SOC 2 for Startups

An enterprise deal is stalled on a security questionnaire, and SOC 2 removes the blocker. BD Emerson scopes a right-sized program, automates evidence on Drata or Vanta, and runs it from readiness through examination handoff.
Contact us
Definition

What is SOC 2 for startups?

SOC 2 is an AICPA attestation: a licensed CPA firm examines your security controls and issues a report enterprise buyers rely on before they sign. For a startup the trigger is concrete, a security questionnaire on a live deal, a procurement portal that requires a report, or a contract addendum that names SOC 2. A right-sized program scopes the Security criteria first, uses Drata or Vanta to collect evidence automatically, adopts policies a small team can actually operate, and reaches a Type 1 report in roughly 8 to 12 weeks or a first Type 2 in 4 to 6 months. BD Emerson builds that program and hands you to the examining firm ready.

Services

What does SOC 2 for startups include?

When SOC 2 is worth it
Type 1 vs Type 2
Right-sized scoping
Policies that fit a small team
Evidence automation
Examination handoff

When SOC 2 is worth it, and when it is premature

The right trigger is enterprise pipeline: a security questionnaire on a live deal, a procurement portal that requires a report, or customer data sensitive enough that buyers ask where it lives. Before that signal, the money is better spent on the underlying security work, which costs less without an examination attached, and we say so when SOC 2 is premature, because a report nobody asked for still renews every year. For the full decision logic, read our SOC 2 for startups guide.

Type 1 vs Type 2, and what each supports

A Type 1 examines control design at a point in time and can exist within about three months, which holds a deal when the buyer accepts it alongside a dated Type 2 commitment. A Type 2 covers an operating window, commonly 3 months for a first report and up to 12 as the program matures, and it is what most enterprise security teams ultimately want. The buyer's vendor risk policy decides, so we ask the buyer before we sequence anything.

Scoping that keeps the program small

Scope starts with the Security criteria alone. Availability or Confidentiality enter only when a contract demands them, because every added criterion inflates the examination and the evidence load every year afterward. The boundary stays tight for the same reason: one product, one cloud, the vendors that touch customer data, and nothing added because it looked thorough.

Policies matched to a 15-person company

Policies describe how your company actually works: one access review cadence, one change process, an offboarding SLA with an owner, an incident plan someone can execute at 2 a.m. A 15-person company that adopts enterprise templates fails its own documents in the first quarter, and examiners sample against what the policy promises, so the documents are written to be kept.

Evidence automation on Drata or Vanta

The platform connects to cloud, identity, HR, and repositories, then collects evidence continuously: access lists, configuration checks, policy acceptance, vendor inventory. We configure tests to your real boundary and triage what fails, so engineers spend hours on SOC 2 instead of weeks, and examination fieldwork moves faster because the evidence is already organized.

Readiness through examination handoff

Readiness ends when your evidence would survive sampling: a dry run against the criteria, a fixed list of what an examiner would flag, and a handoff package of system description, control matrix, and evidence index. The examination itself is a separate engagement, and AICPA independence rules bar the firm that built your controls from examining them, so readiness clients take the examination to another firm.

Our approach

Our approach

01

Scope to the deal

The engagement starts from the buyer and the dates: which criteria their vendor review requires, whether a Type 1 will hold the deal, and when the report must exist. Nothing enters scope that a contract does not require.

02

Automate the evidence

Drata or Vanta connects in the first two weeks: cloud, identity provider, HR system, repositories. Tests are scoped to the real boundary and failing checks are triaged, so evidence collection runs in the background from then on.

03

Remediate and operate

MFA and SSO land everywhere, offboarding closes inside its SLA, access reviews run on the calendar, and change management leaves evidence. Policies are adopted as controls land, and the observation window opens once the program is actually operating.

04

Hand off clean

A readiness review runs against the criteria, then the examining firm gets the package: system description, control matrix, evidence index. The examination is a separate engagement with a separate firm, and we stay available for fieldwork questions until the report lands.

contact us

A deal waiting on your SOC 2?

