A startup does not need data protection like a corporation, but it does need a solid foundation before the first customer data flows. Laying it early means answering customer questionnaires in hours rather than weeks, and avoiding changes to database and processes that become expensive as the product grows.
Where to start
The first step is an overview: which personal data do we process, for what, in which systems, and who has access? This becomes the record of processing activities, the basis for everything else. For a young product a few entries are enough: user accounts, billing, support, marketing, applications, website.
The order that saves work
- Create the record of processing activities.
- Conclude data processing agreements with hosting, email, payment, analytics and support tools.
- Write the privacy policy based on the record, not from a template.
- Implement the technical basics: encryption, access rights, multi-factor authentication, backups.
- Ask for cookie consent only for what really needs it.
- Define procedures for access requests, erasure and data breaches.
What is most expensive to fix later
Three things are particularly costly afterwards: a database without clean tenant separation, personal data scattered across logs and analytics tools, and missing erasability because data is spread across many tables and services. Considering these points in the first data model saves most later data protection work.
Swiss and EU law side by side
Swiss startups with customers in the EU must observe both sets of rules. In practice, implementing at GDPR level pays off, supplemented by Swiss specifics such as notifying breaches to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. An EU representative may be required if the startup targets people in the EU without an establishment there. In Germany, a data protection officer must be appointed once 20 people regularly work with personal data.
A proportionate set-up
Data protection in a startup should grow with it: a few maintained documents rather than an extensive manual nobody reads. The comparison of both laws is in our article on the GDPR and the Swiss FADP; an independent review is offered by the GDPR audit for SaaS, and legal texts for website and app are derived from the record.