In this episode of Resilient Cyber I sit down with Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta.
We dove into the dynamic and interesting intersection of Capital, Competition and Cybersecurity. This includes startups, venture capital, talent and AI among more.
If you don't follow Peter already, he is one of the best folks in the community for compelling visualizations and story telling around market dynamics, venture capital and the startup ecosystem.
Peter routinely provides some of the best insights and market analysis around, and I strongly recommend following him on LinkedIn!
We covered a lot of topics, including:
Whether or not we’re in the era of making the most noise versus having the best tech and how to balance the need for marketing but strong products and capabilities.
Potential valuation premiums among cybersecurity compared to the broader SaaS ecosystem.
What Peter is seeing across the industry when it comes to startup equity pools and early hire equity allocations to attract talent, but also how those joining a startup shouldn’t confuse equity for cash, especially given the outcomes of most startups.
The reality that most startups simply aren’t hiring as fast or much as they used to, and why that may be.
M&A in the ecosystem, including in cyber, and the role of strategic acquirers such as Palo Alto Networks, ZScaler and Crowdstrike.
The outsized role AI is playing in terms of fundraising, valuations, getting the attention of investors and the risks of those with digitally focused startups deciding not to have an AI theme.
The growth of secondary markets, tender offers and the nuances of staying private versus going public.