Speak with BD Emerson about the buyer, the dates, and the fastest honest path to the report their vendor review will accept.

Our Advantage

Why BD Emerson for startup SOC 2

We know what examiners sample

BD Emerson performs SOC 2 examinations through its licensed CPA attest arm, so readiness is built by a firm that sees the examining side of the table. AICPA independence rules keep the roles separate: if we build your controls, a different firm examines them, and organizations we did not prepare can engage our attest arm directly.

Sized for the team you have

The program assumes one internal owner with a few hours a week, tooling doing the collection, and policies a small company can operate. Nothing is added because a template includes it, and every control has to survive the question of who runs it in month eleven.

Dates the deal can see

The plan is written against the blocked deal: a Type 1 in roughly 8 to 12 weeks when the buyer accepts one, a first Type 2 report around months 4 to 6. You get the dated plan in week one, and it gives the buyer something concrete while the report is in flight.

How We Work

How we deliver SOC 2 for startups

The sequence below runs on every engagement, sized to a startup team and stack. Steps overlap where the calendar allows, and the long pole is the Type 2 observation window.
Reviews

What our customers say

Great consulting firms for scaling security, compliance, and appsec.

Outstanding partner in Technical and Cyber Due Diligence

Appsec maturity and application hardening.

BD Emerson helped us simplfiy our compliance management.

BD Emerson did such a phenomenal job. What started as privacy support quickly became a full partnership across compliance, engineering, and even business operations. They’re embedded with our team. They understand our product. They move fast. They’re simply invaluable.

Adam Ben Jacobs

CTO @ OneStep GPS

Great consulting firms for scaling security, compliance, and appsec.

Outstanding partner in Technical and Cyber Due Diligence

Appsec maturity and application hardening.

BD Emerson helped us simplfiy our compliance management.

BD Emerson did such a phenomenal job. What started as privacy support quickly became a full partnership across compliance, engineering, and even business operations. They’re embedded with our team. They understand our product. They move fast. They’re simply invaluable.

Adam Ben Jacobs

CTO @ OneStep GPS

We had a hard time finding the right company to partner with in support of our compliance journey. Some vendors sell the idea that they do the work, but then you end up doing everything. The ambiguity is what killed our last project. BD Emerson’s team has such great technical knowledge and understands the standard so well that they made us comfortable with moving fast. This has led to us closing major enterprise customers that were previously out of reach because of security and compliance.

Tom Watkins

CEO @ AMI AssetTrack

Lead an enterprise initiative to overhaul the organization's technology stack from ecommerce, corporate tech, and corporate security.

Supported ISO 42001 exercise and served as internal auditor.

Rubrik's privacy and compliance team began with the backbone of BD Emerson. BD Emerson supported building out the privacy program, GRC (ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, FedRAMP), and the appsec function.

We needed a partner who could move quickly, without sacrificing precision. BD Emerson brought the expertise, structure, and speed we were looking for. Their team became an extension of ours, embedding themselves across the organization, guiding us step by step, and giving us confidence in areas we hadn’t tackled before. The internal audit they conducted was so detailed that even the external auditors called it out. Achieving ISO 27001 with zero nonconformities says everything you need to know about the quality of the partnership.

Walid Souilem

CTO @ FGI Worldwide

We had a hard time finding the right company to partner with in support of our compliance journey. Some vendors sell the idea that they do the work, but then you end up doing everything. The ambiguity is what killed our last project. BD Emerson’s team has such great technical knowledge and understands the standard so well that they made us comfortable with moving fast. This has led to us closing major enterprise customers that were previously out of reach because of security and compliance.

Tom Watkins

CEO @ AMI AssetTrack

Lead an enterprise initiative to overhaul the organization's technology stack from ecommerce, corporate tech, and corporate security.

Supported ISO 42001 exercise and served as internal auditor.

Rubrik's privacy and compliance team began with the backbone of BD Emerson. BD Emerson supported building out the privacy program, GRC (ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, FedRAMP), and the appsec function.

