Press kit

“I was a corporate lawyer. I left law to go freelance and found out nobody tells you how to get paid.”

Sofia Sabben, Founder and CEO of HelloNoa

Was a corporate lawyer at Linklaters, a magic circle firm.
Left law. Now a freelance social media manager and yoga teacher.
Wrote every contract in HelloNoa, the tool she wished she'd had.

Email Sofia Download the kit

Sofia Sabben, smiling, in a lilac top — Sofia Sabben, London-raised, Zurich-based

What Sofia built: HelloNoa

The all-in-one freelance studio for UK freelancers.

A freelancer at her desk with an invoice, a contract and a receipt in order

Admin, in one place

Proposals, contracts, time and invoices.

A freelancer cheering as a contract is signed

The contract, signed

Written by Sofia. Signed online.

A freelancer relaxing beside an invoice stamped paid

The invoice, paid

The client pays by card from the invoice.

Four angles, each with its timing

Stories we can help with

A former corporate lawyer on the part of freelancing nobody explains: the contract, the invoice, getting paid.

From Linklaters to freelance: the lawyer who found out “nobody tells you how to get paid”

Why now

Sofia is in the UK for interviews, podcasts and talks from 12 January to 4 February 2027, and available by video any time.

Context

There are 55% more women among the UK's solo self-employed than in 2008. Asked why they expect to stay self-employed, 62% of women say flexibility, against 54% of men. IPSE with Malt, 2026 (fieldwork 2025)

From Sofia

Her own story: corporate lawyer at Linklaters, then social media manager and yoga teacher, and what nobody tells you about getting paid. A profile or a podcast.

Suits

Profiles and career-change features, legal trade press, podcasts.
The late payment bill: what would change for a freelancer, and when.

Why now

The Commercial Payments Bill finished in the Lords on 20 October 2026 and is waiting for a date for its second reading in the Commons. It is not law yet. As the Government describes it, the Bill would cap payment terms at 60 days with limited exemptions, make interest on late payment mandatory at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, and give the Small Business Commissioner power to rule on payment disputes between small and larger businesses and to fine larger businesses that persistently pay late. Late payment is estimated to cost the UK economy almost £11 billion a year. UK Parliament; GOV.UK factsheet, May 2026; Department for Business and Trade, 2025

From Sofia

A short comment in plain English from a former corporate lawyer who now freelances, on the day the Commons date is set and on the day of the debate. General comment, not legal advice.

Suits

Money, small business and freelance desks. Comment on the day.
Five things to agree before you start a freelance job.

Why now

Late payment is before Parliament, and it is common. 32% of freelancers had a client pay late in the previous 12 months, and more than 1.5 million UK businesses, 28%, are affected every year. IPSE, Q1 2024; Department for Business and Trade, 2025

From Sofia

A practical piece for freelance titles and newsletters, on request.

Suits

Freelance titles and newsletters. A service box beside a late payment story.
Nearly two-thirds of 18 to 24s already earn outside a job. One in ten say school or college prepared them for the paperwork.

Why now

Nearly two-thirds of 18 to 24s make money outside paid employment, from selling and freelancing to content creation. Just 17% could confidently do basic bookkeeping, and 10% say school or college prepared them to register a business and do the paperwork. eBay research, October 2026

From Sofia

The basics nobody showed her when she went freelance: the contract, the invoice, getting paid. A quote, a Q&A or a bylined piece.

Suits

Careers and money pages for people in their twenties. Side-hustle sections.

