Series B Startup Services

IT Support for Startups That Need to Scale, Comply, and Ship

IT support for startups at the Series B stage means more than helpdesk tickets and password resets. It means SOC 2 readiness before your next enterprise deal, private AI infrastructure that creates a defensible data moat, fractional CTO leadership for board-level technology strategy, and scalable security that satisfies both investors and customers. Petronella Technology Group, Inc. delivers all of this from a single partner with 24 years of experience serving 2,500+ businesses.

BBB A+ Since 2003 | Founded 2002 | 2,500+ Clients Served | CMMC-RP and CMMC-CCA Certified

Key Takeaways: Why Series B Startups Choose PTG

  • SOC 2 in 90 days, not 12 months. Guided implementation with policy templates and audit prep included.
  • Private AI infrastructure that eliminates per-seat licensing and builds a defensible data moat before Series C.
  • Fractional CTO and vCISO leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire ($5K to $15K/month vs. $250K+ salary plus equity).
  • One partner for IT, security, compliance, and AI. No juggling four vendors with conflicting recommendations.
  • 24 years, 2,500+ clients, zero data breaches. The track record your board and investors expect to see.
The Problem

The Startup Compliance Gap

Between seed stage and Series A, startups build fast and worry about governance later. That approach works when customers are other startups and the biggest deal on the table is $20,000 in annual recurring revenue. It stops working the moment a Fortune 500 procurement team asks to see your SOC 2 Type II report, your penetration test results, your data processing addendum, and your vendor risk questionnaire. That moment arrives for most B2B SaaS companies somewhere between the Series A close and the Series B close, and the companies that are not prepared lose deals that take six months to recover.

The compliance gap is the distance between where a startup's security and governance practices are today and where they need to be to close enterprise contracts, pass investor due diligence, and satisfy regulatory requirements. For the average Series B startup, this gap includes missing or incomplete security policies, no formal access control framework, no centralized logging or monitoring, no incident response plan that has been tested, no business continuity documentation, and no evidence that any of these controls have been operating effectively over time. Closing this gap with internal resources alone typically takes 6 to 12 months and requires hiring at least one full-time compliance specialist, one security engineer, and, often, a virtual CISO. The total cost in salaries, tooling, and opportunity cost regularly exceeds $400,000 in the first year.

PTG exists to close this gap in 90 days instead of 12 months. We bring the policies, the technical controls, the monitoring infrastructure, and the audit preparation experience that a startup needs to achieve SOC 2 compliance, satisfy enterprise procurement teams, and present a defensible security posture to investors. Our compliance-as-a-service model means you pay a predictable monthly fee instead of hiring a compliance team, purchasing a dozen SaaS tools, and spending months figuring out how everything fits together.

The compliance gap is not just a risk. It is a revenue problem. Every week that your SOC 2 report is missing is a week that your sales team cannot close enterprise deals. Every month without a formal security program is a month that your investors question whether the company is ready for the next funding round. PTG understands the urgency because we have helped hundreds of companies move from zero compliance documentation to audit-ready status within a single quarter.

Startup Services

What Series B Startups Need From an IT Partner

After your Series B close, you face three simultaneous challenges: enterprise customers demanding SOC 2 reports, a board expecting a technology roadmap, and a team that needs AI tooling to stay competitive. Here is how we solve all three. Each service below links to a dedicated page with full details, pricing context, and implementation timelines specific to that capability.

SOC 2 Compliance for Startups

Enterprise customers will not sign six-figure contracts without a SOC 2 report. PTG compresses the typical 6 to 12 month timeline to 90 days with guided implementation, policy templates, evidence collection automation, and audit preparation. We handle the technical controls while your team stays focused on product.

Fractional CTO Services

Board-level technology leadership without the $250K+ salary and equity dilution. Our fractional CTO engagements cover architecture review, vendor evaluation, security strategy, technical due diligence preparation, and AI roadmap development. Available as a standalone service or combined with vCISO coverage.

Private AI Infrastructure

VCs are asking about AI moats at every board meeting. PTG builds private AI solutions on your infrastructure that eliminate per-seat SaaS fees and create defensible intellectual property. Your data trains your models, not a vendor's. Use our Copilot Cost Calculator to see how much you can save.

