How to Prepare Your Startup for SOC 2 Compliance

🧭 A Step-by-Step Guide to SOC 2 Readiness
Achieving SOC 2 starts long before the audit. The most successful startups begin preparing early — defining scope, assigning roles, and building secure processes that scale.

Here’s how your team can get SOC 2-ready efficiently and effectively.

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👥 Step 1: Assign Compliance Ownership

Startups don’t need a full GRC team — but you do need clear ownership across key roles:

• Technical Lead: Oversees system readiness and audit communications (e.g. CTO, VP Engineering)
• Business Lead: Coordinates project tasks and deadlines (e.g. COO, HR Lead)
• Security Lead: Documents and implements controls (e.g. Director of Security)

Small teams often combine these roles — the key is clear accountability.

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🧱 Step 2: Understand the Trust Services Criteria

You’ll need to select which Trust Services Criteria (TSC) you’ll include in your audit. Only Security is mandatory — others are optional based on your product and customer needs:

• 🔐 Security (required)
• 📈 Availability – critical for SaaS & APIs
• ⚙️ Processing Integrity – important for transaction-heavy platforms
• 🔒 Confidentiality – needed for handling sensitive data
• 🧾 Privacy – essential for PII handling and compliance (e.g. GDPR, Law 25)

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🧩 Step 3: Define Your Audit Scope

Your scope includes:

• Which systems are covered
• Which teams and processes are in-scope
• Which TSCs you’re auditing against

Defining scope early helps avoid overreach and audit delays.

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📄 Step 4: Build Your Policy Framework

SOC 2 requires documented policies that describe how you manage risk and secure customer data. Key policies include:

• Information Security Policy
• Access Control Policy
• Vendor Risk Management
• Data Classification & Handling
• Incident Response Plan

StandardOne.tech offers pre-built policy templates to help you get started fast.

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📁 Step 5: Prepare Your Evidence

Auditors require evidence that your controls are active and effective. Typical evidence includes:

• 📝 Management Assertion
• 📊 System Description
• 📋 Control Matrix
• 📂 Screenshots, logs, access reviews, vendor contracts

Compliance automation tools can streamline this process and reduce manual work.

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🧪 Step 6: Run a Readiness Assessment

A readiness assessment is like a trial audit. It helps uncover gaps before the formal audit begins. You can do this internally or with an external consultant.

We recommend using a checklist-based approach — or start with our Free SOC 2 Toolkit.

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🎯 Book Your SOC 2 Prep Call

Need help planning your SOC 2 journey? We’ll guide you through scope, controls, documentation, and next steps — with actionable recommendations for your team.

👉 Book a Free SOC 2 Readiness Session

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