David LoPresti built CompliCorp around manual accessibility testing
David LoPresti is Founder and CEO of CompliCorp, which manually tests websites, software and documents for digital accessibility and prepares audits and VPAT/ACR reports. The conversation looks at why CompliCorp stayed bootstrapped, how outbound outreach brought its first customers, and why clear project scopes matter.
CompliCorp’s approach puts hands-on testing and clear evidence ahead of quick compliance claims. LoPresti’s advice is to learn how people use products with keyboards and screen readers, then set firm project expectations before work begins.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
I became my mom’s caregiver when I was 11, after she got sick. Helping her get through doctors’ offices, forms and everyday places showed me how much harder life is when the world isn’t built to be accessible, and it stayed with me. CompliCorp is the business version of that lesson: making sure websites, software and documents work for everyone, including people with disabilities.
What sets us apart is that we test by hand. Automated scanners catch only part of what blocks real people, so we go through every product with a keyboard and screen readers, the way a disabled user would. Our clients, mostly software vendors selling to government, education and healthcare, get audits and VPAT/ACR reports they can stand behind when a procurement team asks hard questions. We also stay on as consultants and long-term support, so accessibility keeps up as their product changes, instead of being a one-time checkbox.
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
When I launched CompliCorp, I did three things in order. First I built the website and invested in search, because with no online presence, you might as well be in Antarctica if nobody knows how to find you. Next I got insured with general liability and cyber coverage, since government contractors require it. Then I ran an aggressive outbound campaign announcing that CompliCorp was open for business, and that’s where our first conversations came from.
Today most new business still comes from outbound. I send about 300 personalized emails a day across three inboxes, and every first line has to earn the next second of attention. Past clients get check-ins rather than pitches, which brings repeat work. Over time I want more of it to come from people finding us on their own, through search and the research we publish.
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
The decision that shaped CompliCorp most was choosing to stay bootstrapped. I get regular outreach from investors, but outside money comes with sales targets, and in my field the fastest way to hit a sales target is to cut corners on testing. Turning that down let me commit to manual testing, plan for the long term, and keep the quality of every report consistent as we grow.
The mistake that taught me the most was loose scoping. Early on, I’d start projects with gray areas left open, like which pages or flows were included or what "done" looked like, and those gaps always came back later as extra work or mismatched expectations. Now I’m buttoned up before anything starts. We work through every open question with the client up front, so both sides agree on exactly what gets tested and delivered.
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
The biggest change is that accessibility went from a nice-to-have to a requirement written into contracts. The Department of Justice’s 2024 rule under ADA Title II set WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard for state and local government websites and apps, and the European Accessibility Act took effect in June 2025. Buyers in government, education and healthcare now routinely ask vendors for a current VPAT/ACR before they’ll sign. Those buyers have also gotten sharper. A report that just repeats a scanner’s results doesn’t hold up when a procurement team starts asking questions.
We adapted by building everything around evidence. Every audit is manual, with keyboard and screen reader testing, and every finding is documented clearly enough to defend. We’ve also moved from one-time reports to ongoing consulting and support, because products change constantly and a VPAT from last year doesn’t reflect what’s shipping today.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
First, learn to test the way real users actually use a product. Spend time with a keyboard only and with screen readers like NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver until you can tell the difference between a page that technically passes and one people can actually use. That skill is what clients pay for, and no tool replaces it.
Second, get your business foundation right before you chase growth. Build a website people can find, get properly insured, and scope every project tightly so there are no gray areas once work starts.
What I’d ignore is anything promising compliance overnight, like one-line overlay scripts or automated scores sold as proof. They’re tempting because they’re fast, but they don’t hold up with users, buyers or courts. Often they’re the reason a company ends up calling someone like us.
Thank you to David LoPresti and the team at CompliCorp for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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