The Veriff Story
It all started with the realization companies don’t have a handle on online ID checks. Now we help businesses of all sizes verify the person behind the account.
The journey towards a single digital identity
Connecting companies with honest people is just the first step. One day the world will be ready for a single digital identity that transcends borders, and gives people rightful ownership of their data. Until then, our identity verification flows are there to nip fraud in the bud. No device, browser, market, or language left behind.
It began with a blue string
Growing up on a farm, hay bales were staple of Kaarel Kotkas’s childhood. At the age of 14, he noticed that the strings that bound them did not biodegrade, and often ended up littered across the fields of the otherwise pristine landscape of rural Estonia.
Kaarel set out to find an environmentally-friendly alternative, and after browsing the web he came across the perfect string (it also came in his favorite color). As he registered an account on arguably the biggest global online marketplace, he was asked to verify that he was over 18. After a little photo editing, he breezed through their security and was able to buy the string.
While his mission was a success, Kaarel couldn’t stop thinking about how easy it was to pretend to be someone else online. If successful companies were this vulnerable to fraud, then smaller businesses don’t stand a chance. This early experience planted the seed that would one day grow into Veriff.
Kaarel founded Veriff in 2015 at the age of 20. Shortly after it popped up on the global radar, and in 2018 it joined the YCombinator spring batch. Fast forward to now, Veriff has over 300 employees and serves over 190 countries as the gold standard for online identity verification.
Meet the team
Kaarel Kotkas
Founder & CEO
Kaarel is the strategic thinker behind Veriff’s vision and product. Friendly hacker, who leads the team to be always one step ahead of fraudsters and competition.
Focusing always on the solutions and being full of energy, he empowers Veriff team to stand for the honesty in the digital world. In 2018, Nordic Business Report named him one of 25 most-influential young entrepreneurs in Northern Europe.
Janer Gorohhov
Co-founder & COO
Janer is building a product-oriented team and scaling operations to match Veriff’s growth rate.
He is a tech-savvy innovation enthusiast who started as a full-stack developer. But, as talented people do, he also has a knack for legal and regulatory compliance.
Enn Metsar
Business Development Manager
Enn is inspired by the challenge of converting Veriff’s engineering and creative excellence into commercial success.
Before joining Veriff, Enn worked as GM at Uber Baltics, launching Uber in Estonia and Lithuania. Enn has extensive experience from financial markets and business development.
Tiit Paananen
VP of Engineering
Tiit works on the cross-road where engineering and product meet, being responsible for product and software delivery.
Tiit joined Veriff from Pipedrive where he was the Head of Quality Engineering. In his past life, Tiit has also served as GM at Skype Estonia.
Join our cause
We are always on the lookout for like-minded Veriffians to join our mission. If defeating online fraud is a topic close to your heart, we want to hear from you. Here are a few of the many roles we need filled.
