SOC 2 compliance, established by the American Institute of CPAs, is crucial for SaaS startups handling sensitive customer data, as it ensures that appropriate controls and safeguards are in place across five Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Achieving SOC 2 compliance, which can be assessed through Type I or the more rigorous Type II certification, not only demonstrates a company's commitment to data protection but also provides a competitive advantage by facilitating sales to larger enterprises that require such standards from their vendors. Frigade's experience highlights the benefits of integrating SOC 2 practices early, as it allows companies to build their infrastructure in compliance with the standards, thus avoiding costly adjustments later and enabling better decision-making. Starting the certification process early, even without a finalized product-market fit, is advantageous, particularly for small teams and fresh infrastructure, and working with Compliance as a Service companies like Vanta or Drata can expedite and automate the compliance process.