Laura Foti: Enabling Sustainability and Building Safer Products for Everyone

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, and Changemakers who are advancing the UN SDGs.

Hi, I’m Spiffy, the only interplanetary journalist stationed on Planet Earth. I’m thrilled to present this galactic exclusive with Laura Foti, the chief marketing officer of Specright. Let’s learn what’s happening at Specright and how Laura is making a positive impact in the world.

Spiffy: Thanks for joining me, Laura! Tell me, what challenge are you addressing through Specright?

Laura: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! Many companies want to make sustainable products and packaging, but they don't actually have easy access to all the data it takes to make those things. Typically, this information, commonly known as specifications, is scattered across different teams and companies. We help companies manage this information in one place so they can ensure products and packaging are made right, every time. Having this data also enables them to easily report on sustainability and make more sustainable products.

Spiffy: What motivates you to do it?

Laura: Every day, we interact with hundreds of products, the food we eat, the consumer products we use, even the roof over our heads consists of different products. What keeps us going is knowing we are making these products both safer for people like you and your families. More importantly, if we can help other companies become more sustainable, we can collectively have an huge impact on our planet for the better!

Spiffy: What is the impact of your work?

Laura: Specright helps supply chain teams manage all the data needed to make their products and packaging. This way, teams spend less time chasing data and more time working on their products. Product and packaging teams can easily design new products, procurement teams can better buy raw materials, and quality teams can ensure the products we use are safe. Our software also enables them to find more sustainable ways to make their products by easily conducing life cycle assessments, which calculates a product's carbon footprint.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent organization milestone or initiative. What impact does it make on your community?

Laura: Artificial intelligence it going to change how we all interact with information and data. At Specright, we recently announced our beta of Chat Like Item Finder, which enables supply chain teams to "ask Specright" to perform advanced analysis like reporting or analytics, similar to ChatGPT.

Spiffy: Is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Laura: There are so many people in the world working hard to make amazing products for you. The most amazing part of our Specright community are our customers, who every day strive to make things better, safer, and more affordable. Remember that, while we're all individuals, we can make a huge collective impact when we work together.

Spiffy: Thanks for speaking with me today, Laura—it’s been an honor!

Laura is CMO at Specright, the first cloud-based platform for Specification Management. She hosts “Beyond the Shelf: the Product and Packaging Podcast,” where she interviews the leaders behind the products we use everyday. Laura was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 and Brand Innovators 100 Women to Watch lists. (First published on the Ladderworks website on March 28, 2024.)

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Ladderworks LLC.

© 2023 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Shikha Tandon. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Launchpad: Creative Entrepreneurship Workshops for K-3 Kids and their caregivers here.