Built by an
attorney who's
been there
My-Contracts wasn't designed in a tech lab by developers who've never seen a shareholders agreement. It was built by a practicing attorney who has spent over a decade watching businesses struggle—and sometimes fail—because their contracts weren't in order.
From boardroomsto codebase
Twelve years of watching the same contract disasters play out across every industry. The same pattern, business after business.
For more than twelve years, Martin Kotze has practiced as a corporate and commercial attorney, advising businesses ranging from ambitious SMEs to large listed companies on the JSE. As an Admitted Attorney, Notary, and Conveyancer, he has drafted, reviewed, and negotiated thousands of contracts—employment agreements, supplier terms, shareholder pacts, property leases, and everything in between.
But it wasn't the contracts themselves that inspired My-Contracts. It was the chaos surrounding them.
"There has to be a better way to prevent this."
Martin Kotze
The pattern hekept seeing
The Renewal Surprise
Businesses locked into unfavourable terms for another year because nobody tracked the renewal date. By the time they noticed, the window had closed.
The Missing Agreement
Critical contracts living in someone’s email inbox, a filing cabinet, or worse—nobody knew where. When disputes arose, the scramble began.
The Version Nightmare
Multiple versions of the same contract floating around—signed, unsigned, amended, superseded. Which one was actually binding? Hours wasted finding out.
The Compliance Gap
Contracts that didn’t account for POPIA, ECTA, or B-BBEE requirements. Non-compliance discovered only when it became a problem—and an expensive one.
Every business I work with has learned hard lessons because their contracts weren't in order. They come to me after the damage is done—after the dispute, after the missed deadline, after the compliance audit.
Martin Kotze
Founder & Legal Architect
Where it all started
The First Build
A large listed property company approached Martin to help develop a contract management system. Hundreds of lease agreements, service contracts, and property transactions—their existing systems simply couldn’t cope. That project became the foundation.
The Evolution
What started as a single-purpose property solution evolved as Martin recognized the same problems across every industry. Manufacturing, professional services, healthcare, retail—they all struggled with the same contract chaos.
Enterprise-Grade
My-Contracts evolved into a comprehensive contracting platform with seven specialized workspaces—three General Workspaces and four Specialised Workspaces—each built for the specific contract types South African businesses actually use.
The Mission
Help businesses get their paperwork sorted before problems arise—not after. Because when the paw-paw hits the fan, you want your ducks in a row.
The My-Contractsphilosophy
Three principles that guide every decision, every feature, and every line of code.
Legal-First Design
Every feature is designed by someone who actually practices law. No feature exists because it looks good on a marketing slide—it exists because it solves a real problem Martin has seen in practice.
SA Compliance Native
Not an afterthought, not an add-on. ECTA, POPIA, B-BBEE, and sector-specific regulations are baked into the core. Because Martin knows what the regulators look for—he’s helped clients prepare for those audits.
Fair Pricing
Pay for what you use—active contracts under management. Not per user, not per seat. Because Martin has seen how enterprise software vendors extract maximum value from businesses that just need things to work.
A personal note
I built My-Contracts because I was tired of seeing good businesses get hurt by bad contract management. Every feature in this platform exists because I've personally seen the problem it solves—in a boardroom, a courtroom, or a compliance audit.
This isn't a generic American platform with a Rand currency toggle. It's built from the ground up for South African law, South African compliance, and the way South African businesses actually operate.
My-Contracts is built by Deep Learning Cafe — learn more about the team and capabilities behind the platform.
Ready to Get Your Ducks in a Row?
See why businesses across South Africa trust My-Contracts to manage their most important documents. Built by an attorney who understands what's at stake.