SOC 2 as Startup Revenue Lever
Christina Cacioppo, CEO of Vanta, on the value of SOC 2 compliance for startups
This was the opening for compliance automation, because startups did not reject security so much as reject an undefined, expensive project that did not obviously help them close deals. Vanta turned security into a concrete checklist tied to revenue. If a founder could connect AWS, Google Workspace, GitHub, and device tools, see which controls were missing, and hand an auditor live evidence instead of screenshots, security stopped being a vague future problem and became a faster way to pass procurement.
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Before tools like Vanta, getting SOC 2 often meant months of manual work, consultants, auditors visiting the office, screenshots, spreadsheets, and $50K to $100K in fees. That was far beyond what a 10 to 30 person startup would prioritize before enterprise buyers started asking for proof.
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The trigger was not abstract fear of hackers. It was enterprise sales. Founders started caring when buyers sent long security questionnaires or blocked deals entirely. Figma is the clearest example in the interview, and Secureframe and Laika describe the same pattern across SaaS, fintech, healthcare, and services companies.
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Once the wedge worked, the model expanded. The same integrations used for SOC 2 evidence could be reused for ISO 27001, HIPAA, vendor reviews, trust centers, and continuous monitoring. That is why Vanta grew from a certification helper into a broader security and trust platform, reaching an estimated $220M ARR by July 2025.
The market keeps moving from annual audit prep toward always on trust infrastructure. As more software sellers need to prove security earlier, the winning platforms will be the ones that sit inside day to day systems, monitor controls continuously, and turn compliance data into a broader security workflow.