SaaS Compliance Programs

SaaS companies face unique compliance demands across multiple frameworks simultaneously. PTG builds SaaS-specific compliance programs that map controls across SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA so you satisfy multiple regulatory requirements without duplicating effort or cost.

Compliance as a Service

Not every startup needs to hire a full-time compliance officer. PTG offers compliance as a service with ongoing policy management, evidence collection, control monitoring, and audit support for a predictable monthly fee. Your compliance program stays current without adding headcount.

Penetration Testing for SaaS

Enterprise buyers and SOC 2 auditors expect to see annual penetration test results. PTG delivers application and infrastructure penetration testing designed for SaaS platforms, with actionable findings reports that satisfy auditors and give your engineering team a clear remediation roadmap.

Managed Security

24/7 security operations, endpoint protection, vulnerability management, and incident response designed for startup budgets. We scale your security posture from Series B through IPO without requiring a full-time security team. Our managed security stack integrates directly with SOC 2 evidence collection.

Compliance Program Management

Beyond SOC 2, startups selling to healthcare need HIPAA. Defense contractors need CMMC. Financial services require specific controls. PTG builds compliance programs that satisfy multiple frameworks simultaneously, reducing duplicated effort and cost.

Compare

PTG vs. the Alternatives: What Startups Actually Get

Most startups choose between a compliance-only SaaS platform, a generic MSP, or an expensive Big 4 consultancy. None of them cover IT, security, compliance, and AI from a single partner. The table below breaks down exactly what you get from each option across the capabilities that matter most to Series B companies preparing for enterprise sales and investor due diligence.

Capability PTG Vanta / Drata Generic MSP Big 4 Consultancy
SOC 2 Implementation Full guided (90 days) Software only Rarely offered $150K+ advisory
Private AI Infrastructure Custom-built Not offered Not offered Strategy only ($$$)
Fractional CTO / vCISO Included Not offered Not offered $400+/hr
Managed IT / Helpdesk Full service Not offered Core offering Not offered
24/7 Security Operations Included Monitoring only Basic AV Advisory only
Cybersecurity Expertise CMMC-RP, CMMC-CCA Software vendor Generalist Deep but costly
Penetration Testing In-house team Third-party referral Not offered $50K+ per engagement
SaaS-Specific Compliance Multi-framework Template-based Not offered Custom ($$$)
Typical Annual Cost $60K to $180K $15K to $30K (sw only) $48K to $96K (IT only) $200K to $500K+
Why PTG

Why Series B Startups Choose Petronella Technology Group, Inc.

Most startup IT decisions are made reactively. A prospect asks for your SOC 2 report and you scramble. A board member asks about your AI strategy and you improvise. A security incident occurs and you discover your MSP was running default configurations. PTG works with startups proactively, building the infrastructure and compliance posture that Series C investors and enterprise customers expect to see.

We run our own private AI infrastructure: a 96-core AMD EPYC server with 288GB VRAM across three NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 GPUs, RTX 5090 workstations, and DGX Spark clusters. We build the same systems for our startup clients that we use ourselves. When we recommend a private AI deployment, it is because we operate one daily, not because we read a whitepaper about it. When we advise on the true cost of Microsoft Copilot versus a private alternative, our Copilot Cost Calculator is built from first-hand operational data.

Craig Petronella, our founder and CEO, holds CMMC Registered Practitioner (CMMC-RP) and CMMC Certified Assessor (CMMC-CCA) credentials. He has authored 15 published books on cybersecurity, compliance, and AI. With 24+ years of experience and 2,500+ clients served, PTG brings the depth of a specialized firm with the breadth of a full-service technology partner.

We are not a compliance SaaS tool that leaves you to implement controls yourself. We are not a generic MSP that treats compliance as an upsell. We are not a Big 4 consultancy that charges $400/hour for a junior analyst. We are a hands-on technology partner that builds, implements, and manages the IT, security, compliance, and AI infrastructure that scaling startups require.

