Best Startup - California
Tell us about yourself?
About Background As a transformative, servant leader I am a proven entrepreneur focused on innovating and creating new paradigms in the security industry and life.
My leadership style is focused on an employee-first approach because I have seen the positive impact of happy employees in a great culture on customers.
I have chosen to take a people-centric approach to life and to let all outcomes be driven by that philosophy. Twenty-five years of experience in the security industry has seasoned me to create the next exponential evolution.
Building an Outcome My philosophy has proven itself in my years at Cylance from employee number twelve and the first employee in the Consulting organization to a team of 150+ globally and culminating in the acquisition of Cylance by Blackberry for 1.5 Billion.
Cylance started with Consulting being the primary revenue-generating business unit for the first couple of years.
This paved the way for a strong customer base which became the core for the inevitable success of Cylance’s revolutionary product, Cylance Protect. Once Cylance Protect was released, I began work on creating the security industry’s first outcome-based service in ThreatZERO.
ThreatZERO evolved the traditional product implementation approach previously used by the security industry by not stopping until every client achieved an outcome, which was obviously measurable and sustainable PREVENTION.
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
People still think startups are easier than they are. People hear more about success stories than failures.
You sometimes have to work every waking moment and no one will work as hard as you. All Founders also have to be a little crazy to attempt a startup. But, I think it is crazy to work for someone else.
What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?
Never give up and always believe. Partner closely with your investors and limit who has access to them. You always have to control that narrative or someone else will write it for you.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
The same advice I gave myself at the beginning was to slow down and not go too fast.
Even though I knew this already it still came back to bite me in some ways. In other ways it helped. Like building the customer base fast before the economy changed.
A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?
Work-life balance as an entrepreneur is mostly impossible.
It is a life choice that you have to make. You simply have to prioritize what is important when you can.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
Exponential Organization Book by Salim Ismail, Bold by Peter Diamantis, Netflix’s business model of providing faster outcomes of watching movies with a better process.
We provide faster and cheaper outcomes to cyber security.
What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?
Netflix’s business model of providing faster outcomes for watching movies with a better process.
We provide faster and cheaper outcomes to cyber security. Our secret sauce is simple. Our customers are actually secure.
How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?
Sales are all about relationships and reputation. Get out there and network as much as possible. People buy from who they know and like.
What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in California over other states in the US?
Good weather so there are fewer distractions to deal with in our employee base.
I am also in the same timezone of the bay area where lots of other tech companies are based.
What (if any) are the weaknesses of operating your business within California?
It can be expensive to hire talent.
We are currently suffering through a cost of living crisis. With California already being one of the most expensive states to live in, how has this impacted your business?
We have not been impacted since our company is headquartered in the cloud and all our employees are remote.
It is no secret that California is the birthplace of innovation. But that also makes it incredibly competitive. How have you found the competitive environment of California?
There is not much competition here in Irvine. Plus we are a global company. We have some competition in the bay area but they do different things than Cyvatar.
Have you considered moving your company to another state? If so, which state and why?
no, we are headquartered in the cloud
Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?
The company that changes the cybersecurity industry into SaaS and outcomes. We are pioneers in this cybersecurity industry and it needs to mature to embrace our new approach.
And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?
Cyvatar.ai is our website and the main place to go to learn more about us. You can also find us on linkedin.
Follow Cyvatar.ai on Twitter or Linkedin.
