
Delve into compliance theatre
From Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11) by Patrick McKenzie
March 26, 2026 · 58 min · Episode 84
About this episode
Patrick McKenzie discusses the implications of compliance theatre and its impact on the industry.
Patrick McKenzie (patio11) explains how compliance regimes designed to be viral brought many more firms into the scope of frameworks like SOC 2. This created a market demand for compliance-on-the-cheap by companies like Delve. Delve has been accused in an anonymous bit of investigative journalism as engaging in Potemkin compliance. Patrick contrasts what real audits look like with what Delve allegedly delivered. He argues that selling compliance theater as compliance is fraud, not the sort of benign rule-breaking celebrated in startup culture. – Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/delve-into-compliance-theatre/ – Presenting Sponsors: Mercury , Meter , Granola & Framer Complex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com . Networking infrastructure has a way of accumulating technical debt faster than almost anything else in IT. Meter handles the full stack (wired, wireless, and cellular) as a single integrated solution: designed…
People in this episode
Host: Patrick McKenzie
Topics covered
- compliance
- SOC 2
- fraud
- startup culture
- audits
- compliance theatre
Keywords
- compliance
- SOC 2
- Delve
- fraud
- audits
- compliance theatre
- startup culture
Sponsors
Mercury, Meter, Granola
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Delve
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