How Clay Saves 6-Figures and Accelerates Growth with Workstreet's Expert-Led Security Program

The Challenge: Clay needed to scale security and compliance without slowing down their explosive growth trajectory—moving from $500M to $3.1B valuation in just over a year.

The Solution: Workstreet's expert-led security services on the Vanta platform enabled Clay to achieve SOC 2 readiness in record time while keeping their product and sales teams focused on growth.

The Results:

• 6-figure annual savings compared to traditional security consulting
• Zero security questionnaire bottlenecks blocking enterprise deals
• 50+ hours monthly of internal team time recovered for product development
• Audit-ready in weeks, not months, enabling rapid enterprise expansion

About Clay

Clay is the $3.1 billion AI-powered go-to-market platform that's revolutionizing how sales teams research, enrich, and engage prospects. With over 10,000 customers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Canva, and Rippling, Clay has experienced explosive growth—tripling revenue in 2025 alone while establishing itself as the definitive GTM development environment for modern sales teams.

Founded in 2017, Clay has raised over $200M in funding and achieved unicorn status with remarkable momentum: 10x revenue growth in both 2022 and 2023, followed by 6x growth in 2024. The company's latest $100M Series C round, led by CapitalG (Alphabet's growth fund), reflects the market's confidence in Clay's ability to transform B2B sales operations at enterprise scale.

The Security Challenge: Moving Fast While Building Trust

As Clay scaled from startup to unicorn, Head of GTM Engineering Everett Berry faced a critical challenge that many fast-growing SaaS companies encounter: how to implement enterprise-grade security without sacrificing speed or diverting precious engineering resources from product development.

"At our pace of growth, we couldn't afford to get bogged down in compliance busywork," explains Everett. "We needed security that could keep up with our velocity while meeting the stringent requirements of enterprise customers."

The pressure was mounting from multiple directions:

• Enterprise deals requiring questionnaires and ISO 27001 were stacking up
• Security questionnaires were becoming a major sales bottleneck
• Internal teams needed to stay focused on product innovation and customer acquisition
• Investor expectations demanded robust security as Clay entered new market segments

The Traditional Approach Wasn't Working

Clay initially considered the conventional path: hiring a dedicated security team, engaging traditional Big 4 consultants, or trying to build compliance capabilities in-house. However, each option presented significant drawbacks:

• In-house teams would require months to hire and onboard
• Traditional consultants moved too slowly for Clay's rapid growth timeline
• Generic solutions couldn't provide the deep expertise needed for SaaS-specific compliance

"We needed real security guidance and hands-on help," Everett explains. "The traditional approaches either couldn't keep pace with our growth or would have drained too many resources from our core business."

The Workstreet Solution: Expert-Led Security at Scale

After evaluating multiple options, Clay partnered with Workstreet—Vanta's largest services partner and a specialist in SaaS security programs. This partnership delivered three critical advantages:

1. Vanta + Workstreet Integration

Rather than managing multiple vendors, Clay gained access to both market-leading compliance automation and expert consulting through a single, integrated partnership.

2. SaaS-Specific Expertise

Workstreet's team of former SaaS founders and dedicated vCISOs brought a deep understanding of Clay's specific compliance needs as a fast-growing AI platform.

3. Scalable Service Model

Workstreet's approach meant Clay could access enterprise-level security expertise without the overhead of building an internal security team.

"Workstreet offered the right balance of automation and expertise," says Everett. "They could move at our speed without requiring a big engineering lift."

Results: Measurable Impact Across Three Dimensions

1. Moving Fast: Record-Breaking Compliance Timeline

Traditional Timeline: 3-6 months for ISO 27001 and SOC 2 readiness

Clay + Workstreet Timeline: 4 weeks to audit-ready

This acceleration enabled Clay to:

• Pursue enterprise deals immediately rather than waiting for compliance
• Meet investor requirements for security maturity
• Establish credibility with security-conscious customers early in the sales process

2. Conserving Internal Resources: 50+ Hours Monthly Recovered

Rather than diverting product and engineering talent to security tasks, Clay's internal teams remained focused on core business objectives:

Time Savings Achieved:

• Security questionnaires: From 8-10 hours each to fully managed by Workstreet
• Policy management: From manual updates to automated compliance tracking
• Evidence collection: From manual gathering to continuous automated monitoring
• Vendor assessments: From lengthy manual reviews to streamlined workflows

"We've stayed focused on product and growth instead of getting bogged down in compliance busywork," says Everett. "Workstreet took on the heavy lifting and kept us on track."

