Laika's Compliance-as-a-Service Model
Sam Li and Austin Ogilvie, co-CEOs of Laika, on the compliance-as-a-service business model
The real moat in compliance automation is not replacing auditors, it is turning messy evidence collection into software that works best for standard modern startups. Laika can automate most checks when a company runs on tools like AWS, GitHub, and modern HR systems, because the product can pull live settings, test them continuously, and hand the same evidence to both the company and the auditor inside one workflow.
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This works best for small digital native companies because their controls are legible to software. Instead of asking for screenshots, the platform can check whether MFA is on, devices are managed, background checks are complete, and cloud settings match policy by reading system data directly.
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The limit is the audit itself. Both Laika and peers like Vanta and Secureframe frame the software as automating evidence gathering and readiness, while expert auditors still review exceptions, judgment calls, policies, and non technical controls like signed agreements or access reviews.
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That split explains the business model. Older SOC 2 work was a one off consulting project that could cost $50K to $100K and drag on for months. Compliance automation turned it into a recurring subscription tied to annual renewals, ongoing monitoring, and reuse of the same control data across SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more.
The category is heading toward broader trust infrastructure. Once compliance data lives in the product and updates continuously, the same system can power audits, buyer security questionnaires, vendor reviews, and multi framework expansion. The winners are likely to be the platforms that combine the deepest integrations with the best auditor workflow, because that is what makes automation credible at scale.