The Fire Awards: Bladestack.io LLC

Editor's note: Each year, DC Inno and the Washington Business Journal publish the Fire Awards spotlighting the founders, funders and fast-growing companies helping to power Greater Washington’s innovation economy. Click here to read our other profiles.

Bhanu Jagasia is overseeing significant year-over-year revenue progress for Bladestack.io LLC, the McLean cybersecurity startup he founded in 2021, and he’s convinced the speed of such growth won’t slow down any time soon.

In its first year of business, the cybersecurity management and regulatory compliance firm produced $1 million in sales. Last year it surpassed $5 million in revenue, and Jagasia believes the company will reach $10 million in revenue by 2025.

For Jagasia, the success comes down to the company’s advisory-focused approach it offers its clients. He dubs the company’s technical experts as “Cyber Samurai,” saying they differ from consultants or sales professionals at competing firms, who tend to take more of an assessment-based approach.

Bladestack’s customers include government agencies, cloud service providers and others looking to do business with the federal government. The startup works to ensure its customers meet the regulations imposed by FedRAMP, a federal government-wide program that maintains standardizations for security assessment, authorization, and cloud product and service monitoring.

Last year, the startup also launched its bladeRAMP offering for customers looking to meet specific types of compliance regulations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

But it’s the recent launch of the startup’s platform for higher education institutions to manage their respective cybersecurity needs that has Jagasia “over the moon.”

“It’s not just about expanding into a new market,” he said. “It’s about transforming how universities manage their cybersecurity compliance. As we double our client base, we’re not just growing. We’re striving to reshape entire industries.”

Bladestack.io LLC