Investing in a company, whether that investment is time, money, or reputation, starts with people. You invest in people that inspire, and Stephen Ridley, Founder of Senrio, is one of those people. He blends incredible enthusiasm with world-class expertise. I saw this first hand when we worked together on bleeding-edge projects for the Intelligence Community 10 years ago. But the team is more than Stephen. The Senrio family he is assembling (and has already assembled), has that ideal mix of hunger and experience. That passion and capacity continues to scale as the employee count grows, and success for Senrio has not hurt their humility. This group will continue to attract like-minded individuals.
Building a strong team is a requirement, but that team needs to be in a market it can serve. If it’s a fast growing market -- even better. A strong trend that is currently creating incredible opportunities is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is becoming mainstream, and yet security is lagging far behind. Just look to the recent DYN DDOS attacks. IoT security needs help, and with some IoT devices being involved in controlling aspects of our physical world, it’s a real case of cyber and physical worlds being blurred. Security and safety are intertwined. Addressing this problem will require educating commercial, consumer, vendor, and government segments on how risk should be mitigated for these technologies. Senrio does not take these concepts lightly and continues to provide education and disclosure to the world.
Beyond the team DNA and the market opportunity, there needs to be a focus on actually solving problems. Senrio is attacking this IoT security deficit head-on and is using the team’s expertise in finding embedded device vulnerabilities to drive real technology. By focusing on strong, security-driven approaches and combining those with an easy and effective user experience, Senrio is poised to build a successful customer base. Their visibility, detection analytics and frictionless install are what corporations are looking for. And they’re driving innovation back into the field as they learn from their customers. This rapid iteration and focus on delivering more value is something I am extremely excited about.
The final aspect, as if the previous reasons were not enough, is that Stephen and team have built strong support through their advisors, partnerships, and community. They’re expanding their connections, their champions, and their leverage. They are gaining momentum and driving innovation in areas that are ripe for being solved. This mass of innovative energy is moving with velocity and focus in a very positive direction. It’s hard to slow the Senrio train down.
I’ve traveled the globe, evangelizing endpoint security and strategizing across the full security stack. Universally, teams are unsure of how to approach Internet of Things Security. They’re looking for innovators they can rally behind. The challenges will be fighting through the security industry’s marketing fog and showcasing that teams can truly get a handle on their IoT risk. Senrio is hungry to do all of this, and I’m lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
Beyond the team DNA and the market opportunity, there needs to be a focus on actually solving problems. Senrio is attacking this IoT security deficit head-on and is using the team’s expertise in finding embedded device vulnerabilities to drive real technology. By focusing on strong, security-driven approaches and combining those with an easy and effective user experience, Senrio is poised to build a successful customer base. Their visibility, detection analytics and frictionless install are what corporations are looking for. And they’re driving innovation back into the field as they learn from their customers. This rapid iteration and focus on delivering more value is something I am extremely excited about.
The final aspect, as if the previous reasons were not enough, is that Stephen and team have built strong support through their advisors, partnerships, and community. They’re expanding their connections, their champions, and their leverage. They are gaining momentum and driving innovation in areas that are ripe for being solved. This mass of innovative energy is moving with velocity and focus in a very positive direction. It’s hard to slow the Senrio train down.
I’ve traveled the globe, evangelizing endpoint security and strategizing across the full security stack. Universally, teams are unsure of how to approach Internet of Things Security. They’re looking for innovators they can rally behind. The challenges will be fighting through the security industry’s marketing fog and showcasing that teams can truly get a handle on their IoT risk. Senrio is hungry to do all of this, and I’m lucky enough to have a front-row seat.
Ben Johnson
Co-Founder, Carbon Black
Advisor, Senrio
Co-Founder, Carbon Black
Advisor, Senrio