It’s been one year since we’ve come out of stealth, and it’s been an incredible experience for the whole team at SolCyber. It’s heartening to see how much progress we’ve made in the relatively short time since my first blog post introduced SolCyber to the market. Our mission of enabling small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) easy access to effective and affordable security has only been spurred on by the validation and feedback we’re receiving.
As a CEO, there’s tremendous pressure to “get it right” from day one, even though this isn’t necessarily realistic. The drive to ensure our business always has its best foot forward is ever present because, as with all startups, the first 12 months are crucial in setting up and achieving some primary table stakes.
For SolCyber these have been:
- Establishing a strong and differentiated brand presence and getting cut-through.
- Proving product-market fit with our ideal customer profile (ICP).
- Securing our first customers.
- Garnering feedback from prospects, partners, and customers.
- Refining what would make our solution and experience even more valuable to our customers.
- Keeping abreast of the competitive landscape.
- Finding and retaining the best hires, despite the competitive landscape.
What we’ve learned
I’ve been in cybersecurity for over two decades and have witnessed a lot of significant movements and advancements in the market. However, even though some of our learnings are not surprising, what we’re recognizing is that even with the best technology available, it is still very difficult for organizations to build a great security program.
Some of the key learnings we’ve found are:
- The marketplace is noisy, convoluted, and complex. It’s no wonder so many organizations feel “vendor fatigue”.
- SMEs are overwhelmed and underserved. Even knowing where to start can be a challenge for smaller organizations.
- SMEs don’t have the resources or expertise to access Fortune 500 strength security. Instead, they have to compromise with sub-standard security due to lack of affordability or complexity of implementation.
- Many SMEs are under a misconception that the security they have is ‘good enough’ without really understanding what their gaps are. Yet, at the same time, they’re worried that what they have may not stop the next cyberattack.
- Operationalization of security hasn’t progressed since the 90s. That’s a bold statement, but it is based on my many years of experience within and around the industry. This stagnation is important because it is a huge factor in determining why many organizations are putting up with ordinary, not extraordinary, security.
- Cyber insurance, a major component of managing business risk, is getting harder to procure and more expensive.
- Overall, the process of de-risking your business, from a security and insurance standpoint, is not hung together or easy to navigate for SMEs. They are tasked with having to understand what’s needed, figuring out what changes are happening, building something, and THEN running a gauntlet to get their cyber insurance.
What SolCyber is doing
With the raft of challenges SMEs are facing, we’ve drawn a line in the sand, and we’re working hard to drag security into the now. We talk about being the first “modern MSSP” because we’ve changed the entire approach and experience for businesses by removing all the complexity that stands in the way of getting cyber resilient fast.
Here’s how we’re different from any other managed security provider out there:
- Think of what Netflix did for streaming entertainment, that’s what we’re doing for cybersecurity. Netflix disrupted and displaced the old “Blockbuster” model, and the way we’ve streamlined and operationalized security is a keen parallel.
- Everyone knows that time = $$$ and we’re reducing costs by:
- Eliminating the countless hours in operationalizing a comprehensive security solution (think POCs, vendor management, multiple legal contracts).
- Passing on savings through our consolidated “Foundational Coverage” service (it’s the concept of economies of scale, you get everything you need through a per-user subscription model).
- We’re doing all the heavy lifting to ensure SMEs can level up their security in DAYS, without the need for deep security expertise or paying for hours of “security consulting.”
- We’re working with best-of-breed technology vendors to ensure our Foundational Coverage addresses the entire kill-chain and that everything is fully integrated.
- We’ve partnered with Converge (Cyber Insurance Broking) and Surefire (Cyber Incident Response) to offer true cyber resilience because it’s not just about the technology.
Key milestones
We’re keen to celebrate some of our major achievements over the 12 months–obviously without going into full disclosure!
Here are some of the milestones worth a shout out:
- We’ve successfully onboarded many amazing customers across four different countries and numerous different verticals. These include venture capital firms, tech start-ups, digital marketing agencies, and also retail and manufacturing.
- Our SolCyber Crew has tripled since coming out of stealth with really bright and genuine people from all walks of life.
- We’ve been awarded a few accolades that we’re super proud of, including:
- We’ve launched successful partnerships with both emerging and leading companies including technology vendors, service and cyber insurance partners, and MSPs.
- We are the first cyber security company to build a program with an A+ rated cyber insurance provider that covers the mid-market. Through this partnership, we can offer an expedited application process, pre-approval, and a significant discount on the policy if using our Foundational Coverage.
What we have planned for the next 12 months
This, in the words of Deborah Conway, “is only the beginning.” There’s much more we have to do to build further traction and market acceptance. I thought it only fair to include a sneak peek of what else is in store for the next 12 months.
- Bolstering our Foundational Coverage. We are constantly evolving our core offering so customers remain confident that as the threat landscape changes and new technologies emerge, we will ensure they are provided with the best protection available.
- Strengthening our cloud delivery strategy. We work with a lot of ‘cloud only’ companies that not only use the cloud for their employees but also for their own products. In response to that development, we will strengthen our cloud delivery strategy so that SMEs can get better protection as they grow their businesses.
- Launching our new partner program to help support MSPs that are looking to bolster their cybersecurity offerings.
- Creating a massively upgraded portal experience that will allow for the visibility of all security data as well as all business data in one easy-to-use location.
Safe to say, I’m wholeheartedly excited about what lies ahead for SolCyber, and I plan for us to grow at a steady and even pace. We’ve received tremendous support so far, from our VC, Forgepoint Capital, our highly experienced board of directors (Don Dixon, Shane Shook, GEN Keith Alexander (Ret.), Leo Casusol), outstanding partners, customers, and the SolCyber Crew – so a huge thanks to all.
And feel free to ping me to shoot the breeze on all things startup and cybersecurity!
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