Growing Intruder with Chris Wallis

In this episode of the How I'm Building This Podcast, Prateek interviews Chris Wallis, the Founder of Intruder, who shares his journey from growing up on a farm in the UK to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the cybersecurity space. He discusses the challenges of building a startup, the importance of hiring the right people, and how to create a cohesive team culture. Chris also delves into the evolution of Intruder's go-to-market strategy, the integration of AI in their processes, and the metrics he tracks to ensure business health. He emphasizes the need for caution when deploying AI in mission-critical systems and reflects on the importance of mental health for founders.

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Takeaways:

• He lived in a garden shed during an accelerator program to save costs.
• Hiring is critical, and caring about the company matters more than just skills.
• Self-learning is essential for cybersecurity roles.
• Company culture is shaped by both hiring and firing decisions.
• Chris initially thought building a product would attract customers.
• Google Ads were effective in driving initial traffic to Intruder.
• AI integration is approached cautiously, focusing on manual processes first.
• Metrics like ARR and churn are vital for understanding business health.
• Mental health management is crucial for long-term success as a founder.

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Sound Bites:

• "Hiring is the most critical piece of the job."
• "You have to care when you come on board."

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In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Introduction to Chris and Intruder

10:19 Chris's Journey to Founding Intruder

19:40 Hiring and Company Culture

28:28 Navigating Advice and Mental Health

32:12 Future Plans for Intruder

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Where to find Chris:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-wallis

Intruder: www.intruder.io

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Where to find Prateek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekmathur

Activated Scale: ⁠https://www.activatedscale.com⁠

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