BlueRock is building an agentic security fabric to protect organizations deploying AI agents and MCP workflows. With a $25 Million Series A, founder Bob Tinker is tackling what he sees as a 10x larger opportunity than mobile's enterprise disruption. Bob previously scaled MobileIron from zero to $150 million in five years and took it public in 2014. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Bob shares the strategic mistakes that cost MobileIron its category positioning, why go-to-market fit is the missing framework between PMF and scale, and how B2B marketing has fundamentally transformed in just 18 months.

Topics Discussed:

• Taking a company public: the killer marketing event versus the unexpected team psychology challenges of daily stock volatility
• Why agentic AI workflows create unprecedented security challenges at the action and data layer, not just prompts
• The strategic timing of category definition: MobileIron's cautionary tale of letting Gartner define you as "MDM" when customers bought for security
• Where enterprise buyers actually get advice now that Gartner's influence has diminished
• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) replacing SEO as the primary discovery mechanism for B2B solutions
• Why 1.0 categories have fundamentally unclear ICPs versus 2.0/3.0 products with crisp buyer personas
• The "high urgency, low friction" framework for prioritizing what to build in nascent markets
• Go-to-market fit: the repeatable growth recipe that unlocks scaling post-PMF
• Unlearning as competitive advantage for second-time founders

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:

• Time your category noun definition strategically: MobileIron focused exclusively on solving the problem (the verb) but waited too long to influence category nomenclature. Gartner labeled it "Mobile Device Management" when customer purchase drivers were security-focused, not management.
• Use customer language as category discovery, not invention: Bob's breakthrough on BlueRock positioning came from asking prospects: "How would you describe what we do to your peers?" One prospect distinguished their focus on "the action side - taking AI and taking action on data and tools" versus prompt inspection and AI firewalls.
• Engineer for the "high urgency, low friction" intersection: Bob's filtering criteria for BlueRock's roadmap requires both dimensions simultaneously. When a prospect revealed they were building their own MCP security tools - a signal of acute, unmet pain - they also asked BlueRock to add prompt security features.
• Accept ICP ambiguity as a feature, not bug, of 1.0 markets: In 2.0/3.0 categories, you can target "VP of Detection & Response" with precision. In 1.0 markets like agentic security, Bob finds buyers across three distinct orgs: agentic development teams building secure-by-default systems, product security teams inside engineering (not under the CISO), and traditional security organizations.
• Shift content strategy from SEO to AEO immediately: Bob identifies the clock speed of marketing change as "breathtaking" - what worked 18 months ago is obsolete. The specific shift: ranking above the fold in Google search is now irrelevant.
• Treat go-to-market fit as a distinct inflection point: Bob observed a consistent pattern across MobileIron, Box (Aaron Levie), Citrix (Mark Templeton), Palo Alto Networks (Mark McLaughlin), and SendGrid (Sameer Dholakia) - all hit PMF, hired salespeople aggressively, burned cash, and stalled growth while boards grew frustrated.
• Build community as primary discovery in fragmented buyer markets: Bob's most different GTM motion versus five years ago: "We're just out talking to prospects and customers - individual reach outs, hitting people up on LinkedIn, posting in discussion boards, engaging with the community."
• Practice systematic unlearning as second-time founder discipline: Bob's most personal insight: "What really got in my way wasn't what I needed to learn. It was what I needed to unlearn."

Nightfall AI is pioneering AI-native data loss prevention (DLP) for enterprises navigating cloud, SaaS, and AI application proliferation. Founded in 2017 by former Uber engineers who witnessed data breaches firsthand, Nightfall addresses the architectural limitations and false positive problems plaguing legacy DLP solutions. By leveraging machine learning and large language models across three distinct layers—content classification, risk assessment, and forensic investigation—Nightfall delivers 10x accuracy improvements while enabling secure AI adoption. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Rohan Sathe, Co-Founder & CEO of Nightfall AI, to explore their strategy for displacing entrenched incumbents and positioning as the security enabler for organizational AI deployment.

Topics Discussed:

• Nightfall's founding thesis addressing DLP coverage gaps created by cloud and SaaS migration
• Three-layer AI architecture: content classification, behavioral risk analysis, and agent-assisted forensics
• Positioning against legacy DLP's rules-based approaches and exact data match workarounds
• Market education shift post-ChatGPT: from "don't use AI" to "enable AI securely"
• Purple brand differentiation strategy in security's dark-themed visual landscape
• Conference ROI reallocation: executive suite meetings versus booth presence at RSA and Black Hat
• Mid-market to enterprise expansion pattern through peer-to-peer word-of-mouth
• Founder-led LinkedIn strategy balancing market education with competitive displacement narratives
• Sales team composition: domain practitioners versus traditional sales profiles

