Jaron Luttich

A JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY. When Jaron Luttich looks back on his career journey, he sees it divided into distinct eras, each one marked by stepping further into his authentic self. Jaron, the co-founder of Element Standard, has navigated a path that reflects his disciplined upbringing, his pursuit of academic excellence, and his eventual embrace of entrepreneurship.

Element Standard is transforming the legal industry with modern, intuitive solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing legal technology. “We bridge the gap between the world of data and how case teams already practice law,” Jaron explains. “Our SaaS solutions give litigators more control while structuring case data for organizations.”

Growing up in Nebraska in a religious and disciplined household, Jaron was a high achiever. However, his focus on academic achievement left him unsure of what career path to follow. “If I had come out of the closet in high school, I think I would have had a different self-revelation of what I really wanted to do,” he reflects. Jaron pursued marketing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he met his future husband, and later studied law at the University of Kansas School of Law. It was a successful period for Jaron, making it onto Law Review.

Moving to Washington, DC with his partner after graduation, Jaron discovered an entire industry that supports the practice of law. However, he also began to see parts of his industry co-opted by more efficient solutions and technologies.“I thought to myself, I don’t want to wake up in 10 years and have my primary way of earning a living become minimized by technology,” he stresses. This realization led him to explore the technology that supports the practice of law, where he saw an opportunity to innovate, igniting his entrepreneurial spark.

Jaron’s path to co-founding Element Standard began at a friend’s wedding where he reconnected with Ryan Hudson, an old friend from law school. Ryan, now his co-founder, had previously launched a startup that ultimately failed. “He was demoralized, but I believed in what he was doing,” Jaron recalls. “We were literally writing on a napkin at the hotel bar how we could form this company,” Jaron remembers.

BRIDGING THE GAP. The early days of Element Standard were challenging, especially when COVID-19 hit. “Pre-COVID, we didn’t have a single meeting where we didn’t leave with some progress,” Jaron recalls. The pandemic forced them to pivot, as virtual meetings couldn’t convey the complex impact of their solution as effectively as in-person meetings. Jaron took matters into his own hands and took a low-code bootcamp to build an MVP. This hands-on approach led them to develop fully functional software that could be demonstrated to potential clients.

One key breakthrough came when they built a prototype and presented it at a legal tech innovation roundtable. “We showed the software to 14 general counsels of Fortune 500 companies, and six wanted follow-up meetings,” Jaron says. Although they weren’t enterprise-grade yet, the feedback was invaluable and guided their next steps. “We learned where we needed to go and how to get to enterprise-level capabilities,” he explains.

Reflecting on his journey, Jaron emphasizes the importance of bringing something unique to the table. “There’s been a sea change in tech startups. Five to ten years ago, it was all about technical expertise. Now, with AI and other tools, the technical side can be more of a commodity,” he explains. “It’s the unique domain of knowledge you bring to the table that’s vital to success.” Jaron advises new founders to find a customer first: “Don’t build out your solution in isolation. Find a customer that agrees with you, get them on board, and then start building.”