For startups
Get SOC 2 ready without hiring a compliance person
An investor is asking about SOC 2, a prospect wants ISO 27001, and the team is small with no compliance hire. Certifyi gives you a structured path from zero to audit-ready: start with the framework the current deal needs, attach evidence to each control it proves, and carry those controls over when the next customer asks for another.
In short
Most startups take on compliance to close deals. The usual route is a consultant and a spreadsheet. Certifyi replaces both with one workspace: the frameworks mapped for you, policy templates to start from, evidence attached to the controls it proves, and a readiness view per framework that tells you when it is time to book the auditor.
What makes compliance hard at your stage
You do not have a compliance team, and you may not have a security team either. You still need the certification to win the deal.
- No dedicated team
- Compliance lands on the CTO, a senior engineer or whoever drew the short straw. They also have a product to build.
- Investor pressure
- SOC 2 is a line item on the term sheet, and prospects will not sign until you have it.
- Starting from scratch
- There are no policies, no control library and no evidence register yet. Every document has to be written.
- First audit
- Nobody on the team has been through an audit before, so it is hard to know what the auditor will expect or how to prepare.
What you get
One workspace that takes you from no programme to audit-ready. Everything below is included, with no add-ons or per-module pricing.
- Framework catalogue
- Start with SOC 2 and add ISO 27001 when European prospects ask for it. Controls the two share are mapped once, so you do not do the work twice.
- Policy templates
- Start each policy from a template, then review it, adapt it to how you work and publish it.
- Evidence attached to controls
- Connect tools such as AWS, Bitbucket and Auth0. Evidence from them is attached to the controls it proves.
- Readiness dashboard
- Readiness for each framework you adopt, with the controls that are passing, failing or still missing evidence.
- Trust centre
- Publish your security posture for prospects, so common security questions are answered before a questionnaire arrives.
- AI-assisted questionnaires
- When a prospect sends a security questionnaire, AI drafts answers from your controls. You review them before anything is sent.
Getting audit-ready
A structured path to your first audit
The usual first move on SOC 2 is a consultant who builds a spreadsheet. It works for a few months. Then a control changes and nobody updates the sheet, the screenshots go stale, and when an investor asks how close you are, nobody can say with any confidence.
In Certifyi you adopt a framework from the catalogue, review its controls, mark which ones apply and start working. The gap analysis shows what is missing, and the dashboard shows your progress.
- Adopt SOC 2, ISO 27001 or both from the framework catalogue.
- Review the controls and set your Statement of Applicability per control.
- Connect your tools and attach their evidence to controls.
- Track readiness on the compliance dashboard.
- Give your auditor a scoped portal instead of a shared drive.
Evidence
Pull evidence from the tools you already use
Your cloud provider, code repository and identity provider already hold most of the evidence an auditor will ask for. The work is collecting it consistently.
Certifyi connects to those tools and attaches what it finds to the controls it proves: code review settings from Bitbucket, sign-in evidence from Auth0 or Duo, configuration from AWS or Azure. Every change is written to the tamper-evident activity log, so when your auditor asks who touched a piece of evidence and when, you can show them.
- AWS and Azure. Configuration and security findings.
- Bitbucket. Branch protections and code review settings.
- Auth0 and Duo. Users, MFA status and sign-in evidence.
- Jira. Create Jira tickets from failing controls.
Recommended modules
Every module is included. Most startups begin with compliance and evidence, and pick up risk management, vendor reviews and training as the company grows.
From zero to audit-ready
How a startup moves from no compliance programme to SOC 2 readiness. How long it takes depends on your scope and starting point.
-
01
Adopt a framework
Choose SOC 2, ISO 27001 or both. Certifyi loads the controls and produces your gap analysis.
-
02
Connect your tools
Connect your cloud, code and identity tools, and attach their evidence to controls.
-
03
Close the gaps
Write policies from templates, put the controls in place and track readiness as the gaps close.
-
04
Hand over to your auditor
Give your auditor scoped portal access. They review the evidence and propose findings in the platform, so there is no email chain to chase.
Questions
Startup questions
How long does it take to get SOC 2 ready?
It depends on your starting point. A startup with modern cloud infrastructure and good engineering habits moves faster than one starting from nothing, so we scope it with you rather than promise a date. The dashboard shows where you stand for each framework.
Do we need a compliance hire?
Many startups complete their first SOC 2 without a dedicated compliance person. Certifyi gives you the structure a consultant or hire would otherwise provide: framework controls, policy templates, evidence attached to controls and readiness tracking. Someone on the team still needs to own it, but it does not have to be their only job.
Can we start with SOC 2 and add ISO 27001 later?
Yes. Adopt one framework now and add others when you need them. When you add ISO 27001, your existing SOC 2 controls are mapped to its requirements, and a control that satisfies both is linked, so you do not enter the evidence again.
What tools does Certifyi integrate with?
Connectors include AWS, Azure, Bitbucket, Auth0, Duo, Jira, CrowdStrike and Jamf. Tell us what you use during your evaluation and we will confirm each one.
Is there a free tier?
Plans are priced by company size. Ask us for startup pricing; we know the budget is tight at this stage.
What if our auditor needs something specific?
Your auditor gets their own scoped portal with time-limited access. They see the evidence and controls for their engagement and can propose findings directly in the platform.
See the path from no programme to your first SOC 2 audit.
Book a demo with the framework your next deal depends on in mind. We walk through getting it audit-ready without a compliance hire, and what carries over when a later customer asks for ISO 27001.
- Each customer workspace has its own database
- Every change written to a tamper-evident activity log
- Auditors get scoped, read-only access
- AI suggestions wait for a person to accept them