Ten Eleven Ventures CTO and Operating Partner Scott Lundgren shares practical advice for early-stage cybersecurity founders.
He explains why founder-market fit matters more than product polish, how teams should think about TAM in fragmented markets, and the signals he looks for in technical pitches.
He also breaks down how Ten Eleven’s network helps with diligence and customer development — and why “cool tech” often misses the mark. Plus: his take on the AI hype cycle, and why building credibility starts with listening, not pitching.
RUNTIME 38:06 EPISODE BREAKDOWN(3:37) How founding an ISP as a teenager led Scott to a career in tech.
(6:06) Why he decided to join Ten Eleven Ventures as CTO/operating partner.
(9:53) Scott breaks down the essential elements of a cybersecurity pitch.
(14:31) Inexperienced founders, “as a general rule, have no idea about the TAM.”
(17:21) On AI hype: “ I'd like to see some more rigor with how we feel like we can start to quantify some of the benefits.”
(20:20) Having a global network of security professionals is “ a really great resource for us as a firm, but also for our founders.”
(21:51) Lessons learned from being on Carbon Black’s founding team.
(23:59) “ You need both of these things that are intertwined: the luck, and the the hard work.”
(26:08) Do customer discovery face-to-face, not over Zoom. “It isn't always productive, but there's no substitute for it.”
(30:57) Developing and promoting a startup mindset outside of Silicon Valley.
(35:30) “ If you build really cool tech to solve a pretty simple problem, then that probably was over-engineered.”
(36:11) How to build investor and future customer relationships — when you still have a job.
LINKS SUBSCRIBE📥 Get the Fund/Build/Scale newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7249143254363856897/
📸 Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fundbuildscale/
Thanks for listening!
– Walter.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com