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:

• Structure POVs to prove quantifiable superiority on one dimension: Rohan revealed Nightfall benchmarks against Google and Microsoft DLP APIs, demonstrating 10x accuracy improvements during proof-of-value cycles. When challenging mature categories, identify the single metric where you demonstrably outperform and architect evaluations to surface that gap.
• Deploy AI across three workflow layers, not as a monolithic feature: Nightfall applies AI distinctly at content classification (identifying sensitive data with high precision), behavioral analysis (distinguishing risky data movement from standard workflows), and investigation assistance (helping analysts focus forensic efforts).
• Replace field marketing spend with curated CISO access: Nightfall redirected budget from RSA and Black Hat booths to private suites hosting scheduled executive meetings. Rohan emphasized engaging "chief information security officers who sign the checks" in intimate settings rather than booth traffic.
• Design 8-person dinners as vendor-neutral industry forums: Nightfall hosts 3-4 annual dinners with 5-7 prospects and 2-3 team members (founders, head of product) structured around industry developments—like OpenAI's agent workflow builder and security implications—not product pitches.
• Hire former practitioners into quota-carrying roles: Rohan identified hiring former DLP security operations analysts as account executives or solutions architects, mirroring trends in legal tech and HR tech.
• Use LinkedIn for two narratives: market education and competitive wins: Rohan posts thought leadership on DLP evolution and AI security implications alongside selective announcements of competitive displacements at enterprise AI companies and top 10 banks. He noted role postings also drive engagement, signaling growth momentum.
• Leverage AI adoption mandates as your demand generation engine: Post-ChatGPT, Rohan noted "board mandate and CEO mandate from every company to use as much AI as you can" created new security requirements.
• Challenge category conventions through education, not assertion: Rather than simply claiming exact data match (EDM) is obsolete, Nightfall explains EDM emerged as a workaround for rules-based approaches' false positive problems—and ML eliminates the need for workarounds entirely.

In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Carole Winqwist, CMO of GitGuardian, a cybersecurity company specializing in secret detection and code vulnerabilities. Carole shares how her team approaches rapid response marketing during major security breaches, the evolution from traditional SEO to answer engine optimization (AEO), and how AI is fundamentally reshaping marketing team structures and capabilities. From navigating Reddit's strict moderation policies to leveraging AI for accelerated content production, Carole provides tactical insights on staying ahead in B2B cybersecurity marketing while building agile, technically-savvy teams.

Topics Discussed:

• Rapid response marketing vs. newsjacking in cybersecurity
• Transitioning from SEO to answer engine optimization (AEO)
• Building technically-savvy marketing teams with engineering backgrounds
• Navigating Reddit as a content distribution channel for B2B companies
• AI's impact on marketing team structure and content production velocity
• Enabling team innovation through experimentation and early adoption
• Structuring content strategy for LLM indexing and discovery

Lessons For B2B Tech Marketers:

• Execute Rapid Response, Not Newsjacking: GitGuardian only responds to security breaches within their core expertise (secret detection and code vulnerabilities). Rather than simply commenting, they conduct original research, analyze breach data, and provide best practices based on actual findings. This positions them as experts rather than opportunists and resonates with sophisticated security audiences who can spot ambulance chasing.
• Invest in Deep, Data-Rich Content for AEO Success: The shift from SEO to answer engine optimization rewards marketers who were already creating substantive content. Long-form articles with original research, data, and proof points perform well with LLMs because they demonstrate legitimate expertise. This "back to basics" approach means writing for intelligent systems rather than gaming algorithms with keyword repetition and link schemes.
• Build Marketing Teams with Technical DNA: GitGuardian includes team members with engineering and technical backgrounds who can quickly evaluate new tools and tactics with a testing mindset.
• Navigate Reddit Through Value, Not Promotion: Reddit's moderators are highly sensitive to commercial content, but original research and genuine insights can break through. The key is ensuring content provides real value independent of company affiliation. GitGuardian struggles with this balance—their vulnerability research is valuable but gets flagged because it lives on a company blog.
• Structure AI Adoption Around Velocity Gains, Not Headcount Reduction: GitGuardian didn't eliminate positions due to AI but rather increased output with the same or smaller teams. Their content strategist can now handle work that previously required multiple technical writers. One product marketing manager now serves a sales team double the size.
• Create "Divide and Conquer" Specialization Across Emerging Channels: Rather than having everyone monitor everything, GitGuardian assigns team members to focus on specific emerging areas—one person owns AEO, others focus on intent data, AI tools, etc.
• Enable Horizontal Skill Development Through AI Tools: AI is allowing marketers to become more transversal, handling end-to-end campaigns rather than narrow specializations. Someone without deep technical expertise can now produce technically accurate content by using AI as an assistant.
• Reward Experimentation Through Internal and External Visibility: GitGuardian's philosophy is to let team members test new approaches unless completely off-strategy. When experiments succeed, team members gain visibility internally and speaking opportunities at conferences.
• Use AI for Rapid Onboarding and Intern Productivity: New team members and interns become productive much faster when fed solid source content to work with through AI.