Resource Allocation Impact:

• Engineering team remained 100% focused on product development
• Sales team eliminated security questionnaire bottlenecks
• Executive time redirected from compliance management to strategic growth initiatives

3. Building Trust: Six-Figure ROI Through Eliminated Bottlenecks

The partnership delivered measurable financial returns through multiple channels:

Direct Cost Savings:

• Consultant fees: 60-70% reduction vs. traditional Big 4 engagement
• Internal labor costs: Eliminated need for dedicated security hires
• Tool consolidation: Single platform vs. multiple point solutions

Revenue Acceleration:

• Faster deal closure: Eliminated security review delays
• Enterprise expansion: Enabled pursuit of larger, security-conscious accounts
• Trust Center impact: Automated response to 80%+ of security inquiries

"The six-figure savings we've achieved through faster deal cycles and eliminated bottlenecks has more than paid for our entire security program," notes Everett.

Customer Trust: Security as a Growth Driver

Beyond compliance checkboxes, the Workstreet partnership transformed security into a competitive advantage:

Proactive Transparency

Clay's Vanta-powered Trust Center provides real-time visibility into security posture, allowing prospects to self-serve security information rather than requiring lengthy questionnaire processes.

Enterprise Credibility

"We've helped elevate Clay's overall security posture," explains Travis Good, Workstreet Co-Founder and CEO. "From implementing stronger access controls to improving internal visibility, the partnership has built external credibility and helped Clay keep moving at hyperscale."

Market Positioning

As Clay continues expanding into enterprise markets, robust security has become a key differentiator: "Security reviews that once took weeks now happen in days, and many prospects don't even require full questionnaires when they see our Vanta Trust Center," says Everett.

Looking Forward: Security for the Next Growth Phase

With SOC 2 compliance established and operational security embedded, Clay is leveraging the Workstreet partnership for advanced objectives:

Advanced Frameworks

• ISO 42001 for AI governance as Clay expands AI capabilities
• GDPR compliance for international expansion
• Industry-specific requirements for regulated sector customers

AI Security Leadership

Clay is already leveraging Vanta's AI Security Assessment to stay ahead of how AI is reshaping the compliance landscape, positioning the company as a leader in responsible AI development.

Continuous Innovation

"Building our services on top of the market-leading platform helps us move beyond manual work to offer deep, consultative support," explains Travis Good. "As Clay evolves, we're able to provide forward-looking guidance rather than just reactive compliance."

Key Takeaways: Why the Partnership Works

For Fast-Growing SaaS Companies

Clay's experience demonstrates that the right partnership can eliminate the traditional trade-off between growth speed and security maturity.

For Enterprise Expansion

Security compliance becomes a growth enabler rather than a growth inhibitor when implemented strategically with expert guidance.

For Resource Optimization

Outsourcing security to specialists allows internal teams to focus on core competencies while achieving superior compliance outcomes.

The Workstreet Advantage

"Workstreet has been a true partner," reflects Everett Berry. "They embedded security into our daily workflow, took on the heavy lifting, and enabled us to move faster by unblocking security reviews without draining our team."

As Clay continues its trajectory toward becoming the definitive GTM platform for enterprise sales teams, the Workstreet partnership ensures security remains an accelerator, not an obstacle, to that ambitious vision.

Ready to achieve similar results for your growing SaaS company? Learn how Workstreet's expert-led security services on the Vanta platform can help you move fast, conserve resources, and build trust with enterprise customers. Contact us at hello@workstreet.com to get started.

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