He's been a sub-10 customer at Concentric AI, a very early customer at Island, and a design partner for Jazz DLP, and he ran an email security startup's product for four years. If you're selling cybersecurity solutions as an early-stage company, he walks through what earns his time, what he trades for being early, and why most cold outreach never reaches him. It's B2B cybersecurity sales seen from the buyer's chair, including the budget and approval steps sellers rarely get to see.
In this episode:
- Why a CISO picks startups over legacy vendors, starting with a one-month proof of concept that turned into four years
- The deal he wants: early pricing locked in for three to five years, and features built in weeks
- What he looks for in a design partner: the whole problem solved, a growing team, a product that moves fast
- 10 to 20 LinkedIn pitches a day and one purchase in seven years, plus the cybersecurity lead generation channels that actually reach him
- How budget cycles, sunsetting old tools, and the CFO decide when a deal closes
- Why most shadow AI pitches miss a buyer who already owns the tools to cover it
Zach is also the author of Locked Up. The compelling story and response from a real-world LockBit ransomware response. https://www.amazon.com/Locked-Cybersecurity-Mitigation-Real-World-Ransomware/dp/1394357044/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
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