Editor's Note: Apptega won the Cybersecurity category in the Atlanta Inno Fire Awards, a program highlighting the companies that showcase Atlanta's growth into a national tech hub.
Apptega is a 4-year-old cybersecurity firm that aims to be the "Salesforce.com" of the industry.
Because of high demand from customers, it has been on a hiring spree this year, planning 100 new jobs as of March. The company, spun out of Georgia Tech's startup incubator ATDC, raised $37 million from Mainsail Partners earlier this year.
Atlanta Inno talked with Apptega CEO Armistead Whitney about the company's growth.
How has your company navigated its operations during the economic climate when investors are pulling back and some are making layoffs?
When we started Apptega to make cybersecurity easy, we knew we wanted to bootstrap for as long as possible to refine our business model and product before scaling. This forced us to have real financial discipline across the entire company with our spending and line-of-sight hiring that we’re definitely carrying over to the current climate. This approach led to a $37M investment by Mainsail Partners in March. Capital efficiency is back in vogue again.
Based on your experience, what would be your best advice to up and coming or aspiring entrepreneurs?
I have three pieces of advice for anyone pursuing their dream as an entrepreneur. First is have relentless perseverance. Never give up. Everyone will tell you our idea will not work, you’re too young, you’re too old, the market is flooded with competitors... You’ll get a thousand rejections from customers, investors and so called “experts." If you truly believe in your vision and put in the effort, you’ll find a way to make it work. Second, be flexible. Take all feedback along the way (even negative feedback) to make your product better, your pricing more attractive and your market more focused. Third, make sure your spouse, partner or best friend is 100% behind you. Starting a business is stressful, expensive and takes a lot of sacrifice. It will consume you. Have this conversation early with the people closest to you.
What are you doing to distinguish yourself from others in the same industry?
For Apptega, our superpower is making cybersecurity easy. We’re in a complicated and misunderstood industry that every company is trying to figure out, many for the first time. Our company purpose is to make cybersecurity easy for organizations around the world and to create cybersecurity rock stars. We’re delivering that promise every day with an easy-to-use platform and a team that wants to make everything easy for our customers — how we sell, on-board, support, and even invoice.
What was the toughest decision you ever had to make in order to accelerate growth for your company?
The toughest decisions by far are people's decisions. Having to move on from a team member that helped you get to one stage but may not be the best fit for the next is always the most difficult, but necessary.
What’s next for your company?
Our customers have started calling Apptega “the Salesforce.com for cybersecurity” and we appreciate that comparison. We’ve matured into a platform that other products and tools want to plug into. Our next phase of growth will come from connectors and integrations with hundreds of third-party platforms to bring new automation and value to our customers.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
