A young local startup that helps other companies manage their customer data just raised millions in new funding — and it's moving into growth mode, after hitting the scene on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Strivacity Inc., a customer identity and access management (CIAM) provider founded in 2019, told us Monday it has raked in $9.3 million in Series A financing. That money will speed up research and development, which involves adding new features to prevent attackers from hijacking accounts and helping brands identify fraud, among others, said co-founder and CEO Keith Graham.
To do it, Strivacity is growing its engineering team, after making key hires in product management and user experience positions, he said. The new capital also enables the business to expand its sales and marketing efforts to build brand recognition and “make it easy for customers to understand what we do,” Graham said.
That also means hiring. The business, which today counts 25 employees, plans to double its headcount by the end of 2022, he said. It currently has about a dozen openings across its engineering and customer success teams, and intends to beef up its sales and marketing team going forward.
Silicon Valley cyber and digital security-focused venture capital firm Ten Eleven Ventures led the round. Todd Weber, its chief technology officer and operating partner, joins Strivacity’s board of directors as part of the investment, according to the company. Newport Beach, California's Toba Capital also participated in the raise.
The latest infusion builds on $2 million in 2019 seed funding, bringing Strivacity’s funding to date to $11.3 million.
Strivacity provides identity management tools to businesses to help manage their customer profiles, and make the login experience more seamless across different platforms and products, with a plug-and-play platform that eliminates the need for coding. It also protects company data and keeps clients compliant with privacy regulations.
Each time a person registers for a company’s service — an account with a bank, a website for a retailer or a new mobile app, for instance — the customer enters personal and contact information, and verifies his or her identity. Strivacity aims to manage that process. Its target customer base includes any organization with an online presence. Initial customers include a global gaming and entertainment company, a sports media entity and software-as-a-service providers, Graham said. He declined to disclose company revenue.
Strivacity operates in an increasingly competitive space alongside players such as McLean’s ID.me Inc., Denver-based Ping Identity Corp. and Bellevue, Washington-based Auth0 Inc. But the Herndon company’s focus on the customer experience is what Graham says sets it apart. “We believe that brands shouldn’t be forced to choose between providing a great customer journey and keeping their data secure. And they also shouldn’t have to hire an army of developers or consultants to get the outcome they want,” he said. “Eliminating this ‘either-or’ choice is what motivated us to start Strivacity.”
Before launching the startup, Graham spent a decade in cybersecurity — most recently as senior vice president of products and chief technology officer for SecureAuth Corp. He helped lead that venture to its 2017 sale to a private equity fund composed of W Capital Partners, State Street and and K1 Investment Management. He’d previously held positions with Mandiant, now part of FireEye Inc., as well as Quest Software Inc., BT Group PLC and Pfizer Inc.
Graham started the company with Stephen Cox, Strivacity’s chief technology officer, an IT industry veteran who also worked for SecureAuth as vice president and chief security architect, and FireEye before that. His resume also includes stints with VeriSign Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp. and AOL.
