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- Founder Spotlight: [Me] on Building Huntbase — Cyber Runway
Founder Spotlight: [Me] on Building Huntbase — Cyber Runway
Founder Spotlight: [Me] on Building Huntbase — Cyber Runway
Writing about yourself is hard. Interviewing yourself is even harder. But after months of spotlighting the journeys of fellow Cyber Runway founders, I felt it was only fair to share a bit of my own.
This is the story behind Huntbase — how it is coming to be, what we’ve learned along the way, and how Cyber Runway helped shape the journey.
The Moment That Sparked Huntbase
Huntbase didn’t start with a single lightning bolt moment, but there was a clear turning point. Years ago, I was working with a security team that had over 7,000 alerts sitting in their queue — daily. I remember the team shrugging it off: “Yeah, that’s just how it is.” These were capable analysts. I’d even taught some of them in a previous hands-on-hunting course. But the volume of noise and the disconnect between tools and process had left them resigned.
That stuck with me. It poisoned the well a little. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Later, I had the chance to build a business within another business, which gave me a taste of the founder path. So when the time came — a mix of opportunity, experience, and even AI hype — I was ready to build something new. Huntbase was born out of that frustration, and that curiosity: What if we could do more to help analysts not just manage alerts, but think through them faster?
From Forensics to Founder
My background in threat intelligence, IR, and digital forensics has shaped a lot of how I think — but not always in ways that help product development. In those fields, every detail matters. You’re trained to slow down, be precise, document everything. That doesn’t translate well to startups, where you need to move quickly, validate, and iterate.
What has helped, though, is perspective. I’ve sat in the chair, dealt with the noise, felt the weight of unresolved incidents. I’ve worked with burned-out analysts who knew what to do but were too overloaded to do it. When I lose focus, I come back to that.
Why Huntbase, Why Now
Originally, Huntbase set out to address the tool sprawl problem in security. Everyone talks about “XDR” as a way to unify signals, but few tools make it easy for analysts to access the full stack of business applications during an investigation.
As we spoke to users and refined our direction (helped in part by Cyber Runway), we realized the real opportunity was in supporting the analyst during the last mile of investigation — after the alert is triaged, when the playbook ends, and human judgment begins.
We want to help teams pull the right threads, ask the right questions, and not miss what matters. Whether it’s a college grad or a seasoned veteran, our goal is to give every analyst a clearer path forward.
Learning to Let Go (of Being the Technical One)
One of the hardest transitions has been letting go of the technical stuff — at least for now. I used to be the one writing the code, building the prototype, doing the deep dives. These days, it’s writing messaging, designing the website, organizing product demos, approaching investors, and preparing for events like CyberUK. That shift has been tough, but necessary.
Still, I also carry early lessons from incident response with me — especially the need to stay flexible. Just like an IR case evolves, so does a startup. You go in with a theory, and reality quickly rewrites it.
AI Without Replacing Analysts
We often describe Huntbase as building the self-driving car for security investigations — but only on roads we know well. For everything else, analysts need a map, a compass, and someone to help navigate. That’s where we come in.
We’re not trying to replace human thinking. We’re trying to augment it, especially in the uncertain moments. If we can help a junior analyst gain confidence, or a senior analyst move faster without missing something critical, then we’ve done our job.
The Role of Cyber Runway
I wasn’t new to the UK’s startup ecosystem — I’m here on a Tier 1 Global Talent visa, thanks in part to my work at Mandiant and other roles — but Cyber Runway came at exactly the right time.
When I applied, we didn’t even have an MVP. Plexal was supportive anyway. Initially, I thought it would be a way to pressure-test the MVP and maybe open up funding conversations. It’s become much more than that.
The in-person sessions, especially the demo event in Edinburgh, reminded me of my early Tanium days — tight 15-minute pitches, fast feedback, high stakes. And the conversations with founders like David Read, Ahmed Shosha, and Tristan Palmer helped shape not just the product, but the mindset I carry into each week.
Sometimes those conversations were about product. Other times, they were about the emotional weight of building something from scratch. That kind of support can’t be replicated in a Slack channel.
What I’ve Learned
Messaging matters. I used to think the product would speak for itself. But I’ve learned that good messaging is part of the product.
Validation doesn’t come from code — it comes from conversation. I wish I’d started sharing ideas earlier.
Analysts are underserved. We build a lot of tools for SOC managers and dashboards for execs. But frontline defenders? They need more support.
Where We’re Headed
Our mission is to make it possible for a junior analyst to walk into a SOC and operate at the level of a seasoned vet on Day 1. That’s the vision. That’s the impact we’re chasing.
We believe in knowledge. We believe in shared knowledge across organizations, and we believe that automation and AI should serve humans — not the other way around.
Quick Fire Wrap-Up
One tool I can’t live without: Notion
Lesson from IR that applies to startups: Be flexible — things change fast.
Book every founder should read: The Mom Test
Weirdest alert I ever investigated: Watching an attacker live through full command/control stream — days of back-and-forth visibility in real time. Wild.
Final Note
If you’re a founder in cyber, or thinking about becoming one, I’ll just say this:Don’t wait to share what you’re building. Get your ideas out there. Let people challenge them. Let the market shape them. And if you’re lucky enough to join something like Cyber Runway, lean all the way in. You won’t regret it.