With over 30 years in wireless—from helping pioneer intercarrier SMS to running mobile identity operations across Americas and Asia Pacific — Eddie DeCurtis saw what others missed: 967 of 1,000 global mobile network operators lack the infrastructure to monetize CPNI data while protecting customers from fraud. The technical challenge isn't building APIs. It's that operators spent billions on 5G infrastructure and now lack capital, internal expertise, and operational frameworks to launch authentication services. In 18 months, Shush went from PowerPoint to 30 employees, supporting 47 network APIs with full GSMA Open Gateway compliance. Eddie shares how understanding regulatory frameworks by jurisdiction, not just deploying technology, became their competitive moat—and why hiring the executive who built T-Mobile USA's authentication platform gave them credibility no competitor could match.

Topics Discussed:

• Why operators repeatedly said "we want to do it, we have no idea how, we have no money, we don't have a platform"
• Validating the thesis with former AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan before launching
• Securing a POC with a major operator pre-incorporation—with only a PowerPoint deck
• The three-legged stool: technology, network integration, and business operations (where competitors fail)
• Why knowing privacy regulations for CPNI data sharing by country became a deal-closer
• Reducing network integration from dozens of touchpoints to three specific network elements
• Supporting 8 Linux Foundation Camara APIs and TS.43 GBA AKA authentication standard
• Going from 3 to 30 employees and launching at Mobile World Congress on a $75/night Airbnb budget

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:

• Validate with the person most likely to kill your idea: Eddie deliberately chose John Donovan—former CEO of AT&T Communications, board member at Lockheed and Palo Alto Networks—specifically because "he's going to be rough, he's going to totally ask the really hard questions." When Donovan's response was "go raise $40 million and own this space...you're not going to be alone for long," .
• Convert pre-product conviction into design partner commitments: Eddie secured a POC agreement with a major operator before Shush incorporated. "I had nothing. I didn't have software. We had an idea, we had a PowerPoint presentation." This only works when you've spent decades building domain expertise and relationships.
• The enterprise moat is operational knowledge, not technical capability: Eddie's thesis: "Anybody can come up with the technology. You walk down the street in the Bay Area, 10 developers will develop it for you." Shush differentiated by answering questions competitors couldn't: How do you price SIM swap detection per query? What are CPNI data sharing regulations in Indonesia versus Brazil? When Eddie told an operator "here's the privacy rules for your country" after they admitted "I have no idea,".
• Target the ambition-capability gap in capital-constrained buyers: Operators told Eddie the same story: eager to launch authentication services, zero clarity on execution, budgets decimated by 5G spending. This created perfect conditions for a full-stack solution. "Mid-market is hard because you have a buyer with problems that are not basic anymore, but they lack the ability to execute."
• Hire the operator who ran your exact use case at scale: Eddie cold-called John Morrowton, who "built this actual product and service offering at T-Mobile USA, from its inception to its execution and ran it for four years." His pitch: "I'm Eddie DeCurtis, how are you? You want a job? You're Chief Product Officer."
• Minimize integration surface area to accelerate deployment: Mobile operators run highly secure networks with limited external access points. Shush "narrowed it down to three network elements that we can communicate with to provide all 47 APIs." Fewer integration points means faster deployment, lower implementation risk, and reduced operator IT overhead.

StrongestLayer is building AI-native email security architecture designed for threats that defeat pattern-matching systems. The company pivoted from security awareness training after early customers discovered its phishing detection plugin caught advanced threats that legacy gateway solutions missed. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Alan LeFort, CEO of StrongestLayer, to discuss why architectural generation matters more than vendor reputation in email security, and how they're using transparent proof-of-concept methodology to displace 20-year incumbents.

Topics Discussed:

• Why AI-generated attacks with n=1 datasets break signature-based detection architectures
• The convergence of legitimate marketing automation and phishing techniques (lookalike domains, intent signals, AI-personalized messaging)
• How 2% of attack types represent 90% of breach value, forecast to reach 17% of volume by 2027
• Transparent POC strategy achieving 85% meeting-to-POC and 100% qualified-POC-to-technical-win conversion
• Stage-based ICP selection: targeting 1,000-10,000 seats for sub-6-month sales cycles with enterprise compliance requirements
• Harvard Kennedy School research: AI enables 88% employee profiling from public data, 95% cost reduction for targeted campaigns, and 60% click rates versus 12% baseline

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:

