Startup Straight Talk with Serial Entrepreneur Alfred Huger

2+ years to interview Alfred Huger wasn’t too long to wait. After spending 8 years at Cisco following the acquisition of SourceFire, Al recently departed the networking giant to do his 4th startup in as many decades. Unbound from the usual PR police, Al candidly speaks on a wide range of topics from why he has stayed at companies long past acquisition and how to distinguish between a miserable and a winning acquirer. Having raised venture capital funding in the 90s until now, Al’s experience charts a timeline of what’s happened to cybersecurity funding over the last 4 decades. From hardscrabble early days to today’s megarounds and eyepopping valuations, Alfred explains how he’s raising funding for his new company and why even a successful entrepreneur is not likely to bootstrap their business on their own funds alone.Al shares his playbook for spotting the right product ideas along with some blunt words of caution for those excited about the latest industry analyst report. While cybersecurity veterans critiquing reviews and analysts is by no means novel, we go beyond an explanation of the negative implications to a new development from an unexpected place that is improving transparency and the industry in general. And that marketing plan? Al explains how it starts with your product and not your website.If you’ve ever thought about starting a cybersecurity company and wanted to sit down with a “been there done that” serial entrepreneur for a clear-headed, no nonsense dialogue, this episode is for you.

Om Podcasten

There are great stories in the security industry that aren’t being told. Fascinating people who fly below the radar and aren’t being heard. We know because we encounter them in hallways, hotel lobbies and just about everywhere imaginable across the globe. Everytime we think “I wish I had recorded that conversation so that everyone could hear it…” Our goal with Security Voices is to provide a place for clear-headed dialogue with great people that’s unencumbered by the hyperbole and shouting that’s far too common in security circles. We don’t have anything against sponsors or sales pitches, but they run counter to our goal of cutting through the noise, so we don’t have either. We’re aiming for 100% clear signal.