Dear team, customers, and investors
The challenges ahead for us collectively in 2023 are numerous:
- Global economic uncertainty.
- The worrisome expansion of the Ukraine/Russia conflict.
- The eternal challenges of scaling SaaS globally with a keen eye on efficiency and resource management.
Undoubtedly such looming dangers in the cyber threat landscape call for asset owners to enhance their security posture. Still, the macroeconomic uncertainty drives a new requirement for SaaS players to seek efficiencies with a sharper pen than in previous iterations.
Although this annual letter begins with a recognition of the challenging territory ahead, 2022 marks a year of peak performance from the SecurityGate.io team that sets us apart from companies at our same stage, competitors, and new market entrants. We finished the year growing 175% year over year, with new customers in the oil & gas, consulting, manufacturing, and transportation sectors. Our pipeline nearly quadrupled in one year, validating demand across 350+ new prospect engagements in 7 of 16 critical infrastructure sectors. We finished the year raising another round of growth capital, proving to experienced asset-owner-focused investors the market opportunity to scale SecurityGate.io.
Studying history can be rewarding. As a futurist, I love imagining various future forms and walking backward to strategize how to get there from today. As we look back on 2022, our capital efficiency & agility, laser focus on critical infrastructure, and flawless execution with our client partners were crucial ingredients that enabled us to persevere to new heights in 2023. Outlined below are new initiatives to maximize these proven strengths:
Capital Efficiency & Agility: we grew the team by 25% globally, yet raised our output (in various forms, but primarily revenue) per employee metrics by 33%. Since our bootstrapped days of 2017-18, we haven’t forgotten how to do more with less. Our customer base is tasked to do the same in challenging capital markets. Our product serves as a guide.
Laser Focus on Critical Infrastructure: In 2022, we spoke to asset owners on global stages at S4, CS4CA Europe, and dozens of HTX-local events, validating our hypothesis that asset owners want to see improvement while also learning industry product companies focus solely on “best in class” security. I’m confident the product and service markets took a hit on annual revenue targets last year, driving a consolidation of product development in 2023. 2023 is our year to capitalize on market positioning, API integrations, and OT-focused partnerships.
Flawless Execution: In 2022, we successfully logged 322 client requests, nine modules, 33 new features, and countless security additions to the platform, delivering 100% of 731 tickets with a 94% on-time success metric. We received our platform’s coveted Soc 2 Type 2 certification along the way. Additionally, we partnered with industry majors and household names to bring new features and modules to our global SaaS footprint. Our charge in 2023 is scaling DIY reconfigurability to an endless array of cyber and risk professionals in a UIX that is welcoming and affordable.
One of the most significant challenges I see our company facing in 2023 is managing scale amidst our critical infrastructure market customers varied operational approaches to improving security posture. We see a fundamental dichotomy across sectors, business types, and geography on how/what/when they buy and how they want to retain their data. Too many customer profiles strain any SaaS team aiming for scale.
I’m reminded that a critical ingredient to 2022 success was the entrepreneurial approach our growing team brings to work every day. Our team – which speaks nine languages – agile, consummate learners- has proven they can systematize anything. The following are key investments to reduce our acquisition costs while accelerating growth.
- Our New Vice President of Sales joins us from a fellow, Houston-ecosystem cyber-SaaS that grew 1600% under his tenure.
- Our New Chief Marketing Officer joins us to lead and is positioned to manage this evolving operational paradigm effectively.
- New Product & Dev Team investments enable a rapid infusion of new API data models, new modules aligned to critical infrastructure sectors, and more scalable deployment options.
- The New “SecurityGate.io Labs” division is a structured think tank where the rapid evaluation of new partnerships, API integrations, and new features can efficiently transition new ideas to product roadmaps while simultaneously allowing product and sales to focus on core buyers, etc.
I’m also pleased that Gartner, for the 2nd year in a row, squarely positioned SecurityGate.io as an emerging software to help Operational Technology Security Buyers. Our diverse global workforce is already disrupting the critical infrastructure market to advance its security posture with innovative solutions.
Thank you to our customers, investors, and extended team who continue to support our growth and validate the importance of cyber security improvement. I am truly honored to look amongst our talented and passionate team who are focused on our promise to enable cyber teams to secure the world’s critical infrastructure.
