Third Annual Cyber Investing Summit: an overview.
Discussions at the Cyber Investing Summit focused on cyber risk and the opportunities addressing such risk afforded entrepreneurs, investors, and larger, well-established security firms. Panels addressed (and differed over) the importance of geographical location and physical proximity, why early-stage venture capital is of particular interest to the sector, what to look for when considering an acquisition, and, above all, the importance of assembling the right teams to lead start-ups to exit.
The most important characteristic a start-up's leadership can have is sound insight into, and focus on, their go-to-market strategy. In his keynote, Dave DeWalt (Momentum Cyber co-founder and AllegisCyber managing director) set the terms of discussion by drawing out the history of what he called the "perfect cyber storm." As the storm has grown, so too has the cybersecurity market. Worth $3.2 billion in 2000, this year it's reached some $96.3 billion. Companies in this space must, DeWalt emphasized, know their go-to-market window (always narrower and more fleeting than they assume). He advised investors to "look for management teams who can figure out go-to-market."
Also of note: the Cybersecurity 500 list was officially released at the beginning of the summit. It's worth noticing that five-hundred companies represents a significant down-selection from the thousands active in the sector. Following their fortunes will afford investors and analysts insight into how this dynamic market can be expected to move.