We needed a partner who could move quickly, without sacrificing precision. BD Emerson brought the expertise, structure, and speed we were looking for. Their team became an extension of ours, embedding themselves across the organization, guiding us step by step, and giving us confidence in areas we hadn’t tackled before. The internal audit they conducted was so detailed that even the external auditors called it out. Achieving ISO 27001 with zero nonconformities says everything you need to know about the quality of the partnership.

Walid Souilem

CTO @ FGI Worldwide

BD Emerson didn’t just help us meet our compliance goals; they integrated security and privacy into the core of our operations. I highly recommend BD Emerson to anyone seeking SOC 2 or GDPR compliance, or simply looking to enhance their security team and boost customer trust in their product and services. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our success.

Padraig Reilly

CEO, Boxcore

BD Emerson understood our business requirements and worked side-by-side with us. The policies and controls we developed together not only meet compliance standards but improve how we operate day to day.

Matt Meierdierks

IT Manager, Lincoln Industries

From day one, BD Emerson brought urgency, clarity, and a sharp understanding of what truly matters to our business — earning and keeping customer trust. They went beyond helping us meet compliance requirements; they helped build a foundation for secure, scalable growth. That kind of partnership is rare.

Jason Marker

CEO @ LifeLenz

BD Emerson didn’t just help us pass an audit—they helped us build a sustainable culture of security.

Alexey Indeev

CTO Spare

BD Emerson was essential in helping our company navigate the daunting process of leveling up our security infrastructure. BD Emerson’s impressive expertise and confidence throughout the process helped our team exceed HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 1 standards quickly, distilling what can be an overwhelming process into a streamlined, organized effort. From day one they began adding value and getting us on course. With their help we delivered on a massive security overhaul with both extreme efficiency and thorough attention to details. Because of BD Emerson’s support, we’ve increased our clients’ trust in Titan Intake and the life-changing work it accomplishes for those seeking specialist referrals.

Patrick Bruce

CEO, Titan Intake

BD Emerson didn’t just help us meet our compliance goals; they integrated security and privacy into the core of our operations. I highly recommend BD Emerson to anyone seeking SOC 2 or GDPR compliance, or simply looking to enhance their security team and boost customer trust in their product and services. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our success.

Padraig Reilly

CEO, Boxcore

BD Emerson understood our business requirements and worked side-by-side with us. The policies and controls we developed together not only meet compliance standards but improve how we operate day to day.

Matt Meierdierks

IT Manager, Lincoln Industries

From day one, BD Emerson brought urgency, clarity, and a sharp understanding of what truly matters to our business — earning and keeping customer trust. They went beyond helping us meet compliance requirements; they helped build a foundation for secure, scalable growth. That kind of partnership is rare.

Jason Marker

CEO @ LifeLenz

BD Emerson didn’t just help us pass an audit—they helped us build a sustainable culture of security.

Alexey Indeev

CTO Spare

BD Emerson was essential in helping our company navigate the daunting process of leveling up our security infrastructure. BD Emerson’s impressive expertise and confidence throughout the process helped our team exceed HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 1 standards quickly, distilling what can be an overwhelming process into a streamlined, organized effort. From day one they began adding value and getting us on course. With their help we delivered on a massive security overhaul with both extreme efficiency and thorough attention to details. Because of BD Emerson’s support, we’ve increased our clients’ trust in Titan Intake and the life-changing work it accomplishes for those seeking specialist referrals.

Patrick Bruce

CEO, Titan Intake

Certificates

Our accreditations

At BD Emerson, we believe that our team's extensive certifications not only set us apart but also ensure that we provide the highest level of service to our clients.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does a seed-stage startup need SOC 2?

Should we do a Type 1 first or go straight to Type 2?

How long until we can show a customer a report?

What does SOC 2 cost for a startup?

Can we get SOC 2 with no security hire?

Can BD Emerson run our readiness and our examination?

Which Trust Services Criteria should a startup include?

Blog

Related Articles

Insights on strategy, transactions, technology, security, and compliance from BD Emerson's practitioners