Our Story
The EU AI Act became law in 2024. By August 2026, companies with high-risk AI systems must comply—or face fines up to 7% of global revenue.
We went looking for practical guidance. What we found instead: 400+ pages of legal text, expensive consultants, and advice written by lawyers for lawyers.
So we started figuring it out the way builders do—by building. We implemented risk management systems for our own products. We mapped requirements against real codebases. We used AI tools to help parse the dense legal language. We made mistakes, fixed them, and documented what actually worked.
Yes, we read the regulation. Multiple times. But we learned more from trying to make our own AI products compliant than from any reading alone.
The Compliantist is what we wish existed when we started: practical analysis of AI regulation, written in plain language, by people who are building compliant AI systems right alongside you.
The Team
Tomica Cesar
Co-founder of Queli, an AI product company in Croatia. When the AI Act passed, the products we build suddenly needed to comply. So I did what I always do—dove in, started implementing, made mistakes, and figured it out. Now I share what I've learned so you can skip some of the trial and error.
Luka Smetisko
Designer by training, compliance professional by career. Co-founder of Queli. Spent years in pharma compliance and pharmacovigilance—an industry where regulatory requirements have been serious business for decades. AI regulation is new, but the fundamentals of building compliant systems aren't. I bring that rigor to everything we do.
What We Stand For
-
Practical Over Perfect
We focus on what you can actually implement, not theoretical frameworks that sound good in boardrooms.
-
Plain Language
If we can't explain it simply, we don't understand it well enough. No jargon, no legalese.
-
Builder's Perspective
We're writing for CTOs, founders, and product managers—not compliance officers or lawyers.
-
Honest About Uncertainty
When the regulation is ambiguous (it often is), we'll say so. We share our interpretation, not false certainty.
What We Cover
EU AI Act — The world's first comprehensive AI law. Risk classifications, requirements, timelines, and what they mean for your products.
ISO 42001 — The AI management system standard. How to build governance that satisfies auditors and actually helps your team.
Global AI Governance — NIST AI RMF, Canada's AIDA, UK frameworks, and how they all connect (or don't).
Contact
Questions, feedback, or collaboration ideas? Reach us at hello@compliantist.com.
We actually reply. Building in the open means we're always happy to hear what's working for you and what isn't.