Numbers you can use

53% of 18 to 24s say starting a business is a realistic career option for someone like them
17% of 18 to 24s could confidently do basic bookkeeping
55% more women among the UK's solo self-employed than in 2008
£11bn estimated cost of late payment to the UK economy each year, almost
£700.50 what the average UK side hustler earns a month, self-reported

Sources. eBay research: Censuswide, 1,000 UK 18 to 24s, 9 to 14 September 2026, published 6 October 2026. IPSE with Malt, "What is the future of freelancing?" (2026): YouGov, 1,043 self-employed, 19 September to 13 October 2025. Department for Business and Trade, late payments research by London Economics, July 2025. Markel Direct, UK Side Hustle Economy Report: Censuswide, 1,006 UK people with a side hustle, 2 to 9 July 2026, published 6 October 2026. IPSE Freelancer Confidence Index, Q1 2024, as reported by IPSE on 2 May 2024. Commercial Payments Bill: bills.parliament.uk/bills/4128, read 11 November 2026; GOV.UK factsheet, 19 May 2026.

Free to use in coverage of HelloNoa

Pictures and logos

Credit: HelloNoa. Please keep the logo as it is.

Download everything The kit as a PDF

Sofia Sabben Download
Admin, in one place Download
The contract, signed Download
The invoice, paid Download
A proposal Download
A contract Download
An invoice Download
The logo Download
The logo, one colour Download
The icon Download

Founder and CEO

About Sofia

A former corporate lawyer who left law to go freelance. Both bios are ready to paste.

Short bio

Sofia Sabben is the founder and CEO of HelloNoa, the freelance studio for UK freelancers. She grew up in London and was a corporate lawyer at Linklaters before leaving law to go freelance as a social media manager and yoga teacher. She qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales, and wrote every contract in HelloNoa.

Longer bio

Sofia Sabben grew up in London and began her career as a corporate lawyer at Linklaters, a magic circle firm. She left law, spent a year travelling, trained as a yoga teacher and started freelancing as a social media manager. Going freelance showed her how little help there is with the basics: the contract, the invoice, getting paid. HelloNoa, which launched in 2026, came out of that, and she wrote every contract in it herself. She qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and lives in Zurich.

FAQs

Honest answers.

A freelancer at a desk throws both arms up while Noa waits at the edge of the picture with a rolled-up contract on its head.

How is it different from other tools?

Many freelancers piece together separate tools for proposals, contracts, time tracking and invoices. HelloNoa joins them in order, from proposal to payment, and tells the freelancer what to do next.

Is it an AI product?

It is a freelance tool first. Noa, the advisor inside it, uses an AI model when it gives advice or drafts something, and says so beside the answer. Its search of a freelancer's own records uses no AI.

Why is it a Swiss company?

Sofia lives in Zurich, so the company is registered there. The product is built for UK freelancers, priced in pounds, and paid plans are sold in the UK only. Card payments are handled by Stripe and go straight to the freelancer's own Stripe account.

Can I use the pictures and the logo?

The logos, the illustrations, the product screens and Sofia's photo are free to use in coverage of HelloNoa. Picture credit: HelloNoa. Please keep the logo as it is. HelloNoa is one word, and Noa is "it", a feature of the product.

More questions? See all FAQs or email us.

For reference

HelloNoa, the facts

About HelloNoa

HelloNoa is the all-in-one freelance studio for UK freelancers. Proposals, contracts, time tracking, invoices and payments sit in one connected workflow: propose, agree, get paid. Noa, the studio advisor built into it, shows the freelancer what to do next at each step. The contracts were written by founder Sofia Sabben, a former corporate lawyer. HelloNoa launched in August 2026 and is free to start.

Company: HelloNoa GmbH
Founded: July 2026
Launched: 10 August 2026
Based: Zurich, Switzerland. Built for UK freelancers; paid plans need a UK billing address
For: UK freelancers in their first years, and side hustles turning into a business
Founder and CEO: Sofia Sabben
Data protection: Registered with the UK's ICO (ZC214856)
User numbers: Not published. HelloNoa launched on 10 August 2026
Prices: Start free with Starter. Paid plans from £18/month inc. VAT. See pricing
Try it: Free to start, with no card, at hellonoa.com

Want the story?

Interviews, a quote the same day, bylined pieces, podcasts and talks. In the UK in person from 12 January to 4 February 2027; by video any time.

Email Sofia

sofia@hellonoa.com