• Deploy transparent POCs as category displacement weapons: When attacking entrenched incumbents, StrongestLayer runs one-week POCs behind existing email security gateways with zero commercial pressure—just visibility into what's being missed. At a sub-1,000-seat company running behind a top-three market leader, they surfaced 80 advanced threats in one week. This approach converts 85% of first meetings to POC and 100% of qualified POCs to technical wins.
• Stage-match your ICP to burn rate tolerance, not TAM: Alan deliberately excludes Fortune 500 despite universal email security need: "When their procurement team is bigger than your whole company, not a good scene." Instead, they target 1,000-10,000 seats—enterprises with SOC2/compliance obligations but without Fortune 500 security budgets or staffing. These accounts close in under 6 months. The framework: Define ICP by sales cycle length your runway can sustain, then expand segments as capital position improves.
• Trade IP opacity for velocity when architectural advantage compounds: Unlike security vendors protecting methodology behind NDAs, StrongestLayer publishes full product demos on YouTube and shares detection logic openly. Alan's thesis: "I'm going all in on velocity. I'm going to transparently share, get it in front of as many customers as we can." This works because their advantage is continuous AI model improvement velocity, not a static algorithm competitors could copy. If your moat is execution speed and iteration cycles rather than a single proprietary technique, transparency accelerates trust-building and shortens enterprise consideration periods.
• Quantify the shift from volume metrics to value-at-risk metrics: Rather than competing on total threat detection volume, StrongestLayer focuses on the 2% of attack types (BEC, advanced spear phishing) that represent 90% of breach value—and are growing to 17% of attack volume by 2027. They weaponize third-party research (Harvard Kennedy School) showing AI reduces targeted attack costs by 95% while increasing success rates from 12% to 60%.
• Bifurcate messaging by operational reality, not just title: Alan messages CISOs around risk buying-down and ROI, positioning email security as a solved problem that's becoming unsolved. For security operations teams, the pitch centers on eliminating 70% false-positive user submissions that waste skilled analyst time. Both personas use the same tools, but CISOs face board-level breach risk while SOC teams face daily toil from alert fatigue.

Tony Scott brings an unparalleled perspective to cybersecurity leadership, having served as CIO of the federal government, VMware, Microsoft, General Motors, and Disney before taking the helm at Intrusion during a critical turnaround phase. When Scott joined Intrusion three and a half years ago, the company was in crisis—running out of money, facing SEC investigations, and dealing with shareholder lawsuits after poor leadership decisions. Today, Intrusion has stabilized its technology, raised sufficient capital, and carved out a unique position in the Applied Threat Intelligence category, focusing on real-time packet-level network analysis that stops zero-day attacks and command-and-control communications that bypass traditional security tools.

Topics Discussed:

• Scott's transition from government service to cybersecurity investment and eventual CEO role
• The crisis state of Intrusion when he joined and the turnaround strategy implemented
• Intrusion's pivot from direct sales to a managed service provider (MSP) go-to-market strategy
• The challenge of creating a new category in Applied Threat Intelligence
• Building and rightsizing the marketing and sales teams during the turnaround
• The realities of running a public company versus private enterprises
• Intrusion's unique packet-level network analysis technology versus conversation-based monitoring

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:

• Do your homework before the meeting: Scott's biggest frustration as a buyer was vendors who showed up unprepared, asking generic questions like "what keeps you up at night?" without understanding the organization or its priorities. He literally had a secret signal with his assistant to escape these meetings. B2B founders must research prospects thoroughly, understand their specific challenges, and craft relevant value propositions before requesting meetings. Generic discovery calls are a waste of everyone's time and destroy credibility.
• Fix the product before scaling sales: The previous CEO at Intrusion hired dozens of salespeople to sell a product that wasn't ready, resulting in zero sales during his tenure. Scott prioritized fixing scalability, reliability, and feature gaps before rebuilding the go-to-market engine. B2B founders often face pressure to hire sales teams early, but selling a broken product destroys market credibility and wastes resources. Product-market fit must precede sales-market fit.
• Find the right distribution channel for your product: Intrusion's breakthrough came when they stopped trying to sell directly to end customers and focused on managed service providers and managed service security providers. This channel strategy worked because Intrusion's solution enhances existing security stacks rather than replacing them, making it perfect for MSPs serving SMBs that can't afford enterprise-level security expertise. B2B founders should carefully analyze whether their solution is better suited for direct sales, channel partnerships, or hybrid approaches based on customer buying behavior and implementation complexity.
• Embrace being in a category of one: Despite pressure from analysts and customers to fit into existing categories, Intrusion discovered they occupy a unique position in Applied Threat Intelligence. While this creates messaging challenges, it also eliminates direct competition. Scott worked with Gartner and other analysts to establish that no other company does exactly what Intrusion does.
• Leverage legal training for crisis management: Scott's law school background taught him to analyze situations from a 360-degree perspective, understand all stakeholder positions, and develop comprehensive strategies. This skill set proved invaluable during Intrusion's turnaround and his previous crisis management roles. B2B founders facing difficult situations should adopt this approach: clearly define the problem, gather multiple perspectives, identify all stakeholders, and develop a theory of the case for moving forward.

