Ross Haleliuk

Venture in Security

Industry's top newsletter (750,000 reads annually) about building startups, as well as business and investment sides of cybersecurity. Covering topics like venture capital, go-to-market strategies, and business models in cybersecurity.

Author | Blogger

Cyber for Builders (Amazon Best Seller)

'Cyber for Builders: The Essential Guide to Building a Cybersecurity Startup'  is the most comprehensive resource about building the future of cybersecurity available on the market. Within hours of the official launch, the book instantly became the Amazon best seller in several categories. In 2024, 'Cyber for Builders' got recognized as Book of the Year at the SANS Difference Makers Awards, the most prestigious recognition available to cybersecurity authors globally. 

Most cybersecurity books talk about how to do security. This book is different as it is intended first and foremost for builders - startup founders, security analysts, security engineers, marketing and sales teams, product managers, VCs, angel investors, software developers, investor relations and analyst relations professionals, and others who are building the future of cybersecurity.

Author

Inside the Network

Inside the Network is all about building category-defining cybersecurity startups.

Collectively, we’ve spent decades building, researching, and investing in cybersecurity companies. On this podcast, we invite you to join us inside the network where we bring you the best founders, operators, and investors building the future of cyber.

We will talk about the hard parts of the founder journey - launching companies, getting to product-market-fit, raising capital, and scaling to an exit. Both the success stories and the epic failures. We are here to make the founder journey easier, but not too much easier because anything worth building is hard (but you already knew that 😊).

Podcast Co-Host

Clutch Security

Clutch is addressing the increasingly critical challenge of non-human identity security within modern enterprises.

As digital infrastructures expand and become more complex, the management and security of non-human identities—ranging from API keys and secrets to tokens and service accounts—have emerged as a pivotal yet often neglected aspect of cybersecurity. Recognizing this gap, Clutch is developing an enterprise platform dedicated to the comprehensive protection and management of these identities.

Angel Investor

Security Tinkerers

Member of The Security Tinkerers, a non-profit organization championing the advancement of cybersecurity. I am proud to be part of a community of world-class CISOs, CTOs, cybersecurity CEOs, and industry leaders. Our collective mission, encapsulated in our byline "Advancing cybersecurity through trust," focuses on fostering growth and innovation in the cybersecurity field. Through collaborative efforts, we aim to nurture a safer digital environment by sharing knowledge, resources, and expertise.

Member

Nullify

Nullify augments your AppSec team with AI agents capable of carrying out multiple levels of product security work autonomously.

SANS Institute

The SANS Difference Makers Awards shine a light on the cybersecurity practitioners who are leading innovative developments in the industry, who’ve made outstanding security achievements, and who are contributing back to the InfoSec community in ways that deserve recognition.

Advisory Board - SANS Difference Makers Awards 

Stealth Startup

Cybersecurity has been caught in the same patterns for too long. The hardest problems remain unsolved - not because they’re impossible, but because we haven’t asked the right questions.

It’s time for a new approach. A new way of thinking. A product that doesn’t just tell CISOs they’ve got problems. We have a lot of visibility. It’s time to make security actionable. 

Having built and scaled products for the past decade, I am embracing the most ambitious journey yet. It’s time to build. More soon.

Co-founder & CEO

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

AWS & CrowdStrike Cybersecurity Accelerator in collaboration with NVIDIA is an equity-free program designed to empower cybersecurity startups from EMEA and US with product development, GTM and fundraising support.

Mentor - AWS and CrowdStrike Cybersecurity Accelerator

LimaCharlie

LimaCharlie enables organizations to detect & respond to threats, automate processes, reduce the number of vendors, and future-proof their security operations.

We do it by giving security teams full control over how they manage their security infrastructure. Get full visibility into your coverage, build what you want, control your data, get the security capabilities you need, for however long you need them, and pay only for what you use.

Head of Product

Experienced operator & builder shaping the future of cybersecurity. Now working on something new. 

📙 Book about building the future of cybersecurity 👉🏻 cyberforbuilders.com
📬 Blog & newsletter 👉🏻 ventureinsecurity.net
🚀 Angel syndicate for security practitioners  👉🏻 visangels.com

"Write something worth reading or do something worth writing." —  Benjamin Franklin

“Life is too short to do mediocre work, and it is definitely too short to build shitty things.” — Stewart Butterfield, Co-Founder of Slack

"As you start to walk on the way, the way appears." — Rumi

In security or otherwise, trends are temporary. Stick to fundamentals.

Director of Product

Let me say this out loud: the rate of growth of cyber startups will never match the rate of growth of the new AI companies. Even new AI x security companies won't just fly off the shelves because they are AI-native. 

The reason is pretty simple: in cyber, growth moves with the speed of trust, not the speed of shipping new features. Interestingly enough, as AI is accelerating the speed of shipping new features it's actually extending the speed of trust so POCs can become longer. 

