DARKTRACE
perspectives, you’re going to get the answer. That’s important to us as a business – we don’t have preconceptions about how you should solve a particular problem.”
Women comprise about 40 per cent of your workforce – a far higher proportion than you’d find at the average tech company. How do you ensure that all your off ices around the world are so inclusive? DP: “We always back our values. For example, early on we had an engagement with a potential customer, working at a very traditional organisation outside the UK, who said he wasn’t prepared to work with a female engineer. We chose not to do business with him. Because it has strong leaders such as Poppy and Nicole [Eagan, her co-CEO], Darktrace is attractive to women who want to join what’s seen as a male-orientated industry. I bet there isn’t another cyber security company in the world that has the balances we have.” PG: “I can remember another [would-be client] commenting that he genuinely believed that women were detrimental to the workforce. What we’re doing is of huge importance. We’re protecting businesses and nations and their ability to operate, so it’s crucial that I can convey that message and that everyone here has a sense of purpose. We pride ourselves on being a meritocracy. We support our brilliant people and push them hard to be ambitious. We’re all unique and we have our own regional specifi cs, but we’re all part of Darktrace and have this purpose we’re working collectively to achieve.”
You have built a very broad client base, including Drax power station, Metro Bank, T-Mobile, the Church of England and the City of Las Vegas. What advice would you off er new tech entrepreneurs for getting that crucial first customer on board? PG: “You cannot overstate the importance of landing your fi rst customer in the history of a business. From that point your product development accelerates, because your client will say: ‘Can you make it do A, B or C?’ and you’ll think: ‘That’s a great idea.’ But you must always consider the trade-off between your commercial and technical ambitions. Technical teams want to build the solution to what they think is the problem, while commercial teams want to sell something that hasn’t yet been built. You can’t have one fully leading the other; the two have to be in lockstep.” DP: “It’s helpful to remember that your early customers are likely to see themselves
‘CYBER IS ONE OF THE MOST PERVASIVE RISKS TODAY. A BIG BREACH CAN UNDERMINE TRUST IN YOUR COMPANY’
as innovators, but they’re unlikely to be the same type of client you’ll be selling to in two years. They may want to have a direct line into your product strategy and to help shape your future, which has pros and cons. They’ll also probably want to tell their friends about this amazing new company they’ve discovered. You can capitalise on that to the hilt.”
Why should cyber security be a primary concern in the boardroom? PG: “Businesses are realising that this is one of the most pervasive risks today. A big breach can undermine trust in your company
Always on: Darktrace’s Threat Visualizer interface alerts clients to suspicious network activity in real time
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