Staris AI is pioneering a new approach to application security, moving beyond traditional vulnerability scanning to create what they call "total context security." With $5.7 million in funding, the company is building an AI-powered platform that doesn't just find security issues but provides complete context about business risk and automated fixes. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Adam Cecchetti, CEO and Co-Founder of Staris AI, to learn about his transition from bootstrap founder to venture-backed CEO and his vision for creating an immune system for applications on the internet.

Topics Discussed:

• The evolution from bootstrap companies to venture-backed scaling
• How 200+ customer discovery conversations shaped Staris AI's product direction
• Creating the "total context security" category in a crowded application security market
• The impact of AI on both security threats and solutions
• Building founder-led sales processes before transitioning to broader marketing
• Long-term vision of creating an immune system for internet applications

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:

• Conduct extensive customer discovery before building: Adam and his co-founder talked to over 200 CISOs, CTOs, and CIOs before finalizing their product direction. The key insight: "People do not need more to do. They do not need more work, they do not need more bugs. They don't need bugs cheaper or better or faster. They really need this problem to start shrinking." This extensive research revealed that the market didn't need another tool to find vulnerabilities—they needed solutions that actually reduced their security workload.
• Define what you don't do to clarify positioning: Adam shared a powerful insight from his previous company: "I sold more work telling people what I didn't do versus what we did do." In crowded markets like security, clearly articulating what you don't do helps prospects understand your unique value proposition. For Staris AI, being explicit about not being "an ASPM" or other specific security categories helps differentiate their total context approach.
• Leverage founder networks for initial traction: Rather than launching broad marketing campaigns, Adam is using his 25 years of industry relationships for initial customer acquisition. "We're going back to a lot of our people we had talked to initially when we started the company, as well as some old customers and colleagues and friends to be able to say, hey, let's do some proof of concepts." This approach allows for rapid iteration and product refinement based on trusted customer feedback.
• Create category names that are immediately understandable: While evaluating options like "next gen pen testing" and "AI security co-pilots," Adam chose "total context security" because it clearly communicates value. The name immediately conveys what the solution does—providing complete context at every step of the security process. In technical markets, clarity often beats cleverness in category naming.
• Time market expansion carefully: Despite having funding and proven traction, Adam is deliberately waiting until Q4 to ramp marketing efforts. "We've been really laser-like focused on building a great product, getting a good story for our customers, understanding what truly provides them value before we kind of went out and mass broadcasted that message." This disciplined approach ensures product-market fit before scaling go-to-market efforts.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Itzik Alvas, CEO & Co-Founder of Entro Security, a non-human identity management platform that has raised $24 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Military Experience Taught Perseverance: Itzik credits his time in the Israeli Defense Force, specifically in the cyber intelligence unit, for shaping his approach to perseverance. This has been crucial in overcoming challenges as an entrepreneur.
• Non-Human Identity Management Innovation: After multiple cybersecurity breaches in his previous roles, Itzik identified a massive gap in managing non-human identities and secrets. This personal experience directly led to the creation of Entro Security.
• Early Days Post-Seed Raise: The first few months after securing seed funding were highly operational—setting up offices, building the team, and finding early design partners to provide feedback on their solution.
• Creating a New Market Category: Entro Security is pioneering the non-human identity management space, addressing the growing issue of programmatic credentials that are often mishandled by DevOps teams, posing significant security risks.
• Unique, Memorable Branding: Unlike traditional cybersecurity companies, Entro’s branding is youthful, fun, and memorable, a conscious choice to stand out in an industry that often feels sterile and overly serious.
• Go-To-Market Approach: Entro’s sales efforts are focused on direct sales and channel partnerships, with a primary focus on the US market. Itzik emphasizes the importance of aligning go-to-market strategies with event participation based on specific goals like lead generation or brand awareness.

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Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.

