How BreachQuest Came Out of Stealth With $4.4M and Key ...

BreachQuest raised $4.4M to re-engineer the way companies across industries can prepare for these potentially crippling cybersecurity ... OnDeckdoublesdownonfounder-focusedfutureandspinsoutcareeradvancementprograms→ProgramsFindyourpeople.Whichcommunityisrightforyou?ODFOnDeckFoundersForentrepreneurialpeopleattheearlieststagesoftheirfounderjourneyexploringthepossibilityofstartingacompany.ODSOnDeckScaleForfoundersofhigh-growth,venture-scalecompanieslookingtobuildauthenticrelationshipswithothergrowth-orientedfounderstohelpscalethemselvesandtheircompanies.ODAOnDeckAngelsForoperatorangelswhowanttoleveluptheirinvestingthroughestablishedframeworks,meetingwithco-investors,launchingsyndicates,orstartingfunds.EODExecsOnDeckForexperiencedleaderslookingforVPandC-Suiterolesathigh-growthstartups.OutcomesBlogLoginApplyNowQuestionsbeforeapplying?SpeakwithanadvisorApplyJuly30,2022•8 minreadHowBreachQuestCameOutofStealthWith$4.4MandKeyHiresfromOnDeck AuthorsShaunGordon Co-founderandCEO,BreachQuestJakeDavidson SeniorAccountExecutive,BreachQuestThepostoriginallyappearedonMikeWilner.com.Itwasrepublishedwithpermission.AuthorsShaunGordon Co-founderandCEO,BreachQuestJakeDavidson SeniorAccountExecutive,BreachQuestBreachQuesthttps://breachquest.com/ShaunGordon Co-founderandCEO,BreachQuestJakeDavidson SeniorAccountExecutive,BreachQuestBreachQuestraised$4.4Mtore-engineerthewaycompaniesacrossindustriescanprepareforthesepotentiallycripplingcybersecuritybreaches.InvestorsCybercrimeisontheriseglobally,with$2,900,000losttoattackseveryminute.Whilemanycompaniesbelievetheyarepreparedforanattack,veryfewarepreparedtorecover.Asfortheonesthatarepreparing?Inalotofcases,they’repreparinginthewrongway.Freshoutofstealth,BreachQuestisastartupre-engineeringthewaycompaniesacrossindustriescanprepareforthesepotentiallycripplingcybersecuritybreaches.Witharecentlyannounced$4.4millioninseedfundingandhelmedbyrenownedcybersecurityexperts,BreachQuestisbuildingacybersecurityplatformandofferingworld-classservicesdesignedtoelevatecompany’ssecurityprotocols withanoutside-the-boxapproachthatembracesthenotionthatattackerswillsucceed.Thekeyisempoweringcompaniestoknowwhattodowhenithappens.Wesatdownwithco-founderandCEOShaunGordon(ODF8)andSeniorAccountExecutiveJakeDavidson(OD50-2)todiscusshowtheirpathscrossedatOnDeck,andhowBreachQuestplanstoleavetheirmarkonthecybersecuritylandscape.Whatdrewyoubothtothecybersecurityspaceandhowdidyoufindeachother?Shaun:Ifyouweretoranktheindustryasaneconomy,cybercrimewouldbethethird-largesteconomyintheworld.It'stheUS,China,cybercrime.Andthat'sjustahuge,hugenumber.Cybersecurityisatthisinterestingintersectionofdifferentpoliticalandnationalsecurityelements,aswellasallkindsofsocialandfinancialelements.ThereweretwomomentsinmycareerthatIrememberveryclearlywherewehadsomeformofacybersecurityincident.Thefirsttimewasanearmiss.Thesecondtimewegothit.Fortunately,thedamageandimpactwasextremelylimited,butitwasveryscary.Afterthat,Istartedlookingtoacquirecybersecuritycompaniesin2019.Iexploredalotofopportunities,butineachcasethestarsdidnotalignandcouldn'tcloseadeal.Asfrustratingasitwas,itopenedtheopportunityformycofoundersanditocometogether.AtthesametimeIheardaboutOnDeckandjoined.TheconnectionbetweengoingthroughtheOnDeckFounderFellowshipanddiscoveringtheBreachQuestopportunitymakesthisallthemorespecial.