Our story

Our Story 

Validate was created in 2012 out of sheer frustration.

At the time, I owned a contracting business and had just finished a big job. Like most contractors, I collected a payment upfront to start and then effectively extended credit to the customer until the job was done to receive the final payment. The problem was the customer had no intention of giving me that final payment — or paying the other five contractors he'd hired, which I didn't know at the time.

I was out $15,000. He stopped returning my calls, ignored my emails, and was "never home" when I showed up at his door. There was nothing wrong with my work, my schedule, or the amount due. He just didn't want to pay.

I was at a roadblock, and I needed something powerful enough to get his attention — something that told him I was serious.

So I started looking at my options. None of them were great.

I could put a lien on his house — but that only works if I hire a lawyer to foreclose in court. I'd spend close to what he owed me in legal fees, I'd be last in line behind the banks and other creditors, and I'd be waiting a year or more. Not an option. Small claims court was out too — it's capped at $5,000 in most states, and he owed me three times that. I looked into collections, but most agencies charged startup fees of $100 or more and took up to 40% of whatever they recovered — with no guarantee of collecting anything. My bills still needed to be paid.

I needed something inexpensive, quick, and powerful enough to compel this customer to pay. I wasn't finding it.

Being part Italian, my mind went straight to a blacklist. I wanted everyone in town to know this guy was a deadbeat. I quickly discovered that wasn't exactly legal — defamation and all that. But as it turns out, there is a body of federal law that allows businesses to report consumers who don't pay to a national database, provided they follow specific guidelines. That sounded close enough to a blacklist for me.

So I set out to build it.

It took years of research, development, legal guidance, coding, and compliance audits. And Validate was born — a business-forward platform that gives small and medium-sized businesses the power to hold consumers accountable on a national level.

And I made sure it hit every mark I was looking for when I needed it most:

Inexpensive. Just $35/month. No hidden fees, no additional fees, and you keep 100% of what you collect — paid directly to you.

Quick. Report a consumer in as little as 60 seconds, on your time, wherever you are. Manage all your delinquent accounts from your personal dashboard.

Powerful. Reported consumers have 14 days to pay — or they're listed on a national database for seven years. No more "the check is in the mail." No more "I forgot." No more excuses. Fourteen days, period.

See how compelling a countdown to a national database listing is for your customer. You'll be getting paid in days.