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Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Mykolas Rambus, CEO & Co-Founder of Hush, a cybersecurity company that's raised $7.5 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Navigating the .com Bubble: Mykolas shared how his first company, Lobby7, navigated the .com bubble burst by pivoting business models and ultimately selling in 2003.
• Building Wealthex: Wealthex emerged from the 2008 financial crisis, providing a Bloomberg-like platform for private bankers using public internet data, leading to a successful exit.
• The Birth of Hush: Hush was founded to address data privacy, focusing on removing personal information from the internet to prevent cyberattacks on employees.
• Tackling Cybersecurity Threats: Mykolas discussed the rise of AI-driven cyber threats and how Hush proactively mitigates risks by eliminating accessible personal data.
• Effective Marketing in Cybersecurity: Hush's marketing strategy revolves around building trust through referrals and email campaigns to ensure companies are aware of the service when they need it.
• Vision for Privacy: Mykolas envisions a future where 20% of the American workforce is protected by services like Hush, significantly reducing cybersecurity risks and enhancing data privacy.

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Sponsors:
Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.
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The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.
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Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Umaimah Khan, CEO & Co-Founder at Opal Security, a data-centric identity security platform that has raised $32 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Background and Start: Umaimah initially aimed to be a math professor before transitioning to cryptography and ultimately catching the startup bug. Her experience at various startups, especially with scaling security and compliance systems, directly influenced her founding of Opal Security.
• Early Days of Opal Security: The first three months of Opal Security involved intense research and discussions to shape the product’s architecture, deeply influenced by Umaimah’s background in cryptography and her prior startup experiences.
• Unique Challenges of Identity Security: Umaimah views identity security as one of the last great enterprise frontiers, difficult to solve due to constant technological evolutions that outpace the ability of security protocols to adapt.
• Marketing Philosophy: Opal Security aims to cut through typical marketing noise by directly demonstrating the tangible value of their products to customers, contrasting with the complex and often opaque marketing strategies prevalent in the security sector.
• Approach to Scaling Adoption: Umaimah emphasizes the importance of user-friendly product design even in complex enterprise environments, drawing parallels to Slack’s transformation of IRC into a tool accessible beyond engineering teams.
• Vision for the Future: Looking ahead, Umaimah sees Opal Security playing a critical role in shaping the future of access and authorization as technological landscapes and regulatory environments evolve, potentially impacting how identity security is approached globally.

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Sponsors:

Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.

www.FrontLines.io

The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. 

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Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Ori Eisen, CEO & Founder of Trusona, an account takeover prevention platform that has raised $38 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Persistence Pays Off: Ori's relentless pursuit of Frank Abagnale for mentorship and his insistence on John Doerr's presence at a crucial pitch meeting exemplify his "never take no for an answer" attitude.
• Creative Marketing Strategies: Ori emphasizes the importance of standing out in the crowded cybersecurity market by using unconventional and memorable marketing tactics.
• First-Party Data Focus: Trusona's strength lies in using first-party data to verify user identities, which Ori believes is crucial in the age of AI-driven fraud.
• Real Vacation Culture: Ori advocates for founders to take real vacations to recharge and avoid burnout, providing a detailed process for effectively disconnecting from work.
• Security Through Innovation: Ori's development of computer fingerprinting and other technologies showcases his innovative approach to solving complex security problems.
• Challenging Conventional Wisdom: Ori often goes against traditional Silicon Valley advice, focusing instead on what he believes will truly benefit his company and its mission.

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Sponsors:

Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.

www.FrontLines.io

The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. 

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Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Nadav Arbel, CEO & Co-Founder of Cyrebro, an ML-backed MDR platform that has raised $51 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation

• Vision for Cyrebro: Nadav discusses how Cyrebro is transforming the cybersecurity landscape with a unique, cloud-based approach to Managed Detection and Response (MDR), integrating AI and machine learning to provide comprehensive threat detection.
• The Journey to $51M Funding: He shares insights into Cyrebro's fundraising journey, emphasizing the importance of strategic alignment with investors who understand and support their long-term vision.
• Importance of AI in Cybersecurity: Nadav explains how the use of AI and machine learning is critical in staying ahead of evolving cyber threats, making their platform not just reactive but predictive.
• Building a Category: He talks about the challenges and strategies involved in creating a new category within the crowded cybersecurity market, focusing on differentiation and market education.
• GTM Strategy: Nadav outlines Cyrebro’s go-to-market strategy, including their focus on partnerships and integrations to scale rapidly and effectively in a competitive environment.
• Customer-Centric Approach: He highlights the importance of understanding customer pain points and building solutions that directly address those needs, which has been central to Cyrebro's success.

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Sponsors:

Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.

www.FrontLines.io

The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. 

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Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Neil Serebryany, CEO & Co-Founder of Calypso AI, an AI security platform that has raised over $38 Million in funding. 

