We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our October cohort. 1 spot left.
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Bill Moore, CEO & Founder of XONA, an OT user access platform that has raised over $30 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
Bill's experience shows that getting a prototype in front of potential customers early can be crucial. Instead of waiting for a polished product, XONA presented an early-stage demo that secured its first customer. For founders, this emphasizes the importance of validating the product in the real world, even if it's not fully built.
Before having a formal marketing budget, Bill used “guerrilla marketing” to grow XONA’s presence. Attending industry events, networking, and personal outreach allowed him to build key relationships. Founders should not underestimate the power of in-person networking, especially in niche industries.
XONA's focus shifted from IT to OT after Bill recognized the unique challenges OT professionals face compared to IT teams. Founders looking to create new categories or disrupt existing ones should invest time in deeply understanding the day-to-day needs and workflows of their end-users, not just rely on assumptions.
XONA’s global expansion was accelerated by partnering with GE, which allowed the company to scale into 35 countries. For B2B startups, finding the right strategic partnerships—particularly with OEMs or large players—can significantly expand market reach faster than going it alone.
Bill highlighted the importance of staying focused in a large total addressable market (TAM). Instead of spreading too thin across multiple segments, XONA focused its GTM efforts on key sectors, like energy and manufacturing, which aligned with its early successes. This strategic focus helped them achieve sustainable growth.
CEO of SnapAttack
Peter Prizio Jr, CEO of SnapAttack: $8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Threat Management
CEO & Co-Founder of Huntress
Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress: $160 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security
Founder and CEO of Onyxia
Sivan Tehila, Founder and CEO of Onyxia: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cybersecurity Performance Management
CTO & Co-Founder of Vali Cyber
Austin Gadient, CTO & Co-Founder of Vali Cyber: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Linux Security
CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk
Stephen de Vries, CEO and Co-Founder of IriusRisk: $40 Million Raised to Build the Future of Threat Modeling
CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee
Mollie Breen, CEO and Co-Founder of Perygee: $6.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of IT/OT Security
CEO, Co-Founder of Strike Graph
Justin Beals, CEO of Strike Graph: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Automated Security and Compliance
CEO of Allure Security
Josh Shaul, CEO of Allure Security: $6 Million Raised to Help Businesses Win the Battle Against Online Scammers
CEO and Co-Founder of CalypsoAI
Neil Serebryany, CEO & Co-Founder of CalypsoAI: $38 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI Security
CEO and Co-Founder of Prelude
Spencer Thompson, CEO and Co-Founder of Prelude: Over $30 Million Raised to Build the Future of Continuous Security Testing
CEO of ForAllSecure
David Brumley, CEO of ForAllSecure: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Testing
CEO & Co-Founder of Cyrebro
Nadav Arbel, CEO & Co-Founder of Cyrebro: $51 Million Raised to Build the Future of ML-Backed MDR
CEO and Founder of Dropzone AI
Edward Wu, CEO & Founder of Dropzone AI: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI SOC Analysts
CEO and Founder of Gomboc
Ian Amit, CEO & Founder of Gomboc: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security Remediation
CEO and Co-Founder of Anjuna
Ayal Yogev, CEO and Co-Founder of Anjuna: $42 Million to Build The Future of Confidential Computing
CEO & Founder of Chainguard
Dan Lorenc, CEO & Founder of Chainguard: $250 Million Raised to Power the Future of Software Supply Chain Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Nudge Security
Russell Spitler, CEO & Co-Founder of Nudge Security: $17 Million Raised to Build the Future of SaaS Security
Chief Marketing & Alliances Officer of DataDome
Aurelie Guerrieri, Chief Marketing & Alliances Officer at DataDome: 20 Years in Silicon Valley – Insights on the Evolving Tech Landscape
Founder and CEO of Calamu
