We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our June cohort. 1 spot left.
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries, where we explore the forefront of innovation with the trailblazers redefining the tech landscape. Today, we’re thrilled to have Philippe Humeau, CEO and founder of CrowdSec, a cybersecurity startup that’s changing the game with over $21 million in funding
- Philippe’s Journey into Cybersecurity: From cracking games on Amiga and Atari to becoming a pen tester and finally the CEO of CrowdSec, Philippe’s path is marked by a lifelong passion for security.
- Reviving and Evolving IDS/IPS: CrowdSec aims to modernize the somewhat forgotten category of intrusion detection and prevention by focusing on behavior-based security and leveraging collective intelligence.
- The Power of Community in Cybersecurity: By sharing threat data among its users, CrowdSec builds a dynamic global blocklist, showcasing the effectiveness of collaborative security efforts against cyber threats.
- Navigating Market Categories: Philippe discusses the challenges of defining CrowdSec within the rapidly evolving cybersecurity market categories, emphasizing the need for a solution-oriented approach rather than conforming to trendy labels.
- Product-Led Growth Strategy: CrowdSec’s open-source model and emphasis on building a vast user network before monetization illustrate a successful product-led growth strategy in cybersecurity.
- Open Source Challenges and Opportunities: Philippe shares the unique challenges of growing an open-source company in the cybersecurity space, emphasizing the need for community support and sustainable development to ensure long-term success.
Actionable
Takeaways
Embrace Open-Source for Community-Driven Innovation:
Philippe's approach with CrowdSec, leveraging open-source to foster community collaboration, underlines the power of collective intelligence in enhancing cybersecurity defenses.
Understand Cognitive Biases and Decision-Making:
Inspired by "Thinking, Fast and Slow," Philippe emphasizes the importance of recognizing how instinctive and analytical thinking impacts leadership and problem-solving, advocating for a balanced approach in strategic decision-making.
Target Broad Markets with Specific Needs:
Identifying a wide-ranging yet specific target market, such as large corporations in need of reliable threat signals, demonstrates the importance of understanding and addressing the nuanced requirements of different industry verticals.
Adopt a Product-Led Growth Model in Cybersecurity:
CrowdSec's focus on product-led growth, particularly in a field slow to adopt this strategy, underscores the potential for such a model to drive adoption and user engagement, especially when the product directly contributes to its own improvement through user participation.
Prepare for Investor Skepticism with Open Source:
The journey of securing funding for an open-source project like CrowdSec, especially in the cybersecurity space, provides insights into the challenges of convincing investors of the viability and potential profitability of open-source models, emphasizing the importance of demonstrating network effects and the intrinsic value of the data or signals generated.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
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
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
Ryan Schonfeld
Founder & CEO of Hivewatch
Ryan Schonfeld, CEO of Hivewatch: $25 Million Raised to Build the OS of Physical Security
Edward Wu
CEO and Founder of Dropzone AI
Edward Wu, CEO & Founder of Dropzone AI: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI SOC Analysts
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
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
Matteo Bogana
CEO and Co-Founder of Cleafy
Matteo Bogana, CEO & Co-Founder of Cleafy: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Online Fraud Prevention
Rodrigo Leme
Marketing Director of Right-Hand Cybersecurity
Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Cybersecurity: Standing Out in a Crowded Market – Niche Targeting and Customer-Centric Approach
Arjun Bhatnagar
CEO & Co-Founder of Cloaked
Arjun Bhatnagar, CEO of Cloaked: $25 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy
Paul Lewis
Founder and CEO of Calamu
Paul Lewis, CEO of Calamu: $20 Million Raised to Build the Cyber Storage Category
Ian Amit
CEO and Founder of Gomboc
Ian Amit, CEO & Founder of Gomboc: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security Remediation
Dave Mor
CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer
Dave Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer: $15 Million Raised to Protect Private Cellular Networks
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
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
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
Scott McCrady
CEO of SolCyber
Scott McCrady, CEO of SolCyber: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security
Tom Jermoluk
CEO of Beyond Identity
Tom “TJ” Jermoluk, CEO of Beyond Identity: $200 Million Raised to Build the Future of Multi-Factor Authentication
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
Pukar Hamal
CEO and Founder of SecurityPal
Pukar Hamal, CEO and Founder of SecurityPal: $21 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Assurance
Ani Chaudhuri
CEO & Co-Founder of Dasera
Ani Chaudhuri, CEO & Co-Founder of Dasera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Security
Kyle Hanslovan
CEO & Co-Founder of Huntress
Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress: $160 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security
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
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
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
Danny Lopez
CEO of Glasswall
Danny Lopez CEO of Glasswall: $60+ Million Raised to Make the Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) Category Mainstream
Will Wilson
Co-Founder of Antithesis
Will Wilson, Co-Founder of Antithesis: $47 Million Raised to Build the Future of Autonomous Testing
Josh Shaul
CEO of Allure Security
Josh Shaul, CEO of Allure Security: $6 Million Raised to Help Businesses Win the Battle Against Online Scammers
Christian Almenar
CEO & Co-Founder of Monad
Christian Almenar, CEO of Monad: $19 Million Raised to Solve the Cybersecurity Big Data Problem
Michael Assraf
CEO & Co-Founder of Vicarius
Michael Assraf, CEO of Vicarius: $29 Million Raised to Build the Future of Vulnerability Prioritization
David Etue
CEO of Nisos
David Etue, CEO of Nisos: $33 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Intelligence
Mykolas Rambus
CEO & Co-Founder of Hush
Mykolas Rambus, CEO & Co-Founder of Hush: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy
Peter Prizio Jr
CEO of SnapAttack
Peter Prizio Jr, CEO of SnapAttack: $8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Threat Management
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
Marina Segal
CEO and Co-Founder of Tamnoon
Marina Segal, CEO & Co-Founder of Tamnoon: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security
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
David Brumley
CEO of ForAllSecure
David Brumley, CEO of ForAllSecure: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Testing