Fugo

CHALLENGE

An early-stage company needs trustworthy compliance experts

Building a secure software product was a top priority for Founder and CTO Zuka Kakabadze. Since TV hardware typically lacks baked-in security features, Fugo’s software needed to mitigate those vulnerabilities to give customers confidence while displaying sensitive data.

Sarah Donahoo, Marketing and Business Development Lead at Fugo.ai, was determined to win more enterprise deals and move the growing company upmarket. She found that working with larger companies was a non-starter without an internationally recognized security framework like SOC 2 in place, and the company needed to boost its security posture. 

Fugo.ai’s small team had limited experience with compliance, and they were looking for reliable experts to guide them through the process. They were also looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-use automation platform.

SOLUTION

Fugo.ai chooses Thoropass to guide them through the SOC 2 audit process and penetration testing

After evaluating multiple solutions, the Fugo.ai team chose Thoropass as their compliance partner to pursue SOC 2 certification. Onboarding was easy with the help of their Customer Success Manager, and the Thoropass platform seamlessly integrated with their systems.

“Our Customer Success Manager prepared us really well. She was really helpful throughout, answering all our questions and comments in the software and during our bi-weekly calls. So we had two-sided support: automated support as well as the human touch,” said Zuka Kakabadze.

The Fugo.ai team quickly progressed to submitting evidence through the Thoropass platform.

Penetration testing is an important step in the SOC 2 process and one that Fugo.ai’s customers specifically request. Many of the other pentesting services Zuka had vetted were automated, but Thoropass’s pen testers were hands-on, meeting with the team and communicating throughout the process.

“It’s really important to have actual, real, comprehensive testing done. Otherwise, the auditors will reject it. So it was good to meet with the Thoropass testers, plan the pen testing more rigorously, and watch them execute it in a week or two. You could see they were testing thoroughly because they were asking questions, and we could see the progress in the system,” said Zuka Kakabadze.

The pen testers identified opportunities to improve their systems, which the Fugo team quickly acted on.

RESULTS

SOC 2 certification in 14 days and a 50% increase in closed deals

Fugo.ai worked with Thoropass to achieve a successful SOC 2 audit in 14 days, which was much faster than they expected.

The company’s improved security posture has had a profound impact on the business. Since achieving SOC 2 certification, Fugo.ai has seen a 50% increase in closed deals. 

LOOKING AHEAD

Fugo.ai’s advice to other startups: Choose a compliance partner you can trust

Both Zuka and Sarah recommend Thoropass to other startups that need to improve their security posture. According to Zuka, cost is not the only factor to consider.

For Sarah, support and guidance made all the difference.