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Origins in Intelligence and AI: Neil's experience in the US intelligence community revealed the vast potential of AI for data analysis and the significant security vulnerabilities that accompany AI's rise, inspiring the foundation of Calypso AI.
• Early Challenges and Learning: The initial days of Calypso AI involved identifying and addressing the myriad vulnerabilities in AI systems, underscoring the nascent state of AI security and the company's role in shaping the field.
• Market Education and Awareness: In the early stages, there was a significant challenge in convincing stakeholders of the imminent need for AI security solutions before the widespread acknowledgment of AI vulnerabilities.
• Government as the First Customer: Having the government as an early customer provided substantial initial revenue and R&D collaboration opportunities but necessitated balancing government-specific solutions with broader enterprise needs.
• Building Trust and Credibility: Calypso AI leveraged its government partnership as a credibility stamp in the enterprise domain, emphasizing the importance of showing tangible product value to build trust.
• Navigating the Post-ChatGPT Landscape: The advent of generative AI and foundation models has significantly shifted the company's focus and messaging, aligning with the evolving AI risk landscape and enterprise needs for simplified, secure AI deployment.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Ian Amit, CEO & Founder at Gomboc, a cloud security remediation platform that has raised over $5 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Origins of Gomboc Name: Ian shared the geeky and meaningful origin of the company name, Gomboc, inspired by a monostatic shape devised by a Hungarian mathematician, symbolizing the company's mission to self-right security issues automatically.
• Leadership Lessons from IDF: Despite not following the typical cybersecurity pathway through the IDF’s elite units, Ian's military service profoundly shaped his leadership style, emphasizing quick decision-making and handling responsibility across diverse teams.
• Career Evolution: Ian's career journey from a hacker tinkering with computers to various roles in cybersecurity, including red teaming and leading security research, culminating as a CISO at major corporations, provides a rich backdrop to his startup's mission.
• Transition to Entrepreneurship: Ian discussed his transition from security executive roles to founding Gomboc, driven by his desire to address systemic issues in cloud security he encountered firsthand, emphasizing the need for effective remediation over mere detection.
• Gomboc’s Solution to Cloud Security: The platform focuses on automating the remediation of security misconfigurations in cloud environments, providing code-level solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing DevOps workflows, significantly reducing the manual labor typically involved in securing cloud deployments.
• Market Education and Category Creation: Ian highlighted the challenge and importance of educating the market about the need for automated security remediation solutions in cloud computing, which is not yet widely recognized as a distinct category by analysts but is critical for reducing widespread vulnerabilities.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Matteo Bogana, CEO & Co-Founder at Cleafy, an online fraud prevention platform that has raised $12 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Origins of Cleafy: Matteo was inspired to start Cleafy after being told that solving certain cybersecurity problems was scientifically impossible. Their breakthrough in real-time content verification on web pages sparked the company's inception.
• Early Challenges: The initial years for Cleafy were tough due to the premature market for their technology. Matteo and his team struggled to gain the first customer, working hard to create market conditions favorable for their product.
• Customer Traction: Gaining the trust of early customers was difficult, especially as a new entity competing against established companies. Building credibility took significant effort through meetings and consensus building.
• Customer Base Evolution: Today, Cleafy targets mid to large financial institutions with structured fraud management teams, indicating a shift from startups to more established entities.
• Differing Approaches to Startups and Corporates: The messaging for startups, particularly fintechs, differs as they typically understand and value integrated cybersecurity and fraud management solutions more quickly than traditional banks.
• Marketing Philosophy: Cleafy’s marketing strategy involves creating trust through knowledge sharing, leveraging their Clifi Labs to provide insights and threat intelligence directly to potential customers and at high-profile security events.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Edward Wu, CEO & Founder of Dropzone AI, a next-generation cybersecurity platform that has raised over $20 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• AI-Powered Security Analysts: Dropzone AI is leveraging advancements in generative AI to replicate the decision-making processes of human cybersecurity analysts, enhancing the speed and accuracy of threat detection and response.
• Addressing the Talent Gap: Edward highlighted the significant talent shortage in cybersecurity, with a global deficit of 4 million professionals. Dropzone AI's technology aims to mitigate this by automating routine security tasks, freeing human analysts to focus on more complex and critical threats.
• Early Challenges and Opportunities: Starting in February 2023, Edward's prior experience in cybersecurity allowed him to identify the inefficiencies in security operations centers (SOCs) and inspired him to develop a solution that reduces the burden of voluminous security alerts on analysts.
• Customer Acquisition Strategy: Dropzone AI's approach to landing their first paying customers involved identifying early adopters within the cybersecurity community who shared a vision for the potential of AI-driven security.
• Marketing and Messaging: Without a formal background in marketing, Edward developed an effective communication strategy by immersing himself in industry expos and trade shows, learning to craft messages that accurately convey the capabilities and benefits of Dropzone AI's technology.
