Category Visionaries Adam Cecchetti, CEO & Co-Founder of Staris AI: $5.7 Million Raised to Build Total Context Security for Application Protection
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.
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