The RSAC Innovation Sandbox competition held annually in America is an exceptional platform for budding cybersecurity entrepreneurs to pitch their startup ideas. Hidden Layer, a data privacy startup, won the top spot this year while Pangea Cyber came in second. The top 10 finalists showcased an array of innovative ideas, but Hidden Layer’s unique approach towards data privacy caught the judges’ attention.
Over the last 17 years, the contest has seen 170 top 10 finalists, with these companies being involved in 75 acquisitions and receiving investments close to $12.5 billion. Last year, Talon Cyber Security and its Secure Enterprise Browser won the top spot, leading to the startup’s growth in new markets and remarkable attention from CISOs in the Fortune Global 2000. In earlier years, Phantom Cyber won the contest during which its founder, Oliver Friedrichs provided an unforgettable pitch. Precisely two years later, the company was acquired by Splunk. Notably, Friedrichs is now the founder and CEO of Pangea.
As a judge and a venture capitalist, the number of the pitch videos contestants sent in to RSAC Innovation Sandbox was overwhelming, yet I was impressed with the varied and engaging presentations the early-stage entrepreneurs brought to the table.
The RSAC Innovation Sandbox, with an attendance of 45,000 peers, is a vital avenue for early-stage cybersecurity startups to showcase their ideas about shaping the industry. This is especially important for companies that typically have minimal visibility since this type of opportunity can accelerate their fundraising and future.
A key point that I observed while listening to numerous pitches is the significance of summarizing key messages in three minutes. As a venture capitalist, I am accustomed to listening to pitches that may last between thirty minutes to two hours. However, for the RSAC Innovation Sandbox, contestants must provide their pitch and convince the judges why they should emerge victorious in three minutes. Three important pieces of advice for future contestants who are serious about winning is to cover the basics and land them, have your founder be your leader, and always tell your unique narrative rather than giving a canned demo.
At this year’s RSAC Innovation Sandbox, two big trends stood out: AppSec and Web3. Firstly, we are experiencing a significant shift in how software engineers view application security, with developers becoming more security-aware and, thus, are adopting tools that support them in addressing security at the start instead of the end of the development process- in other words, shifting left. Several Sandbox finalists provided specific developer solutions to help identify security vulnerabilities faster and more accurately. Secondly, Web3 is emerging as a new technology architecture for decentralized blockchain technology and token-based systems such as crypto. One of the finalists offers a security operations center that protects Web3 digital assets. Moreover, there is representation from companies focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning in response to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
In conclusion, serving as a judge in the RSAC Innovation Sandbox was a rewarding experience. Undoubtedly, the future is bright and secure, with the innovation brought by these early-stage entrepreneurs. For more information, Dark Reading has published comprehensive coverage of the top 10 RSAC Innovation Sandbox finalists.