Paul Lewis, CEO of Calamu: $20 Million Raised to Build the Cyber Storage Category
CEO & Co-Founder of Cloaked
Arjun Bhatnagar, CEO of Cloaked: $25 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy
CEO & Co-Founder of Monad
Christian Almenar, CEO of Monad: $19 Million Raised to Solve the Cybersecurity Big Data Problem
CEO & Founder of Trusona
Ori Eisen, CEO & Founder of Trusona: $38 Million Raised to Power the Future of Account Takeover Prevention
CEO of SolCyber
Scott McCrady, CEO of SolCyber: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Security
CEO and Founder of SecurityPal
Pukar Hamal, CEO and Founder of SecurityPal: $21 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Assurance
CEO & Co-Founder of Dasera
Ani Chaudhuri, CEO & Co-Founder of Dasera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Security
CEO & Co-Founder of Entro Security
Itzik Alvas, CEO & Co-Founder of Entro Security: $24 Million Raised to Build the Future of Non-Human Identity Management
Marketing Director of Right-Hand Cybersecurity
Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Cybersecurity: Standing Out in a Crowded Market – Niche Targeting and Customer-Centric Approach
CEO of CrowdSec
Philippe Humeau, CEO of CrowdSec: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cyber Threat Intelligence
CEO of Beyond Identity
Tom “TJ” Jermoluk, CEO of Beyond Identity: $200 Million Raised to Build the Future of Multi-Factor Authentication
CEO & Founder of VU Security
Sebastian Stranieri, CEO & Founder of VU Security: $24 Million Raised to Build the Future of Digital Identity & Fraud Prevention
CEO and Co-Founder of VISO Trust
Paul Valente, CEO and Co-Founder of VISO Trust: $17 Million Raised to Build the Future of Third-Party Cyber Risk Management
CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security
Arie Zilberstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Gem Security: $34 Million Raised to Power the Future of Cloud Detection and Response
CEO and Co-Founder of Tamnoon
Marina Segal, CEO & Co-Founder of Tamnoon: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security
Founder of Sweepatic
Stijn Vande Casteele, Founder of Sweepatic: $4.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of External Attack Surface Management
CEO and Co-Founder of Cleafy
Matteo Bogana, CEO & Co-Founder of Cleafy: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of Online Fraud Prevention
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Permiso Security
Jason Martin, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Permiso Security: $10 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Security
CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer
Dave Mor, CEO and Co-Founder of OneLayer: $15 Million Raised to Protect Private Cellular Networks
CEO & Co-Founder of ElastiFlow
Robert Cowart, CEO & Co-Founder of ElastiFlow: $8 Million Raised to Power the Future of Network Performance and Security Analytics
CEO & Co-Founder of Vaultree
Ryan Lasmaili, CEO of Vaultree: $16 Million Raised to Build the World’s First Fully Functional Data-in-Use Encryption
CEO & Co-Founder of Vicarius
Michael Assraf, CEO of Vicarius: $29 Million Raised to Build the Future of Vulnerability Prioritization
CEO of Glasswall
Danny Lopez CEO of Glasswall: $60+ Million Raised to Make the Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) Category Mainstream
CEO and Co-Founder of Opal Security
Umaimah Khan, CEO & Co-Founder of Opal Security: $32 Million Raised to Build the Future of Identity Security
CEO of Clear Skye
John Milburn, CEO of Clear Skye: More Than $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Identity and Access Governance
CEO of Nisos
David Etue, CEO of Nisos: $33 Million Raised to Build the Future of Managed Intelligence
CEO & Co-Founder of Hush
Mykolas Rambus, CEO & Co-Founder of Hush: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Privacy
VP of Marketing of Shift5
From the Pentagon to B2B: Colby Proffitt’s Journey and ABM Insights
CEO and Founder of HacWare
Tiffany Ricks, CEO and Founder of HacWare: $2.6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Awareness
CEO and Founder of Strata Identity
Eric Olden, CEO and Founder of Strata Identity: $42 Million Raised to Build the Identity Orchestration Category
Founder & CEO of Hivewatch
Ryan Schonfeld, CEO of Hivewatch: $25 Million Raised to Build the OS of Physical Security
CEO of Qohash
Jean Le Bouthillier, CEO of Qohash: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Data Security