Defendify, a Portland-based cybersecurity software startup, entered 2020 with $2 million of fresh capital, new offices in Portland, and strong growth plans.
Then COVID-19 arrived and, like many businesses, Defendify was hit with a significant decrease in demand for its services.
“Businesses wanted our help more than ever, but they didn’t have the budget,” Defendify Co-Founder Andrew Rinaldi tells Maine Startups Insider. “After talking to numerous struggling customers, we decided we needed to help.”
So Defendify, which was a 2019 MSI Startup to Watch, launched a “freemium” offering called Defendify Essentials, which includes the company’s Health Checkup, Vulnerability Scanner, and Threat Alert tools. While the initial goal of the free offering was altruistic, it also became the pivot that the company needed to weather the lean pandemic times, Rinaldi said.
“We have added thousands of new customers through our free offering, several of whom have upgraded to paying customers,” said Rinaldi.
While COVID-19 put a damper on IT budgets, it certainly did not reduce the number of sophisticated cyber attacks. The growth of remote work and ecommerce in 2020 only heightened the need for businesses to proactively monitor and protect themselves, Rinaldi said. The FBI has seen a 300% increase in cybercrime since the start of the pandemic, especially on companies who swiftly had to change operations to a work-from-home model, according to a recent Defendify news release.
New research released by Emsi, a national labor analytics firm, reveals that the United States has less than half of the cybersecurity candidates it needs to keep up with ever-intensifying demand. Technology services like Defendify’s are helping to fill this gap, Rinaldi said.
“If you don’t have a security expert on your IT team, then Defendify is a good fit for your business,” said Rinaldi.
In December 2020, Defendify announced the addition of Breach Detection & Response, a 24/7 threat monitoring and containment system that couples artificial intelligence and cybersecurity professionals to actively search and identify data security anomalies then respond in real-time to stop cybercriminals.
Bridge round to fuel growth
In addition to tweaking the product offerings to bring in a wave of new customers, Defendify also recently raised a $1.2 million bridge round from its existing investors, including the Maine Technology Institute, 3dot6 Ventures, Maine Venture Fund, York IE and Wasabi Ventures Partners.
Defendify will use its recent capital infusion on sales and marketing.
“Our biggest challenge right now is getting the attention of the businesses that need our help,” said Rinaldi.
Rinaldi mentioned that although 2020 was certainly difficult, in many ways it was business as usual for a technology startup.
“We just kept positive, adapted to the new reality and moved forward.”
