nor easily accessible.” eQuibbly makes the whole process cheaper and faster while putting both parties on equal footing so that individuals with more money cannot overpower their opponents.
For now, eQuibbly is focusing on marketing itself so that more people hear about the app and what it has to offer. The start-up still has some way to go but their useful and innovative concept should not have any issues expanding and turning into a successful business.
Source: Nibletz