Cyber startups are fledglings regardless of when they’re founded, funded or when they emerge from stealth. They are highly creative and breaking frontiers of innovation with typically an outstanding pedigree of technology and/or security stalwarts as the founding team with progressive VCs backing them financially.

They have great ideas on “go-to-market (GTM)” value propositions and  ROI to their customers even at such an early stage, but mostly lack any operational deployment to really understand how their technology fits in the broader ecosystem of customer needs, fulfills gaps in controls, solves mission critical challenges and addresses use cases that are “real-world” problems that cyber executives face every day. As such, it is their best interest to connect and engage with experienced cyber executives who understand their domain of specialty and provide meaningful guidance in both product and GTM strategies. For example, what it means to “GTM”, which industries may be more appealing than others, how to efficiently and effectively navigate a maze of influencers, buyers, champions and slayers within an organization; and finally, how to best position the solution to solve the applicable use cases and challenges within operational constraints.

Playing the role of an Advisor by an experienced cyber executive should be one that is active, meaningful and unbiased. Lip service to a cyber startup helps neither the startup nor its potential market. Getting involved early with a startup is also a great way to learn its challenges technically, organizationally and market potential for everyone’s benefit. Join the rapidly growing community of cyber executives who are already part of this journey, a few of whom are profiled below.