If the current trend continues, I think it's going to drive a lot of the tourist VCs out of cyber because they just won't be able to justify investing in "slower-growing" security companies over all these "AI supernovas" with $10M ARR after one year. Looking at this nice chart from Bessemer, cyber is gonna stay as "Cloud Centaur" by default and by design. 

Over the long term, this is going to be a good thing for the industry, I think. 

And yet, none of this changes the fundamentals of the security market, the fact that cyber is a trillion-dollar opportunity, and that there will be many fantastic returns. It's just that successful companies in cyber will probably look like pretty average AI startups in other industries if all you look at is ARR. 

P.S. Yes, I know, there's Delve and similar companies that are "AI-native and cyber" but I'll stand my ground that the reason they're growing so fast is because they are sales enablement tools and not security or compliance tools. What they do is super valuable but it's a different market ("get your cert to sell to enteprises") with different rules of the game.

Security product leader, author, advisor, board member and investor.

Morae

Senior Director of Cyber Security

DTG | Cybersecurity & IT Solutions Provider

Director of DFIR

Simulint

•	Spearheading the design and implementation of the Simulint SOC, establishing processes and frameworks to enhance incident detection, response, and management
•	Building and nurturing strategic relationships with potential clients to drive the adoption and sales of the XDR platform, expanding market reach and creating new business opportunities
•	Leading product marketing initiatives to effectively position the XDR platform in the market, crafting messaging, and collateral that resonates with target audiences and highlights the platform's unique value proposition

Advisor

Rotate

Strategic Advisor

Tributech

InfraGard

Waintraub Cyber Solutions

Founder

VMG Health

Progent

•	Directed high-stakes ransom negotiations and led IR engagements, providing expert advisory services and ensuring successful resolution of incidents, while managing all aspects of DFIR engagements 
•	Established and nurtured strategic relationships with Law firms, Insurance carriers, and DFIR companies driving business development and expanding Progent’s footprint in the DFIR and cybersecurity market
•	Optimized Progent’s DFIR processes and procedures; enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of incident response and restoration & recovery operations while aligning with best practices and compliance requirements

Director of DFIR Services & Ransom Negotiations

CYGNVS

•	Served as the leading DFIR subject matter expert, driving strategic roadmaps for continuous improvement of workflows, incident response plans, and use-case development
•	Fostered key relationships with insurance carriers, legal providers, and MSSPs/MDRs, resulting in increased sales opportunities and enhanced client satisfaction
•	Collaborated cross-functionally with marketing, sales, product, and clients to evangelize cybersecurity use-cases and promote thought leadership in the industry
•	Developed and executed the DFIR Partnership Program, achieving a 30% increase in the sales pipeline through effective evangelism and product marketing


https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2023/09/15/740554.htm
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/group-behind-casino-hacks-skilled-210035525.html
https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/3-most-prevalent-cyber-threats-holidays

DFIR Practice Leader - Evangelist 

Cygnvs is a secure mobile enabled out of band incident command center. Check out our website Cygnvs.com or reach out if you want to learn more!

DFIR Engagement Leader 

Alex Waintraub, serves as a leader of strategic security initiatives, oversees threat detection and response programs, and implementations of security frameworks to protect organizations. Alex is also responsible for developing proactive defense strategies, ensuring businesses are prepared for and can effectively respond to cyber incidents. 

With nearly 15 years in cybersecurity, Alex has held leadership roles across multiple firms, specializing in DFIR, threat intelligence, and ransomware negotiations. He has built and managed SOCs from the ground up, developed incident response programs, and worked closely with organizations in healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and beyond to improve their security posture. His hands-on experience in high-stakes cyber incidents has made him a trusted advisor in crisis situations, helping companies navigate complex breaches and ransomware attacks. 

Alex remains deeply involved in the industry and currently holds certifications with Splunk and Security Blue Team. He is a frequent speaker at major cybersecurity conferences and has contributed insights to publications like Forbes, RSAC Conference, NJNY Metro Cyber Conference, Dark Reading, and CyberSecurity Dive.

Alex W.

🔥 We are not done yet! The next #CyberFiresideNJ is coming in hot🔥 
Capsule Security is coming in from #Israel to put on a final Fireside on November 20th. 

Join us for the final Fireside of 2025! 🔥🌙
Register here: https://luma.com/wp3yv00b
Learn more about the Cyberfireside: Cyberfiresidenj.com
Come for the networking, stay for the #Fridgefire!
#CyberFiresideNJ #CybersecurityCommunity #CapsuleSecurity #Networking #InfoSec #CyberEvents #NJTech #CybersecurityLeadership

DFIR Executive | Ransom Negotiator | Threat Hunter | Strategic Advisor | Speaker

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