Listen Here

|

Conversation
Highlights

 

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Marina Segal, CEO & Co-Founder of Tamnoon, a cutting-edge cloud security platform that has successfully raised over $5 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

  • Early Experiences Shape Future Paths: Marina’s initial years in Israel and service in the IDF taught her vital lessons in adaptability, language, and equality. Despite her niche role within the IDF, it laid the groundwork for her passion in compliance and frameworks, influencing her career trajectory.
  • Cultural Adjustments and Learning Curves: Moving to the US, Marina faced the challenge of adapting to a new work culture, learning the subtleties of communication and professional interaction. This experience sharpened her interpersonal skills and played a crucial role in her decision to dive into the startup ecosystem, drawing her closer to the Israeli community.
  • Driven by Process Optimization: Marina’s journey into cloud security was motivated by her desire to automate and optimize compliance assessments and risk management processes. Her work at Deloitte and the transition to a tech startup stemmed from her passion for reducing manual workload through innovative solutions.
  • Finding Inspiration in Leadership: Marina credits her grandmother and a mentor from Deloitte as significant inspirations in her life. Their leadership styles, emphasizing humility, approachability, and the ability to manage stress while fostering a sense of equality and peer respect, greatly influenced her approach to leadership and problem-solving.
  • Tamnoon’s Unique Value Proposition: Tamnoon aims to bridge the gap between cloud security detection and effective remediation. By focusing on the next step beyond just identifying security issues, Tamnoon seeks to offer scalable solutions for remediation and prevention, addressing a critical need in the cloud security space.
  • The Significance of Team Building: The co-founding journey of Tamnoon underlines the importance of partnership and team dynamics. Marina’s previous collaboration with her co-founder at another startup highlighted the value of shared principles, conflict resolution, and the ability to work towards common goals.

 

Actionable
Takeaways

Embrace Cultural Diversity and Adaptability:

Marina's transition from Ukraine to Israel and eventually to the US underscores the importance of adaptability in diverse work environments. For founders, especially those in global or multicultural settings, understanding and embracing cultural nuances can significantly improve team dynamics and business negotiations.

Leverage Personal Experiences for Professional Growth:

Marina's service in the IDF and her unique career path highlight how personal experiences can shape professional expertise, especially in niche areas like compliance and frameworks. Founders should consider how their unique backgrounds can offer fresh perspectives and solutions in their industry.

Prioritize Process Automation and Efficiency:

Marina's passion for minimizing manual tasks through technology is a crucial reminder for founders to continually seek ways to optimize operations. Investing in cloud security or other tech solutions to automate and streamline processes can drive significant long-term benefits for startups.

Cultivate Leadership that Promotes Equality and Team Collaboration:

Inspired by her grandmother and a mentor, Marina values leadership that treats team members as equals and fosters a collaborative environment. Founders should strive to create a company culture that encourages open dialogue, mutual respect, and shared success.

The Critical Role of Team Composition in Startup Success:

The co-founding partnership between Marina and her colleague showcases the importance of having the right team in place from the outset. Founders should prioritize finding partners and team members who not only share a common vision but also complement their skill sets and work styles. This can be the cornerstone of navigating challenges and scaling the startup effectively.

Recommended Founder
Interviews

Michael Assraf

CEO & Co-Founder of Vicarius

Michael Assraf, CEO of Vicarius: $29 Million Raised to Build the Future of Vulnerability Prioritization

Josh Shaul

CEO of Allure Security

Josh Shaul, CEO of Allure Security: $6 Million Raised to Help Businesses Win the Battle Against Online Scammers

Dave Mor

CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer

Dave Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer: $15 Million Raised to Protect Private Cellular Networks

Stephen de Vries

CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk

Stephen de Vries, CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk: $40 Million Raised to Build the Future of Threat Modeling

Paul Lewis

Founder and CEO of Calamu

Paul Lewis, CEO of Calamu: $20 Million Raised to Build the Cyber Storage Category

