Fundraising in cybersecurity sounds like a badge of honour. But the pitch room rarely looks like the press release. You show up thinking you’ve got traction. They show up with a checklist.
Here’s the hard truth: for many early-stage cybersecurity investors, especially in Europe and the UK, you don’t really exist until you’re doing at least $2M in ARR.
Not all.
The best ones will meet you earlier, especially if you’ve got signal: a killer team, design partners, a few obsessed logos.
But in general?
That $2M threshold is real. Below that, they smile. Above that, they write.
Now let’s bust the biggest myths founders walk into the room with.
Myth #1: “Big Deals Show We’re Ready for Series A”
Founders love to lead with their biggest contract. $300K from a global bank. Multi-year deal. Logo everyone knows.
Here’s what VCs hear: concentration risk. No repeatability. One-off motion.
What they actually want? 20 logos. 5-digit deals. Repeatable wins across segments. They don’t need proof you can land one whale. They want proof you can net fish all day.
Myth #2: “We’re Pre-Revenue, But It’s a New Category”
VCs love new categories—once someone else defines them. If you’re pre-revenue in security, you’re pre-trust. And no buyer wants to bet security posture on a pitch deck.
What works better? Show you’ve got customers who don’t just pay, but use. Show engagement metrics. Activation rates. Renewal intent. That’s the traction that earns belief.
Myth #3: “The Tech Speaks for Itself”
Your CTO built the core engine for a household-name firewall. Your model detects threats everyone else misses. Your latency is sub-10ms. Congrats.
But tech isn’t traction. VCs don’t fund capabilities. They fund commercial potential.
What wins is a story: “X buyers pay us Y to solve Z. Here’s how many more exist.” The tech is the how—not the why.
Myth #4: “We Just Need a Bit More Time to Prove It”
Translation: “We want to raise but don’t have the metrics.”
Here’s the reality: You raise because you’re growing, not because you want to grow. If you’re not getting traction with real buyers, time won’t solve that. Feedback might. Focus might. But time alone? That just makes burn go up.
What VCs Really Ask
- Are there enough customers who need this now?
- Can this team sell, not just ship?
- Is the motion repeatable—or founder heroics?
- Can this wedge expand into a bigger product?
- Will this hit $20M ARR faster than the last thing I funded?
You don’t need to have all the answers. But you need to know which ones matter.
In security fundraising, $2M ARR isn’t a ceiling, it’s the minimum proof. Show volume over whales, repeatability over brilliance, and urgency over vision. That’s how you get the next meeting.
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