The 5-Year Ramp: How Alcatraz Scaled in Enterprise Security

What kind of founder spends five years building a product before going to market?

One who's trying to solve a very hard problem.

Vince Gaydarzhiev is the founder of Alcatraz, a deep tech startup that uses facial authentication. The platform isn’t used to lock people out of single offices or consumer gadgets; its customers are buying global enterprise security, where compliance is strict, trust is earned, and failure isn't an option.

In this episode, Vince shares the emotional, strategic, and technical realities of building a company at the intersection of AI, hardware, and enterprise infrastructure. From working nights on prototypes with a tiny team to navigating founder isolation and breaking into risk-averse markets with no Silicon Valley network, Vince takes us inside the long game of building something real.

We cover:

• Why it took three years to get a product into customer hands — and two more to scale it
• Validating a deep tech startup when you're not an insider
• What enterprise security leaders really care about (and how not to sell to them)
• Why founder empathy and “becoming your customer” are non-negotiable in this space
• The hiring philosophy that helped Alcatraz scale with high-agency, low-ego team members
• How Vince de-risked himself to earn trust from investors and prospective hires

If you're building something technically ambitious or thinking about launching a startup in AI, hardware, or security, listen in.

RUNTIME 32:15 EPISODE BREAKDOWN

(2:35) Where the idea for Alcatraz came from and why Vince decided to take the leap

(5:51) His process for validating the concept with investors, customers, and security teams

(9:37) “I  was surprised that this thing didn't exist yet.”

(11:48) Why it took five years to develop a “globally scalable” minimum viable product

(13:29) How much has his TAM estimate changed since entering the market?

(17:55) The pitch Vince used to recruit employees away from Apple and other top companies

(20:05) “ In 2016, investors were investing into companies purely on a deck.”

(22:18) “ I had zero network. It was my first time.”

(24:42) “ Many people mentally cannot take ‘nos’ in bulk. They get depressed, they feel it's personal.”

(26:50) Why the name “Alcatraz?”

(28:12) “ It's really tough to work with people that you don't like. Very tough. It's never gonna work out.”

(30:24) The one question Vince would have to ask the CEO if he were interviewing at an early-stage startup

LINKS

• Vince Gardarzhiev
• Alcatraz
• Alcatraz AI Raises $6.1M in Funding for Frictionless Access Control, 4/27/2021, press release
• Alcatraz AI Receives $25M Series A Funding to Accelerate International Growth, 9/13/2022, press release

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Thanks for listening!

 

– Walter.