
Secure Ventures with Kyle McNulty
Kyle McNulty interviews cutting-edge founders in the cyber security space to understand their plights, glories, and revolutionary products.
New episodes are published every other Tuesday.
If you are interested in sharing your story, please contact me at kyle@secureventures.io
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/75106414
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VentureWithKyle
Latest episodes

Oct 18, 2022 • 36min
Ron Gula: Lessons for Networking in Cybersecurity
Ron:
President of Gula Tech Adventures, $100M self-funded VC firm
Ex-CEO and Co-founder of Tenable, valued at over $7B at its peak in April
Co-founder of Network Security Wizards, which created one of the first commercialized Network Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
Networking expert!
Check out the episode for our conversation on how to approach networking with a goal-based mindset, the importance of authenticity, and leveraging topic experts.
https://www.gula.tech/data-care

Oct 4, 2022 • 41min
RealDefense: Gary Guseinov on Security Holding Companies
Gary:
CEO of RealDefense, a consumer security conglomerate with over 100 million users
Ex-CEO and Founder of CyberDefender, which he grew to over $100 million in annual revenue
Ex-CEO of Business Hangouts, the #1 enterprise video software for Google Suite
Check out the episode for our conversation on the value of cash-flowing cybersecurity businesses, the strategy of acquiring a portfolio of products, and the opportunities in consumer security.
Links:
RealDefense: https://www.realdefen.se/home/
SafeBase Example: https://security.safebase.io/

Sep 20, 2022 • 42min
FleetDM: Mike McNeill on the BEST Way to Monetize a Product (Open Core)
Mike:
Founder at FleetDM, helping organizations manage and optimize their OSquery deployments
Previously founded Sails.js, the most popular MVC framework for node.js, with over 50 million downloads per year
A strong believer in Open Source and Open Core software products
Check out the episode for our conversation on open source security software, pivoting from an open source contributor to a full-time founder, and more!
Links:
https://fleetdm.com/
GitLab article about Open Core: https://about.gitlab.com/company/pricing/

Sep 6, 2022 • 44min
Brad Laporte and Rob Smith on Trends with Security Analyst Firms (e.g. Gartner)
Rob:
Managing director at Lionfish Tech Advisors, providing security solution advisory services
8 year veteran of Gartner, leading Endpoint Security, Remote Access, and more
3-time founder
Brad:
Advisor at Lionfish
Previously senior product manager at Dell, IBM, and Acquia
Veteran of Gartner, leading Endpoint Security and Threat Intelligence
Check out the episode for our discussion on the state of industry research via firms like Gartner and how the market is adapting with other alternatives.
Links:
https://www.lionfishtechadvisors.com/

Aug 23, 2022 • 43min
Sprinto: Girish Redekar on Rapid Product Iteration and Security Questionnaire Standards
Girish:
Co-founder of Sprinto, a continuous compliance and security platform for cloud and on-prem.
Previously co-founder at RecruiterBox which was acquired by TurnRiver Capital in 2018
Both him and his co-founder Raghu didn't know how to code when they first started launching businesses!
Check out the episode for our discussion on iterating through product ideas in just a few months, the current state of security questionnaire standards, and much more.
Links:
Sprinto: sprinto.com
NorthStar (Sponsor): northstar.io

Aug 9, 2022 • 48min
NorthStar: Alex Moss on Pivoting a Consulting Business to a Product
Explore Alex Moss's journey from security consulting to building NorthStar, focusing on pivoting a consulting business to a product. Highlights include automating security tasks, vulnerability prioritization, and the evolution of the company focus. Also, learn about the challenges of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur, evolving North Star into a product-driven platform, and strategizing product roadmap and hiring for growth.

Jul 26, 2022 • 42min
Cyera: Yotam Segev on Startup Idea Validation and Securing Data in the Cloud
Yotam:
Founder and CEO of Cyera, a cloud data security platform
Graduate of Israel's elite training program, Talpiot, which accepts just 50 people each year from 10,000 applicants
Backed by both Sequoia AND Accel
Check out the episode for our discussion on deciding to found a company without an idea, customer validation, and data security in the cloud.
Links:
Cyera: cyera.io
NorthStar: northstar.io | Reach out at connect@northstar.io

Jul 12, 2022 • 37min
Polymer: Yasir Ali on DLP for your SaaS Ecosystem
Yasir Ali, founder of Polymer, discusses DLP for SaaS platforms and the challenges in securing them. Topics include redaction techniques, evolution of data security solutions, and the importance of integrating various data sources for enhanced security.

Jun 28, 2022 • 33min
Lighter Capital: Melissa Widner | Revenue-based Financing and Economic Conditions
Melissa:
CEO of Lighter Capital, a pioneering firm in revenue-based financing
Previously a VC Partner for 17 years
Ex-CEO of 7Software which was acquired by Concur
Founder of Heads over Heels, a strategic networking group to help female leaders in high-growth companies
Check out the episode for our discussion on revenue based financing as an alternative to traditional VC and how founders can prepare for the upcoming economic conditions.
Links:
Lighter Capital: https://www.lightercapital.com/
Heads Over Heels: https://www.headsoverheels.com.au/
Y Combinator Letter: Business Insider Article

Jun 21, 2022 • 24min
#BCS Enquire: Bilal Baloch | Global Knowledge Networks and Strategic Decision Making
Bilal:
Co-founder and COO of Enquire, connecting subject matter experts with the individuals making the most important decisions in the world
PhD from Oxford in political science
Published author
Check out the episode for our discussion on global knowledge networks, strategic decision-making, and the need for the propagation of cybersecurity expertise.
Links:
https://enquire.ai