Thanks for asking! Honestly, I'm testing a thesis more than building a product.
The thesis: If foundation models can reason through structured workflows, a lot of "middleware" categories (compliance, GRC, back-office automation) are just orchestrating free public data + applying published formulas. The "platform" becomes commoditized.
For KYC specifically:
- Data is free (OFAC, UN, EU sanctions lists, Companies House, etc.)
- Formulas are published (MLR 2017, FinCEN CDD rules)
- Workflows are well-documented
So what are teams paying £60K/year for? Orchestration + audit trail.
If Claude can orchestrate and markdown can audit.. the economics shift dramatically.
Goals:
1. Prove open source can compete with commercial platforms (for standard workflows)
2. Make compliance accessible to smaller teams who can't afford £60K licenses
3. Test if this pattern applies to other regulated categories (legal, accounting, HR compliance)
Not building a company or raising money. Just want to see if expertise-as-code can disrupt vertical SaaS in regulated industries.
What do you think? Does this pattern apply to other categories you've seen?
vyayasan|6 days ago
The thesis: If foundation models can reason through structured workflows, a lot of "middleware" categories (compliance, GRC, back-office automation) are just orchestrating free public data + applying published formulas. The "platform" becomes commoditized.
For KYC specifically: - Data is free (OFAC, UN, EU sanctions lists, Companies House, etc.) - Formulas are published (MLR 2017, FinCEN CDD rules) - Workflows are well-documented
So what are teams paying £60K/year for? Orchestration + audit trail.
If Claude can orchestrate and markdown can audit.. the economics shift dramatically.
Goals: 1. Prove open source can compete with commercial platforms (for standard workflows) 2. Make compliance accessible to smaller teams who can't afford £60K licenses 3. Test if this pattern applies to other regulated categories (legal, accounting, HR compliance)
Not building a company or raising money. Just want to see if expertise-as-code can disrupt vertical SaaS in regulated industries.
What do you think? Does this pattern apply to other categories you've seen?