‍Jake:Iwenttoschooltogetintotechsales...No,I'mkidding,Idon'tthinkanyonedoesthat!Whatdrewmetocybersecurityistoughtonarrowdowntoasinglekeypoint.Iwillsay,thethingsIenjoymostabouttheindustryareitschallenges,andbeingapartofthecommunitythat'sbandedtogethertomakeeveryone'sworldamoresecureplace.Theindustrymovesquickly,meaningtechadvancesveryquickly.Thingsareveryfluid,anditmakeseverydaydifferentfromthelast.It’sanexcitingindustrytobein.Even thoughIwasalwayspassionateaboutcybersecurity,Iwasn’ttechnicalenoughtojustbuildmyowncybersecurityproduct.Istartedlookingforveryearlystagecompaniesandwashavingtroublewithit.MybuddyAlan,whojustsoldhiscompany,hadgonethroughtheOnDeckFounderFellowshipandsaidtheirnetworkisgreatandthatIshouldgocheckitout.RightoutofthegateatOnDeckFirst50,Istarteddoingresearchbyjusttyping“cybersecurity”intotheOnDeckDirectory.That’showIfoundShaun.Ireachedouttofiveorsixpeopleandhadreallygoodconversations,butIendedupjoiningShaunatBreachQuest.IhadtwoorthreeweeksofOD50leftwhenIstartedfull-time.IwouldnothavefoundhimwithoutOnDeck,becausethecompanywasinstealth.Cybersecurityissuchacompetitiveindustry,andyourcompetitorsaregiantorganizations.Whathasbeentheprevailingtrendinthislegacyindustrythatyou’resettingouttochange?Jake:Historically,companieshavealwaysbeenslowtorespondtobreaches.It’sbecausetheprocessisn’t streamlinedatall.Itcantake48to72hoursjusttogathertheinformationneededtostartforensicallypiecingtogetherwhathappened.Ittakes muchlongertogetyoursystemsbacktoastatewherethecompanycanoperate.Andthat'stheattackers’goal.Yourcompanyislosingmoneyeveryminuteit'sdown.So,ourmissionis tohelpcompaniesbetterprepare.Therearenewcompaniesinthisindustryeverysingleday,andalotofthemaretryingtodosimilarthingswithminortweaks.Butthecybersecurityindustryhasbecomeincrediblyfragmented.It’snotuncommonforcompaniestohavetoworkwithfiveormorevendorstoaddressvariousissuesacrosstheircybersecurityprogram.WhilelargecompanieslikeMicrosoftandVMwarearemakingstridestowardsamoreintrinsicapproachtotechnologyinthisspace,therearebiggapsontheservicesside.WhatBreachQuestisdoingdifferentlyisaimingtobuildasolutionthat'sreallyneverbeenbuiltbefore.Shaun:Alotofthecybersecurityspendoutthereisfocusedonprotection,thiswalltheykeepbuildinghigherandhigher,andattackerskeepfindingcracks,drillingthrough,goingunder,goingover.Andwhileorganizationshavebackups,thereisagapinthemiddlewherepreparednessshouldbe.Westartfromthepositionofembracingattackereffectiveness.Withourteam’sexpertise,we'recomingatitfrombothsides—attackeranddefender—andweembracetheoutcomethatattackerswillsucceed.LikeJakewassaying,itcouldtakeweekstogetbacktoapointwherethecompanyisoperationalagain.Insomecases,months.Ifwecantakethatdowntohours,ormaybesomedayminutesorseconds,andhavethattransformation,bybeingbetterprepared,andprovidingabetterresponse,that'sthereimaginationofthewholespacethatwe'retryingtodo.Otherplayersinthelandscapearetryingtodothatthroughanumberofotherways,butnotreallyfundamentallytransformingit.Someofthemaretryingtoreducecostsbyoutsourcing.Thatisnotreallywhatwebelievein.Itdoesnotrepresentatechnologicalleapforwardormateriallyelevatedefensivecapabilitiesagainstthreats.Alotofourcompetitorswilldoforensicworkandhelpidentifyvulnerabilities,butwon'tworkwithyoutobetterprepareaheadofthenextincident.We'reuniqueinthatwe'reofferinganend-to-endsolutionfromincidentresponseandforensics,toresponseandrecovery;andfurtheronintoadvisoryservicesandincidentpreparation.HowdidBreachQueststartandhowbigisittoday?Shaun:Whenwestarted—wedidn'tevenhavethenameBreachQuestyet,butweknewwewantedtoworkinincidentresponse—westartedgettingsomephonecalls.Onenight,itwas2AMonaSunday,wegotacall.It’saninternationalcase,atamajorcompany.Theytellustheyhadfourserversthatwereinfected,andtheyweregettingextorted.Ofcourse,thatbecame40serversinfected,then400,then4000.Thisendedupbeingoneofthelargestfinancialservicesdatabreachesinthisparticularcountry.Wedidn'thave,atthetime,afull-timeteamthatcouldservicethis,butduetothequalityofourfoundingteamandtheirconnectionswithintheindustryweassembledabestinclassteamandresolvedthesituation—basicallytrialbyfire.Andthat'showthiscompanywasborn.ThatfirstmajorcallcamefromOverseas—canyougivemoreexamplesofthecustomerprofileyou’reworkingwithnow?Isthereanythingdifferentaboutapproachingcybersecurityontheinternationallevel?Shaun:Wehaveoneoftheworld’sbiggestfinancialservices,oneofthebiggestlaboratoriesintheworld,andmanyhealthcarecompanies.I'mveryproudtosaywehaveFortune100customersalreadyonourlist.Wealsoworkwithmedium-sizedcompanies. However,Iwillsay—alotofthecompaniesthatgetbreachedaresmallmomandpopshops,andtheydon'thaveanysecurityprograms.WecancomeinandbetheirvirtualChiefInformationSecurityOfficer(CISO)anddosecurityengineeringworkforthemthattheyotherwisecouldnothavedone.Jake:Whenitcomestoworkingwithinternationalcompanies,thereisnotmuchdifference.Yes,theymayneedtoadheretodifferentcomplianceregulations,workinadifferenttimezone,orspeakanotherlanguage,butattheendoftheday,they’refacingallthesamechallengesasdomesticcompanies.What’snextforBreachQuestnowyou’vesecuredyourraiseandcomeoutofstealth?Shaun:We'vegotaservicesbusiness,andwe'vegotaproductcalledPRIORIintheworks.Wewanttodevelopandgettheproductoutthere.Anaveragebreachtakes280daystodetect,334daystocontain,andcostsorganizationsanaverageof$3.9million.We’redesigningPRIORItoimprovethescopingofresponse,remediationandrecoveryeffortsassociatedwithabreach.Currently,incidentrespondersaredoingmostoftheirworkonspreadsheets,whichmeansimportantdatacanandwillfallthroughthecracks.WithPRIORI,we’llbeabletoautomatealotofthisandaddressthechallengesaroundvisibilityandtracking.Essentially,PRIORIcompletelyredefinesandreorientsthecyberincidentresponseprocess.Manycybersecuritycompaniesarechallengedbytheircustomeracquisitioncosts.Ourbusinessmodelwasintentionallydesignedtomitigatecustomeracquisitioncostwhileminimizingrecoverytimeandbreachcost. Today,wehavealmost40peoplefull-time.I'mveryproudoftheteamwehaveassembledandwe'vegrownalot.Ilovetotellpeopleasanentrepreneurthatbigthingsstartsmall.HiringmoretalentfromOnDeckisalsosomethingthatisonmyradar.I'verecommendedtwoorthreepeoplethathavenowsignedupforOnDeckScaleand,andofcourse,mostofall,Ithinkit'smeetingpeoplelikeJakeandtheothersthatwe'regoingtomeetthroughOnDeckthatI'mexcitedabout.‍---‍‍Ifyouwanttobeattheforefrontofdisruptingthecybersecurityindustry,takealookatBreachQuest’sopenroleshere.Investor'snoteReadytoapply?OnDeckFoundersisacontinuouscommunitywitha4-weekimmersiveonboardingtohelpyoubuildlastingrelationshipsfromDay1.ApplyToday