The distinction matters because startups at the Series B stage cannot afford to get this wrong. A failed SOC 2 audit delays enterprise deals by quarters, not weeks. A data breach during due diligence can kill a funding round entirely. An AI strategy that depends on third-party SaaS vendors leaves you with no proprietary advantage and escalating costs that erode unit economics. PTG helps startups avoid all three of these outcomes by building the right foundation from the start, not patching together temporary fixes that create technical debt and compliance gaps down the road.

24+ Years in Business
2,500+ Clients Served
90 Days to SOC 2
0 Data Breaches
AI Strategy

AI-First Infrastructure for Competitive Advantage

Every board deck in 2026 includes an AI slide. The question investors ask is not whether your startup uses AI, but whether your AI creates a defensible advantage or just consumes SaaS budget. The difference between these two outcomes is infrastructure ownership. A startup that relies entirely on OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, or Google Gemini for its AI capabilities has no proprietary data advantage, no control over model behavior, escalating per-seat costs, and complete dependency on a vendor whose pricing and terms can change without notice.

PTG builds private AI infrastructure that gives startups a fundamentally different position. Your internal data, including customer interactions, support tickets, product usage patterns, and domain-specific knowledge, trains models that run on your infrastructure. These models become smarter about your business over time, and that accumulated intelligence stays with you, not with a SaaS vendor. The result is AI capabilities that no competitor can replicate simply by signing up for the same subscription service.

The economics are equally compelling. A 50-person startup paying $30 per user per month for Microsoft Copilot spends $18,000 per year. At 100 users, that figure reaches $36,000 annually, and it continues to grow linearly with every hire. A private AI deployment has a fixed infrastructure cost that does not increase with headcount. Visit our Copilot Cost Calculator page to model the exact savings for your team size and usage patterns.

Compliance is the third advantage. SaaS AI tools send your data to external servers for processing, which creates immediate complications for companies handling protected health information, controlled unclassified information, or customer data governed by GDPR or CCPA. A private AI deployment processes everything on infrastructure you control, eliminating the third-party risk that auditors and enterprise customers scrutinize. PTG designs every AI solution with SOC 2, HIPAA, and CMMC compliance requirements built into the architecture from the first day.

How It Works

How We Engage With Startups

From first call to full deployment, here is what working with PTG looks like for a Series B startup. Our engagement model is designed for companies that need to move quickly without sacrificing thoroughness, because compliance shortcuts create audit failures, and audit failures delay the enterprise deals that fuel your growth.

  1. Discovery and Gap Assessment

    We audit your current IT environment, security posture, compliance status, and AI readiness. You receive a detailed report identifying gaps, risks, and a prioritized roadmap aligned with your fundraising timeline and go-to-market strategy. This assessment typically takes five to seven business days and covers infrastructure architecture, identity and access management, data handling practices, vendor risk, and existing compliance documentation.

  2. Architecture and Compliance Design

    We design your target state: SOC 2 control framework, security architecture, IT infrastructure, and AI deployment plan. This becomes your board-ready technology strategy document and the execution blueprint for the engagement. The design phase maps controls across all applicable compliance frameworks so that a single implementation effort satisfies multiple requirements.

  3. Implementation Sprint

    We execute the roadmap in 30, 60, and 90 day sprints. SOC 2 controls are implemented first, since enterprise deals are usually the most urgent, followed by security hardening, AI infrastructure, and operational IT. Weekly status reports keep your leadership team informed. Penetration testing is conducted during this phase to validate controls before the formal audit begins.