Stijn Vande Casteele

Founder of Sweepatic

Stijn Vande Casteele, Founder of Sweepatic: $4.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of External Attack Surface Management

Danny Lopez

CEO of Glasswall

Danny Lopez CEO of Glasswall: $60+ Million Raised to Make the Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) Category Mainstream

Tiffany Ricks

CEO and Founder of HacWare

Tiffany Ricks, CEO and Founder of HacWare: $2.6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Awareness

Christian Almenar

CEO & Co-Founder of Monad

Christian Almenar, CEO of Monad: $19 Million Raised to Solve the Cybersecurity Big Data Problem

John Milburn

CEO of Clear Skye

John Milburn, CEO of Clear Skye: More Than $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Identity and Access Governance

David Brumley

CEO of ForAllSecure

David Brumley, CEO of ForAllSecure: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Testing

Arjun Bhatnagar

CEO & Co-Founder of Cloaked

Arjun Bhatnagar, CEO of Cloaked: $25 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy

Tom Jermoluk

CEO of Beyond Identity

Tom “TJ” Jermoluk, CEO of Beyond Identity: $200 Million Raised to Build the Future of Multi-Factor Authentication

Kyle Hanslovan

CEO & Co-Founder of Huntress

Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress: $160 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security

Neil Serebryany

CEO and Co-Founder of CalypsoAI

Neil Serebryany, CEO & Co-Founder of CalypsoAI: $38 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI Security

Austin Ogilvie

Founder of Thoropass

Austin Ogilvie, Founder of Thoropass: $98 Million Raised to Power the Future of Continuous Compliance

Philippe Humeau

CEO of CrowdSec

Philippe Humeau, CEO of CrowdSec: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cyber Threat Intelligence

Sivan Tehila

Founder and CEO of Onyxia

Sivan Tehila, Founder and CEO of Onyxia: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cybersecurity Performance Management

Spencer Thompson

CEO and Co-Founder of Prelude

Spencer Thompson, CEO and Co-Founder of Prelude: Over $30 Million Raised to Build the Future of Continuous Security Testing

Justin Beals

CEO, Co-Founder of Strike Graph

Justin Beals, CEO of Strike Graph: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Automated Security and Compliance

Paul Valente

CEO and Co-Founder of VISO Trust

Paul Valente, CEO and Co-Founder of VISO Trust: $17 Million Raised to Build the Future of Third-Party Cyber Risk Management

Austin Gadient

CTO & Co-Founder of Vali Cyber

Austin Gadient, CTO & Co-Founder of Vali Cyber: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Linux Security

Jason Martin

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Permiso Security

Jason Martin, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Permiso Security: $10 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security

Ryan Lasmaili

CEO & Co-Founder of Vaultree

Ryan Lasmaili, CEO of Vaultree: $16 Million Raised to Build the World’s First Fully Functional Data-in-Use Encryption

Arie Zilberstein

CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security

Arie Zilberstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security: $34 Million Raised to Power the Future of Cloud Detection and Response

Pukar Hamal

CEO and Founder of SecurityPal

Pukar Hamal, CEO and Founder of SecurityPal: $21 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Assurance

Mollie Breen

CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee

Mollie Breen, CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee: $6.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of IT/OT Security

Peter Prizio Jr

CEO of SnapAttack

Peter Prizio Jr, CEO of SnapAttack: $8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Threat Management

David Etue

CEO of Nisos

David Etue, CEO of Nisos: $33 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Intelligence

Jag Lamba

Founder and CEO of Certa

Jag Lamba, Founder and CEO of Certa: $52 Million Raised to Build the Future of Third-Party Management

Scott McCrady

CEO of SolCyber

Scott McCrady, CEO of SolCyber: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security

Ryan Schonfeld

Founder & CEO of Hivewatch

Ryan Schonfeld, CEO of Hivewatch: $25 Million Raised to Build the OS of Physical Security