Etica Lab helps companies turn existing compliance policies into a easy to understand graphics on important texts such as compliance policies, manuals, codes, and more.
Elena Lazareva
Name: Etica Lab
Location: Santiago, Chile (Latin America)
Website: www.eticalab.com
Product / Service Offering: Corporate Compliance
Co-founder Interviewed: Elena Lazareva
This article is part of our Women Entrepreneurs Spotlight series featuring female entrepreneurs and their companies. We hope these founders’ interviews will inspire and motivate you as you undertake your own entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us a little about yourself with a focus on what motivates you?
I am a lawyer, and I love law. However, I know that most people find legal documents boring and incomprehensible. Therefore, they rarely finish reading even the most important documents. I want to change that. We aim to help regular folks easily understand important nuances of such texts (compliance policies, manuals, codes etc).
When did you establish your company and where did the idea originate?
My company, Etica Lab, was registered in 2017 and is one of a selected few startups to participate in Start-Up Chile acceleration program.
As a corporate lawyer and compliance professional, I know how important and how difficult legal documents can be to understand. I wanted to make complicated things simple without loosing any important information. To reach this goal I started to work with data visualization, and now using the power of design, Etica Lab transforms long and boring corporate policies, that no one reads, into stunning visual materials that any employee would be happy to check if they had any doubts.
What need or needs does your company seek to fill for its customers?
Etica Lab helps companies to turn existing compliance policies into a working tool. There is a big difference between having a policy that exists only on paper and having a policy that is actually used by employees because they understand it.
5 Steps from Concept to Startup
What is the one thing that sets your company apart from its competitors?
Etica Lab cares about people because we want them easily understand complex things.
What was the biggest challenge you faced while getting your company up and running, and how did you overcome it?
As a female entrepreneur who grew up in Eastern Europe, studied in the US and now runs business in Latin America, I had to learn to understand different cultures and customs of doing business. It was challenging but it is very fulfilling to see that I can help people and companies no matter where they are from.
Are there resources you have utilized that other founders might find compelling or useful.
The most important thing that I learned so far is the importance of community. Some of the best advice I have ever been given came from other entrepreneurs.
What steps have you taken to secure funding for your company and what, if anything, would you do differently if you had to start over?
Since the first day, Etica Lab was all about our clients and networking. This is important because the market always gives the fastest and the most accurate feedback. I consider us lucky because the company did not require significant investments to start our first sales.
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Have there been any questions you have had as an entrepreneur of a fledgling startup that you had a particularly hard time finding the answers to?
I had so many questions, and I still have some. That is why I emphasized the importance of community and peers earlier in this article. But honestly, sometimes it is all about learning something new, e.g., if you don’t understand pricing, don’t be lazy – read about it. And if you still don’t understand – read and re-read again and again until you get it. Don’t do it just because you have to, instead consider it as an investment and competitive advantage that will help your startup survive the first year.
What challenges, if any, are you grappling with?
Don’t let a daily routine kill the magic of working on your dream.
What is the most helpful tip or “hack” you’ve ever learned, stumbled across, or been given?
Work hard.
Are you familiar with other Women led startups? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them, sharing your comments below!
Liz Bennett
Liz is the Assistant Director of the ETSU Innovation Lab, adjunct faculty for the College of Business and Technology at ETSU, Kelley School of Business MBA graduate and former intern at Plug & Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley. A lifelong learner, she is interested in all aspects of entrepreneurship and enjoys helping startups explore the possibilities. She currently sits on the TurboFunder Product / Market Advisory Board.