• Transparent and Accessible Product Demos: In an industry often shrouded in secrecy, Dropzone AI stands out by offering ungated, interactive demos on their website, fostering transparency and building trust with potential customers by allowing them to experience the technology firsthand.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from the tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with David Etue, CEO of Nisos, a managed intelligence platform that has raised $33 Million in funding. Nisos operates at the intersection of cybersecurity and intelligence services, focusing on providing actionable insights to corporate security, cybersecurity, and trust and safety teams.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Nisos's Unique Positioning: As a managed intelligence company, Nisos distinguishes itself by converting data into actionable intelligence, addressing the gap in a market saturated with data but lacking in actionable insights.
• The Importance of Focus: Reflecting on Nisos's journey, David emphasizes the critical nature of focus in startup success, advocating for a more concentrated approach to product and market strategy from the outset.
• Vision for the Future: David outlines ambitious plans for Nisos, including scaling the company, expanding internationally, forging strategic partnerships, and potentially exploring acquisitions to broaden their service offerings.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Arie Zilberstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security, a cloud detection and response platform that has raised $34 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Facing Skepticism and Pursuing Vision: Despite encountering skepticism at the outset, Arie and his team remained committed to their vision for Gem Security, leveraging their extensive cybersecurity experience to validate and pursue their innovative cloud security solution.
• Identifying a Market Gap: Arie's prior roles in incident response revealed significant challenges in cloud-native breach detection and response, inspiring the foundation of Gem Security to address these critical gaps in the market.
• Strategic Relationship Building: Gem Security's credibility and market presence were significantly enhanced through strategic relationships and endorsements from cybersecurity leaders, illustrating the importance of trusted networks in startup growth.
• Early Customer Engagement and Validation: The transition from design partners to paying customers highlighted the importance of early and active engagement with potential users to refine and validate the product offering, ensuring it met real market needs.
• Focus on Team Building: The initial stages of Gem Security emphasized assembling a strong foundational team, underscoring the crucial role of talent acquisition and team cohesion in the early success of a startup.
• Vision for Scaling and Future Growth: Looking forward to 2024, Arie focuses on scaling Gem Security's go-to-market strategy and enhancing the sales team to broaden the company's reach and impact, aiming to revolutionize security operations in the cloud era.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Marina Segal, CEO & Co-Founder of Tamnoon, a cutting-edge cloud security platform that has successfully raised over $5 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Early Experiences Shape Future Paths: Marina's initial years in Israel and service in the IDF taught her vital lessons in adaptability, language, and equality. Despite her niche role within the IDF, it laid the groundwork for her passion in compliance and frameworks, influencing her career trajectory.
• Cultural Adjustments and Learning Curves: Moving to the US, Marina faced the challenge of adapting to a new work culture, learning the subtleties of communication and professional interaction. This experience sharpened her interpersonal skills and played a crucial role in her decision to dive into the startup ecosystem, drawing her closer to the Israeli community.
• Driven by Process Optimization: Marina's journey into cloud security was motivated by her desire to automate and optimize compliance assessments and risk management processes. Her work at Deloitte and the transition to a tech startup stemmed from her passion for reducing manual workload through innovative solutions.
• Finding Inspiration in Leadership: Marina credits her grandmother and a mentor from Deloitte as significant inspirations in her life. Their leadership styles, emphasizing humility, approachability, and the ability to manage stress while fostering a sense of equality and peer respect, greatly influenced her approach to leadership and problem-solving.
• Tamnoon's Unique Value Proposition: Tamnoon aims to bridge the gap between cloud security detection and effective remediation. By focusing on the next step beyond just identifying security issues, Tamnoon seeks to offer scalable solutions for remediation and prevention, addressing a critical need in the cloud security space.
• The Significance of Team Building: The co-founding journey of Tamnoon underlines the importance of partnership and team dynamics. Marina's previous collaboration with her co-founder at another startup highlighted the value of shared principles, conflict resolution, and the ability to work towards common goals.

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Paul Valente, CEO & Co-Founder of Viso Trust, a third-party risk management platform that's raised $17 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Evolution of Security: Paul highlighted how digital transformation has drastically increased reliance on third-party services, making third-party risk management a critical focus.
• Background and Vision: Drawing from his extensive experience as a CISO, Paul discussed the challenges he faced and how they led to the creation of Viso Trust.
• AI Integration: Viso Trust leverages AI to automate third-party cyber risk management, reducing the workload by 90% and significantly speeding up the assessment process.
• Customer Adoption: With over 35 large enterprise customers and a network of 2.5 million companies, Viso Trust is rapidly scaling and has enabled the assessment of tens of thousands of third parties.
• Empathy with CISOs: Paul's background as a CISO provides him with unique insights into the needs and pain points of security leaders, shaping Viso Trust's approach to customer engagement.
• Go-to-Market Strategy: Viso Trust employs a mix of direct sales, thought leadership, and product-enabled sales, focusing on reducing friction and providing value to both assessors and vendors.

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