  4. Managed Operations

    After implementation, we transition to ongoing managed services: 24/7 monitoring, compliance maintenance, helpdesk support, quarterly business reviews, and continuous improvement. Your startup operates with enterprise-grade IT without the enterprise headcount. Our fractional CTO remains available for board meetings, investor due diligence, and strategic technology decisions.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Series B startups need a specialized IT partner?
At the Series B stage, startups face a unique convergence of demands: enterprise customers requiring SOC 2 reports, boards expecting a formal technology strategy, investors evaluating security posture during due diligence, and engineering teams needing AI tooling to stay competitive. A generic MSP handles helpdesk tickets but cannot deliver compliance programs, AI infrastructure, or CTO-level guidance. A specialized partner like PTG addresses all of these needs from a single engagement, which eliminates the coordination overhead of managing separate vendors for IT, security, compliance, and AI strategy.
How quickly can PTG get us SOC 2 ready?
Most startups achieve SOC 2 Type I readiness within 90 days of engagement. The exact timeline depends on your starting point, but PTG provides the policy templates, technical controls, evidence collection automation, and audit preparation support that compress the typical 6 to 12 month DIY timeline. Read our detailed breakdown on the SOC 2 for startups page.
What does a fractional CTO engagement include?
A fractional CTO from PTG provides architecture review, technology roadmap development, vendor evaluation, board meeting preparation, technical due diligence support, security strategy, and AI planning. Engagements typically range from $5,000 to $15,000 per month depending on scope. Full details on our fractional CTO services page.
Can PTG build custom AI for our startup?
Yes. We build private AI solutions that run on your infrastructure, train on your data, and create defensible intellectual property. This includes RAG knowledge bases, fine-tuned models, AI-powered internal tools, and customer-facing AI features. Our AI solutions are designed for SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance from day one. Visit our Copilot Cost Calculator to estimate the savings of private AI versus per-seat SaaS licensing.
How does PTG pricing compare to hiring in-house?
A full-time CTO costs $250,000+ in salary plus equity. A full-time CISO adds another $200,000+. An internal IT manager runs $120,000+. PTG provides all three capabilities for $60,000 to $180,000 annually, depending on scope, with no equity dilution, no benefits overhead, and no recruiting timeline. You get a team of specialists instead of one generalist.
Do you work with startups outside the Raleigh area?
Yes. While our headquarters is in Raleigh, NC, we work with startups nationwide. Our managed IT, compliance, and AI services are delivered remotely with the same SLA commitments. We maintain on-site capabilities for Research Triangle clients who need physical presence for audits, hardware deployments, or executive meetings.
What makes PTG different from Vanta or Drata?
Vanta and Drata are compliance automation software platforms. They help you monitor controls and collect evidence, but they do not implement the controls themselves, manage your IT infrastructure, provide security operations, build AI systems, or offer CTO-level guidance. PTG is a full-service technology partner that handles implementation, not just monitoring. Many of our startup clients use compliance software alongside PTG services for the best of both approaches.
What compliance frameworks does PTG support for SaaS startups?
PTG supports SOC 2 Type I and Type II, HIPAA, CMMC, NIST 800-171, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, GDPR, CCPA, and ISO 27001. For SaaS companies, we typically start with SOC 2 because it is the most commonly requested by enterprise buyers, then layer additional frameworks using shared controls to minimize duplication. Our compliance-as-a-service model keeps all framework documentation current on an ongoing basis.
How does private AI stay compliant with SOC 2 and HIPAA?
Private AI infrastructure is inherently more compliant than SaaS AI tools because data never leaves your controlled environment. PTG designs every private AI deployment with encryption at rest and in transit, role-based access controls, comprehensive audit logging, data retention policies, and network segmentation. These controls map directly to SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria and HIPAA Security Rule requirements. Because you own the infrastructure, you can provide auditors with complete access to architecture documentation, configuration records, and access logs without depending on a third-party vendor's compliance posture.
What does a penetration test from PTG include?
Our penetration testing for SaaS engagements include external network testing, web application testing, API security testing, and authenticated testing of your SaaS platform. You receive a detailed findings report with severity ratings, reproduction steps, and remediation guidance that your engineering team can act on immediately. The report format is designed to satisfy SOC 2 auditor requirements and enterprise customer security questionnaires. PTG also provides a retest after remediation to confirm that identified vulnerabilities have been resolved.
CMMC-RP CMMC-CCA BBB A+ Since 2003 Founded 2002 2,500+ Clients 15 Published Books

Your Series B Infrastructure Starts Here

Stop assembling a patchwork of vendors. Get one partner for IT, security, compliance, and AI. Schedule a free startup assessment and receive a gap analysis, compliance roadmap, and cost projection within one week.

919-348-4912

Petronella Technology Group, Inc. · 5540 Centerview Dr., Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606

BBB A+ Since 2003 · Serving Businesses Since 2002 · 2,500+ Clients

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