Did you know that 18% of startups fail due to legal challenges?

Ouch.

But we know how you feel about compliance:

Dealing with it is like being woken up by a noisy alarm every morning: You don’t like it, but you have to. And if you snoose, you lose.

Literally.

‍If you, as a startup (or scaleup), aren’t compliant, your deals can be delayed or even stalled due to compliance issues. Especially if you don’t have dedicated legal resources.

So why is compliance not only a must for your startup for legal reasons, but also for strategic, fruitful reasons?

‍We’ll tell you in this blog article and ‘reveal’ the 4 compliance standards that are most relevant for you to know about as a startup.

Saving the best for last, we’ll also tell you how to deal with compliance in a nice, smooth way.

Why compliance is key

Studies show that trust is the most important brand attribute for B2B buyers.

That’s our cue.

‍Because, at its core, compliance is about trust. It’s a promise, a handshake (just the dry version, thanks), a pact that says:

“We value and protect what’s important to you.”

‍Especially in competitive sectors like IT & Tech, Professional services, and Retail & Commerce, trust can be the game-changer.

‍Potential customers are asking for documented GDPR compliance. It’s no longer ‘just’ a legal requirement but also a competitive advantage.

‍Companies that can swiftly and transparently demonstrate their compliance are more likely to win trust and close deals.

The 4 compliance standards you need to know about

With the right systems in place, you can effortlessly showcase your compliance. It’s a powerful statement that says:

“We’re bulletproof, transparent, and trustworthy.”

For that reason, we’ll take you through the 4 key compliance standards you need to know about.

GDPR

GDPR – or General Data Protection Regulation – might not be a total stranger to you. In fact, it’s not a standard, but a law that focuses primarily on data protection for all people in the EU – with or without citizenship.

This means that it applies for almost all businesses, i.e., the ones who do marketing or in any other way process personal information about individuals, employees, etc., in the EU regardless of the business location.

It depends on your specific business what you need to do to be GDPR compliant, but this checklist will get you off to a flying start.

ISO 27001

ISO 27001 deals with information security.

It applies to, among others, startups like yours who protect sensitive information from security breaches and ensure data privacy.

ISO 27001 is a general, international standard for how to establish, implement, maintain, and improve your information security management system ongoing.

By that, it helps you, for instance, identify and manage your risks, create procedures and politics, and to keep your information security measures updated all the time, since new threats can show up.

ISO 27701

Yes, we know, it looks like the one above, but hang in there:

ISO 27701 is an extension of 27001. While ISO 27001 is a broader standard that addresses information security, ISO 27701 focuses on privacy information management and helps, among other businesses, startups like yours comply with data privacy regulations.

The choice between these standards depends on your business needs and whether you need to prioritize information security, data privacy, or both.

NIS2

NIS2 is one of the hottest topics within compliance right now. It’s an EU directive about net and information security.

It’s a result of the growing threats of cyberattacks, like phishing, ransomware, and so on.

We have to be clear about one thing first:

NIS2 does not apply (directly) to all businesses. Especially not when it comes to startups and scaleups.

But(!)…

If you’re a B2B SaaS company, you have to be aware that NIS2 can indirectly apply to you since the purpose of NIS2 is to secure all critical infrastructure, including the entire supply chain. So, NIS2 can indirectly apply to you if your customers or partners are directly affected.

But that is actually not the only reason to be NIS2 compliant.

Because it’s a fact that:

• 43% of cyber-attacks are aimed at SMEs.
• Only 14% say that they are prepared to defend themselves.
• 60% of smaller companies who are the target of an attack go out of business within six months.

Due to all of the above-mentioned, you 1) need to protect your business against one of the biggest threats to your startup: Cybercrime. And 2) will meet customers, investors, and/or partners who either demand or expect from you to be NIS2 compliant.

So, even if NIS2 doesn’t legally affect you, we still advise you to lean toward the NIS2 directive and the standards it refers to. Because following these will keep your startup safe and sound.

The standards are limited right now but define 10 minimum requirements, training of management and key employees, and reporting on incidents to the authorities. We go through these in our small NIS2 guide.
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So, that was the 4 compliance standards.

If you feel like we’ve just thrown a bunch of abbreviations and numbers at you, we get it. Because compliance can be a jungle to navigate in. And it takes time and money, which we know that you as a startup rather want to use on your core business and customers.

With ComplyCloud, you can automate your compliance and get reminders of when to do what, when, and how. And we make sure that you only pay for what you need.

Want to turn compliance into your competitive edge with automated software and legal support ‘on demand’?

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