Deciding with speed and conviction, learning from unicorns, starting your social enterprise, and updates from ThreatQuotient, Symantec, Optiv, and more startup security news!
Article Discussion on Leadership, Innovation, and Startup Success
How To Decide With Speed And Conviction
http://tomtunguz.com/decisiveness/- Speed of execution is crucial for business success today — not only for startups
- Consider acceleration and the need for Straight Talk (as well as the value of better decisions faster that accelerate results)
- Stand out by making “decisions earlier, faster, and with greater conviction” — what mental models do you use?
Social Capital Will Let Data Decide Where It Invests
http://fortune.com/2017/10/26/social-capital-data-investing/- “capital-as-a-service” (do you call it CASH anyway?) — investing without a traditional pitch?
- “Here’s how the self-serve platform works: Entrepreneurs fill out a questionnaire, submit relevant figures such as revenue and raw engagement data, and/or grant the firm access to its cloud services. Social Capital will then evaluate the company and write a check or pass and deliver feedback.”
- I like data, but don’t discount the people. People invest in the team. Companies buy from people. Curious to see how this plays out.
How To Convince Your Company To Help Start Your Social Enterprise
https://www.fastcompany.com/40481408/how-to-convince-your-company-to-help-start-your-social-enterprise- I love this model for security companies - form your startup in your current company
- Start small, focus on solving problems
What can we learn from the successes and failures of Unicorns?
https://www.clickz.com/what-can-we-learn-from-the-successes-and-failures-of-unicorns/113961/- “solve problems, then monetize the solution” — sound familiar?
- it’s all about the platform
- Rapid growth = problems
- (and a bonus based on the IPO of stitch-fix -- sometimes not being a unicorn has benefits, too)
Three Weird Customer Insights That Led To Kick-Ass Products
https://www.fastcompany.com/40483379/three-weird-customer-insights-that-led-to-kick-ass-products- Customer service makes a bigger difference that people realize
- Can you practice “anticipatory service?”
- Are you always on?
Startup & Security News You Need to Know
CORRECTION: Watchguard Technologies is not filing for IPO
- Made a mistake in Startup Security Weekly #61 (and then mentioned it again on Enterprise Security Weekly #68) suggesting that Watchguard Technologies - the company with the red appliances - was filing for IPO (again)
- The company filing for IPO is Watchguard, not Watchguard Technologies. This company makes body cameras for police officers.
- Sorry for the confusion. We wish both companies success and continued fortunes.
Cyber NYC promises new cybersecurity research, training and industry
- http://statescoop.com/cyber-nyc-promises-new-cybersecurity-research-and-training
- Three main project areas: cyber center, talent partnerships, and academic innovation exchanges
- Issued a request for proposals
- This follows the growing trend — and we’re likely to see more
ThreatQuotient raises $30M Series C
- https://technical.ly/dc/2017/11/13/threatquotient-raises-30-series-c/
- https://www.owler.com/iaApp/4784778/threatquotient-company-profile
- ThreatQuotient is a threat intelligence platform that allows security professionals to identify, monitor, prioritize and act on cyber attacks.
- Raised over $50M in four rounds since 2015 with roughly $4M in estimated revenue
- https://www.threatq.com/threatquotient-announces-new-financing/
Symantec Acquired SurfEasy (undisclosed)
- https://www.owler.com/iaApp/362056/surfeasy-company-profile
- SurfEasy develops a virtual private network application that provides online privacy and security solutions for smartphones and tablets.
- Looks like SurfEasy was crowd-funded back in 2011 and raised nearly $70,000; estimates are $2M in revenue
- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/surfeasy/surfeasy-plug-in-privacy
- https://www.surfeasy.com/about-us/
Cloudfare Acquired Neumob (undisclosed)
- http://www.businessinsider.com/cloudflare-acquires-neumob-for-its-vpn-product-2017-11
- Note the interest in the VPN product (don’t call it a comeback); “"We think there's an opportunity to create a VPN that doesn't suck," Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said.”
- https://www.owler.com/iaApp/6793829/neumob-company-profile
- Raised almost $11M in 2 rounds since 2015 with revenue estimated around $5M
Optiv makes 2 acquisitions (both undisclosed $$)
- Conexsys for undisclosed amount
- https://www.owler.com/iaApp/1433056/conexsys-company-profile
- Decision Lab for… undisclosed amount
- https://www.owler.com/iaApp/12512410/decision-lab-company-profile
Countertack Raised Undisclosed Equity
- https://www.owler.com/iaApp/141935/countertack-company-profile
- CounterTack provides real-time endpoint threat detection and response solutions for enterprises and government organizations.
- The investors appear to be NTT DOCOMO (note the investment in ThreatQuotient)
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ntt-docomo-ventures-announces-strategic-investment-in-countertack-300557663.html
