A security questionnaire stalled a deal
A larger customer asked for your SOC 2 report, and the deal is waiting until you can show one or a credible plan to get one.
SOC 2 readiness for early-stage software teams
Know exactly what stands between you and your first SOC 2 audit.
A fixed-fee readiness assessment that maps your controls to the Trust Services Criteria and hands your engineers a ranked plan, in about three weeks.
- Fixed feeagreed in writing before work starts
- 2 to 3 weeksfrom kickoff to readout
- No admin accesswe work from read-only evidence
Gap report
| Ref | Control | Status | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC1.4 | Security awareness training | Partial | Medium |
| CC6.1 | MFA enforced on critical systems | Gap | High |
| CC6.2 | Access removed at offboarding | Partial | High |
| CC7.2 | Monitoring and alerting | Gap | High |
| CC8.1 | Changes approved before release | In place | n/a |
| CC9.2 | Vendor risk reviews | Gap | Medium |
Next: remediation roadmap
Sound familiar?
SOC 2 usually arrives in the middle of a sale
Most early-stage teams start this work because a customer asked, not because they planned to. That is exactly when a clear plan matters most.
You bought Vanta or Drata, then stalled
The platform is connected, the failing tests keep piling up, and no one knows which ones an auditor will care about.
Nobody owns compliance
Your founders and engineers are already at capacity, and no one on the team has been through an audit before.
You need a date to give a buyer
Procurement wants to know when your report will be ready. You need an answer you can stand behind.
Services
Start with a readiness assessment. Add only what you need.
Start here, 2 to 3 weeks
SOC 2 readiness assessment
We assess your system against the AICPA Trust Services Criteria and tell you exactly what to fix before an auditor looks. Security is always in scope. Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy can be added when a customer asks for them.
See the full scope- Scoping memo. The systems, data, and criteria in scope, the report type that fits your buyers, and a target audit window.
- Gap report. Every relevant control compared with what you do today, each finding rated by audit risk.
- Remediation roadmap. Fixes ranked by effort and audit impact, with suggested owners and dates your engineers can work from.
- Readout call. A 60-minute walkthrough of the findings, plus 30 days of follow-up questions by email.
Platform setup and policy tailoring
Get real value from Vanta or Drata: integrations connected, controls mapped, and policies rewritten to match how you work.
Risk assessment and vendor risk
A documented risk register and vendor review process that hold up in an audit and keep working after it.
Already using a compliance platform? See what is still left to do with Vanta or Drata.
What you walk away with
A plan your team can act on the next morning
Written for founders and engineers, not auditors. Every finding says what is missing, why it matters, and what to do about it.
Scoping memo
- In scope
- Production app, cloud account, identity provider, code repository
- Criteria
- Security + Availability
- Report
- Type 1 now, Type 2 to follow
Scoping memo
What is in scope, which criteria apply, and the report type that fits your buyers.
Gap report
- CC6.1Gap
- CC6.3Partial
- CC8.1In place
Gap report
Each relevant control compared with what you do today, rated by audit risk.
Remediation roadmap
- Weeks 1 to 2 Enforce MFA everywhere
- Weeks 2 to 4 Centralize logging
- Weeks 4 to 6 Approve core policies
Remediation roadmap
Fixes ranked by effort and impact, with owners and dates your engineers can work from.
Readout
60 min
walkthrough with your team, then 30 days of follow-up questions
Readout call
We walk your team through every finding and stay on hand for a month.
Previews show the format of each deliverable. Contents are illustrative.
How it works
About three weeks, start to finish
One kickoff, a single evidence request list, a few short interviews, and a readout. Your team spends 4 to 6 hours in total.
Before you sign
Intro and scoping call
Twenty minutes to understand your deal, your system, and your deadline. You get a fixed-fee proposal in writing.
Day 1
Kickoff
We confirm scope and criteria, then send a single evidence request list so your team knows exactly what to gather.
Week 1
Discovery
Short interviews with control owners and a review of your policies, platform results, and evidence. No production access needed.
Week 2
Gap assessment
Every relevant control is compared with what you do today and rated by audit risk.
Week 3
Roadmap and readout
You receive the gap report and a ranked remediation roadmap, and we walk your team through both.
30 days after
Follow-up
Questions come up as you fix things. Email them and get answers for a month at no extra cost.
Free self-assessment
See your top gaps in four minutes
Fifteen questions about the controls auditors look at first. You get a score and your three biggest gaps instantly, with no sign-up.
Access
Is multi-factor authentication enforced on email, cloud consoles, code repositories, and other critical tools?
Access
Do you review who has access at least quarterly, and remove access within a day when someone leaves?
People
Do new hires sign an acceptable use policy, complete security training, and go through a background check where lawful?
Who you work with
Caleb Akinfolarin
Founder, Hartgate Advisory
Caleb founded Hartgate Advisory because a first SOC 2 audit is where small software teams lose the most time: the controls are rarely mapped to what the team actually runs. He reads your environment the way an auditor will, ranks every gap by risk, and hands your team a short, ordered plan it can finish.
He holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus and is working toward the CISA certification. He keeps the practice deliberately small, so every engagement is fixed-price and the person who scopes your work is the person who does it.
- Twoengagements at most at any one time
- Onebusiness day to reply to every message
- Zerohand-offs to a junior team
What you can expect
Clear terms, plain language, no surprises
- Scope in writing first. Deliverables and price are fixed before work starts. Anything new is a separate, priced change you approve.
- Plain language. Findings are written for founders and engineers, with no audit jargon left unexplained.
- Platform-neutral advice. We work with Vanta, Drata, other platforms, or none. We are not paid by any of them.
- Honest boundaries. We prepare you for the audit. We do not perform it, issue reports, or promise outcomes only your auditor can decide.
How long does a readiness assessment take?
Most assessments take 2 to 3 weeks from kickoff to readout. The biggest factor is how quickly your team can share policies and evidence. We send the evidence request list on day one so nothing waits on us.
Expect to spend 4 to 6 hours of your own time across the engagement, mostly in a kickoff call, a few short interviews with control owners, and the readout.
What is the difference between a readiness assessment and an audit?
A SOC 2 audit is performed by a licensed CPA firm, which issues the report your customers ask for. A readiness assessment happens before that. It shows you where your controls fall short so you can fix them before the auditor looks.
Hartgate Advisory does readiness work only. We are not a CPA firm and do not issue reports or opinions. Keeping the two separate also protects your auditor's independence.
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2?
A Type 1 report looks at whether your controls are designed properly at a single point in time. A Type 2 report tests whether those controls actually operated over a period of time, usually three to twelve months.
Many enterprise buyers ultimately want Type 2. Some startups get a Type 1 first to unblock a deal sooner, then move to Type 2. We help you decide which makes sense for the customers you are selling to.
Do we need Vanta or Drata before working with you?
No. Many teams come to us before choosing a platform, and the assessment helps them decide whether they need one. If you already have Vanta or Drata, we use its test results as a starting point instead of repeating work.
We are platform-neutral and not affiliated with either company, so our advice is based on your situation.
Get started
Know where you stand in three weeks.
The fastest route is a 20-minute call. You will leave knowing your likely scope, the report type your buyers need, and what a fixed-fee assessment would cost.
Or send a note and we will reply within one business day. Email works too: hello@hartgateadvisory.com