FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions founders ask before building
trust infrastructure.
Aetos provides Trust Officer as a Service to growing companies, acting as an embedded Chief Trust Officer (CTO) across data privacy, AI governance, and cybersecurity.
This page answers the most common questions founders as about our services, the frameworks we support, what an engagement looks like, and whether Aetos is the right fit for your stage and goals.
WHAT AETOS DOES AND HOW WE WORK
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Trust Officer as a Service is Aetos's core offering. We act as your embedded Chief Trust Officer, taking ownership of data privacy, AI governance, and cybersecurity so your team doesn't have to build that function from scratch. Rather than a one-time assessment or a document drop, we operate as an ongoing partner, working inside your tools and workflows to build and maintain a trust program proportional to your stage and growth trajectory.
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Depending on your priorities, Aetos handles a range of trust-related functions: assessing your current posture against relevant frameworks, designing and implementing controls, preparing for SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) or other certifications, building data privacy programs aligned with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA/CPRA (California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act), developing AI governance policies, and supporting your sales process when buyers request evidence of your security practices. We attend vendor reviews, respond to security questionnaires, and help your team understand what's required and why.
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No. Aetos is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Our work is grounded in established frameworks, certifications, and governance best practices. When your situation requires legal interpretation, we'll say so and recommend you engage qualified legal counsel.
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Most compliance consultants deliver a report and move on. Aetos functions as an embedded team member, with ongoing responsibility for your trust posture rather than a one-time engagement. We also lead with business outcomes rather than regulatory checkbox-ticking. A well-built trust program should help you close enterprise deals, satisfy investor due diligence, and enter regulated markets faster; it shouldn't just satisfy an audit requirement.
FRAMEWORKS & CERTIFICATIONS
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We support the full set of frameworks most relevant to data-driven startups and SMBs:
SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2)
ISO 27001 (information security management)
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, for health data)
GDPR (EU and UK data protection regulation)
CCPA/CPRA (California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act)
NIST CSF (National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework)
AI governance frameworks aligned with emerging regulatory expectations
And more
We help you identify which frameworks are actually required by your buyers and markets, rather than pursuing certifications that don't move the needle for your business.
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Not necessarily. SOC 2 is the most commonly requested certification in B2B SaaS sales cycles, particularly when selling to enterprise buyers or companies in regulated industries. Whether you pursue it depends on your buyer requirements, market, and growth stage. We help you assess what your specific prospects and markets require so you invest in the right trust programs rather than just the most familiar ones.
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AI governance covers the policies, controls, and oversight processes that ensure your AI systems behave responsibly, transparently, and in ways that are defensible to regulators and buyers. For most startups, this means documenting how models are trained and validated, establishing human oversight for high-stakes decisions, addressing data quality and bias risks, and building a policy framework that can grow with your AI footprint. Aetos helps you build this infrastructure before your buyers or regulators ask for it.
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Yes. We help you build data privacy programs aligned to meet the standards for GDPR and CCPA/CPRA certifications. This includes data mapping, privacy notice review, consent management, data subject rights processes, and vendor management from a data privacy perspective. Our approach focuses on framework alignment and operational best practices. For legal interpretations specific to your situation, we'll direct you to qualified legal counsel.
Trust isn’t a checkbox. It’s operational infrastructure.
Start with a customized Trust Plan Summary and see where you stand.
OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS & TIMELINE
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Every engagement begins with a trust readiness assessment. We evaluate your current posture across data privacy, security controls, and governance, then map what your specific buyers and markets actually require. From there, we build a prioritized roadmap and get to work. The assessment phase typically takes one to two weeks.
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Most companies can reach SOC 2 audit readiness in eight to twelve weeks with the right guidance and reasonable team availability. The actual timeline depends on your existing controls, technical infrastructure, and the scope of the certification. ISO 27001 typically requires a longer runway given its broader scope. We'll give you a clear estimate after the assessment.
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We're designed to minimize the load on your team. You'll need to give us access to the tools and systems we're working with, and key stakeholders should be available for short check-ins as needed. Most of the heavy lifting, including documentation, control design, vendor reviews, and questionnaire responses, is handled by Aetos. We work within your existing tools and workflows rather than requiring you to adopt new systems.
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Yes. We work inside your existing infrastructure. Part of what makes this sustainable is that we fit into how your team actually operates, rather than imposing external systems on top of your workflow.
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
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Aetos works with data-driven startups and small-to-medium businesses that handle sensitive data, operate in or sell into regulated industries, or are actively building the trust posture needed to win enterprise deals. Our clients typically range from early-stage companies preparing for their first SOC 2 to growth-stage businesses that need a mature trust function without the overhead of a full-time in-house hire.
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The most common entry point is an enterprise deal that stalls because a buyer asks about your security posture and you don't have a clear answer. Other common triggers include preparing for a fundraise where investors request governance maturity, entering a regulated market like healthcare or financial services, or recognizing that your data practices need to scale alongside your product.
You don't need to be in crisis to benefit from a trust program. The companies that get the most value from Aetos typically start building before the ask comes.
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Our pricing is structured as a monthly retainer, scoped to the size of your program and the intensity of engagement required. We don't offer one-size-fits-all packages because the right program for a fifteen-person Series A company looks different from the one that serves a two-hundred-person growth-stage business. After a readiness assessment, we'll propose a scope and price that fits your actual situation.
For companies that are not ready for the full scope of services, though, Aetos offers hourly rates.
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A trust program pays off in ways that are often directly measurable. Enterprise deals that previously stalled on security reviews close faster when you can demonstrate your posture clearly. Investor due diligence moves more smoothly when governance documentation is in order. Regulated markets that were previously out of reach become accessible. And your team spends less time fielding ad hoc buyer questionnaires because the answers are already documented and ready to share.
