Ghosts, Goblins, and Malware - Oh My! 🎃

Sponsored by Costanoa Ventures

It’s October, which means it’s officially spooky season and also Cybersecurity Awareness Month! With major breaches like Asahi’s making headlines, the cybersecurity world is doubling down on defence and recovery. Q4 is in full swing, and if Q3 was any indicator, cybersecurity innovation isn’t taking a break either.

Last quarter, we saw a surge of AI-powered security startups, agentic automation breakthroughs, and fresh approaches to data protection, together raising an impressive $288.6 million. The big question now: what’s next for Cyber this October?

Here’s what’s inside this month’s edition of CyberBytes:

🌟 Lessons for Founders with Jim Wilson — Top hiring advice for bringing on your first cybersecurity sales hire, straight from Jim Wilson at Costanoa Ventures.

🎙️ What VCs Are Really Looking For — Insider insights from top investors, featured in CyberBytes: The Podcast.

💰 Q3 Funding Deep Dive — A breakdown of where the biggest cybersecurity investments landed last quarter.

💼 Hot Jobs Highlight — A peek at the top cybersecurity roles we’re hiring for right now.

…and plenty more to keep you informed, inspired, and ahead of the curve.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

🌟 Hiring Your First Sales Hire with Jim Wilson, Costanoa Ventures 🌟

Hiring the first salesperson is one of the toughest calls a founder has to make. Done well, it sets the foundation for growth. Done poorly, it slows momentum and burns precious runway.

We recently spoke with Jim Wilson, Partner at Costanoa Ventures, about how founders should think about this critical moment. Here are a few of his most actionable insights:

🌟 Curiosity Beats Pedigree

Domain expertise helps, but the best first hires lean into demos, ask smart questions, and show hunger to learn.

🌟 RAMP Time is a KPI, Not a Guess

Treat it as a metric you can shorten through training, customer exposure, and founder involvement.

🌟 Hire For Repeatability, Not Revenue Milestones

If a founder can whiteboard their sales process, ICPs, objections, demo flow, they’re ready to bring in an AE.

🌟 AEs first, then a VP

If possible, hire two to benchmark whether success comes from the rep or the process.

Check out our full write up here:

What are VCs Really Looking For?

Founders First

Every investor led with the same point: great founders beat great ideas.

They back curiosity, conviction, and passion for the problem — not perfection.

Coachability Counts

The best founders take feedback, not offence.

Both Lockstep and Munich Re Ventures stressed that transparency and collaboration beat bravado every time.

Timing Is Everything

VCs are watching for inflection points - where tech or regulation shifts just enough to open a new category.

Founders Who Evolve

Even at growth stage, reinvention matters.

Balanced co-founders with shared control and complementary skills stand out.

AI: Opportunity, Not a Shortcut

Bottom line:
VCs are looking for founders who are curious, coachable, obsessed with the problem, and ready to evolve. The idea might get you in the door, but the founder gets the funding.

Q3 Funding - A Deep Dive 🤿

Q3 was a busy one in Cybersecurity, with an impressive $5.36 billion raised with an average deal size of $33.6 million

Some of the most notable deals of the quarter included the $80M Series A raise by Israeli company Irregaular, $81.3 million Series C raise by Exein and a $81.3 million raise by Noma, taking them to Series B.

Top 5 Categories:

The latest funding patterns reveal a strong dominance of the U.S. market, which commands an impressive 81.8% of total investment activity. Much of this volume is being driven by large debt financing deals, underscoring investors’ appetite for scale and maturity.

At the same time, a surge in Series A activity signals a thriving early-stage ecosystem, with new entrants continuing to attract significant backing. Israeli companies, in particular, are standing out—securing major rounds in the rapidly expanding AI security sector.

Overall, the emergence of AI-focused security categories is shaping the next wave of investment momentum, capturing the attention and capital of global investors.

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🔥 Hot Job Highlights 🔥

Interested in advancing your career in cybersecurity? Look no further! We've curated a selection of top-tier positions currently available through exclusive searches. Explore our featured roles below and connect with us at [email protected] for further details!

🚀 Founding Sellers | Seed & Series A | All Geographies

🚀 Technical Product Marketing | Seed | USA

🚀 Head of Sales | Series A | USA

Reach out to us at [email protected] to find out more!

🌐 Connecting You With Top Talent 🌐 

With over two decades of combined experience in security search, we’ve built exceptional Go-to-Market and technical teams for some of the industry’s most innovative vendors.

Aspiron is a growth multiplier for startups through Search and Ventures, enabling us to add value at every stage of your growth journey.

Contact us at [email protected] to find out more!

Want to be the next sponsor of CyberBytes: The Newsletter?

If you’re interested in sponsoring CyberBytes: The Newsletter, get in touch by at [email protected] today!