How a girl from Kyrgyzstan attracted $50 million in investments for her startup Honorlock

Elena Soboleva, co-founder and ex-CFO of Honorlock, LinkedIn

About the startup

Honorlock is an exam integrity monitoring system. Launched in 2015, the service uses AI to detect violations, notify proctors, and identify unauthorized devices. Additionally, the service searches for published test questions online and requests their removal. The startup’s clients include the University of Florida, the University of North Alabama, and Florida International University.

About the entrepreneurial journey

Recently, at a panel discussion on women’s entrepreneurship, the first topic was how men support women in their startups, and all participants confirmed their active involvement. This reflects not only personal stories but also deep-seated social trends—many women still feel they need external support, although in reality, they possess sufficient strength and competencies to achieve success independently.

I want to encourage more women in Central Asia to start businesses, not just to realize themselves professionally, but to achieve financial well-being, because wealth is not only material success but also the ability to influence, make decisions, and have a voice. When I earned my first million, I saw how people’s attitudes toward me changed, and I realized that money is a tool for opportunities.

If I ever write a book, it will be about how the path to women’s happiness lies not in dependence on others, but in one’s own strength and confidence. I want to remind all women: you have all the opportunities to achieve success, and you are capable of realizing your dreams without needing to seek external support. I wish luck to all startups; my heart is with you—believe in yourselves, and you will succeed.

How it all began

In 2014, when I was exhausted from work and studies, our team took second place in a business plan competition. We had no developers, so we created the first prototype in Excel, ensuring automatic data updates via the internet.

In 2015, after intense work, we burned out but decided not to abandon the idea despite its complexity. A year later, we applied to an accelerator and received our first investment—$150,000. We had only one technical specialist—our investor’s son, who interned with us during the summer. He developed most of the system, and we filed a patent application. At that time, it became clear that we needed to use any available resources.

When he left the company, we needed new specialists, but it was difficult to hire them due to competition with large tech corporations. Despite doubts, we found the right employees through an agency, growing the team to five people. Our university became our first paying client, signing a pilot project worth $25,000.

Investments

By 2017, we had attracted significant investment, but the problem of hiring top-tier employees remained. People were afraid to work in a startup because, in case of failure, they could lose their reputation. However, sales were growing—from $25,000 to $350,000 over two years, and the company continued to move forward.

This journey was full of challenges, but the key insight was that development proceeds slowly, even if it seems like progress has stalled. It is important to adapt, seek new opportunities, and not be afraid of change. This is exactly how the startup evolved from a simple Excel prototype into a full-fledged product that attracted investment and clients.

By the fifth year of operation, the team had grown to 10 employees, and the number of clients reached five universities, although sales remained relatively modest. One of the key achievements was obtaining a technology patent, which is rare in the US, as most technologies are merely digital adaptations of existing processes. However, the method we developed to detect cheating cases, where students searched for answers on their phones during exams, was indeed unique.

Despite its innovativeness, this technology did not become a source of revenue. The entire business model was built around infrastructure and system reliability, rather than selling individual features. This reflects a general principle of tech business: the key factor for success is not unique know-how, but the ability to become an indispensable partner for clients.

Two years into the incubator period, we moved into our own office. At that time, an experienced sales manager joined the team and immediately said, “You won’t be able to handle the influx of clients.” This became a signal—we reviewed our processes and began implementing scalable solutions.

An analysis of competitors showed that existing systems either recorded the entire exam session or used automated video surveillance, which did not yield accurate results. As former students, we understood that video could be easily manipulated. Therefore, we implemented a hybrid solution: the system flags potential cheating, after which a human intervenes to confirm or deny the violation. This significantly increased the system’s efficiency and met the needs of universities.

Difficulties

In 2019, the company continued to grow but faced a new challenge—conflicts among the founders. Decisions were increasingly made without the involvement of key figures, leading to tension. As the CFO, I was used to keeping everything under control, so I was surprised to learn that major expenses were being approved without my involvement. This led to a tense situation, and eventually, one of the founders left the project, and his share was bought out by investors.

This period showed that internal business stability is just as important as technological solutions. Emotions and personal ambitions can threaten the company’s development if not managed properly. The lesson learned from this experience is the need for balance between strategic interests and personal relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic became a turning point for the company. Universities, facing the need for an urgent transition to remote learning, massively adopted exam integrity monitoring systems, and demand for this service grew exponentially. The sudden influx of clients pushed the system to the brink of overload, requiring urgent technological solutions for scaling. New investors who entered the capital provided resources and helped stabilize the business.

For me personally, this period was important. I felt that the company was handling things well, decided to start a family, and planned to return to the finance department. But within two months, the strongest specialists were already working there, and I had to reconsider my career priorities.

After a successful $25 million funding round, the company chose an exit strategy without raising new investments. Such a process requires years of negotiations with potential buyers and a precise understanding of their capabilities and timing.

On maternity leave, I received numerous mentoring requests from accelerators and startups. They needed not a theoretical approach, but a real strategy for solving problems. The only difficulty was that the demand was so high that I realized the need to create a structured and scalable mentoring model.

Thus, the idea for a new business emerged. In the US, similar projects are successfully developed and can even be sold, evolving into full-fledged companies. I am currently working on this direction and assembling a team of talents. This is no longer just mentoring, but a new stage in my career.