Meet Garret Grajek, Chief Executive Officer at YouAttest:

Garret Grajek, CEH, CISSP,  has 25+ years of IT Security product creation. He is the author and co-author  of 15 U.S. patents for information security products (focus: Application SSO, 2FA, Identity Assurance, Continuous Authentication, AI and Blockchain). 

Garret has specialized in creating and promoting secure IT products  for markets in the Financial, Health Care, Federal, State, Education  and other regulated arenas.

Garret has:

  • Created companies/products from scratch:
    • Co-Founder and inventor of the product for the  SecureAuth Corporation 
  • Created revolutionary products inside of other enterprise:
    • Cylance PERSONA (endpoint UEBA) for Cylance-BlackBerry 
  • Taking existing technology and invigorate with new leadership and enterprise thought:
    • YouAttest, Application-SSO based IGA tool

Products Garret has  created resulted in multiple awards, Gartner ranking, and sold to over 500 customers resulting in $200M+ in revenue

Listen Up: Garret Grajek, Chief Executive Officer at YouAttest — Full Podcast Episode on Spotify

Watch Now: Vit’s In-Depth Talk with Garret Grajek, Chief Executive Officer at YouAttest

Quick Read: Garret Grajek, Chief Executive Officer at YouAttest, Interview Highlight

Introduction to YouAttest

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Garret Grajek, a seasoned expert in the cybersecurity realm with an illustrious career that spans over three decades. With 13 patents to his name and work experience with industry giants like the US Navy and Ticketmaster, Garret is now at the helm of YouAttest, a cloud-based solution transforming the identity governance and administration space.

“My passion is to take ideas of not being done by the big companies and create, obviously, small companies at first with the goal of making them larger,”

stated Garret, underscoring his dedication to innovation and growth.

Understanding the YouAttest Difference

When discussing YouAttest, I was curious about the company’s unique value proposition.

Garret explained:

“YouAttest quantifies, identifies, and then creates reports around the access your users, both internal and external, have to privacy data.”

In a world bound by governance and compliance, especially in highly regulated sectors like finance and healthcare, YouAttest stands out by offering a solution that can be operational within an hour—a stark contrast to the typical 18-month setup time in the industry.

Investor Interest in Cybersecurity

The cybersecurity market is booming, with projections hitting $250 billion by 2025. I asked Garret how investor interest has evolved over the years.

He observed:

“There was a great expansion in cyber investing about 10 years ago, all the way up to about six years ago… But in the last four years, however you want to count it, valuations have been two to three times what your income is, which is much, much lower.”

The market has certainly become more challenging, with investors being more conservative in their valuations.

Fundraising Journey

As someone seasoned in the tech world, I was eager to learn about Garret’s fundraising journey. He described it as relatively straightforward initially, thanks to his track record with previous successful projects.

He explained:

“That’s how I initiated the funding,”

However, he noted a critical shift when moving into institutional rounds: “In the institutional rounds and the ones that the VCs and the funds, et cetera, they’re not speaking the language of technology. They are speaking the language of money.”

Timing for Raising Funds

A frequent question I encounter is about timing in fundraising.

Garret shared his perspective:

“And the companies I start, they’re starting from scratch… You’re going to stay in the red for a while. So you’re almost in continuous funding mode.”

This resonates with the reality that scaling a tech company involves long-term commitment and strategic planning.

The Conviction in Your Product

Reflecting on the balance between building a great product and securing funding, Garret articulated,

“That’s great. That’s somewhere about 49 to 40% of fundraising. The other 60% is… what is the business model around your technology?”

This insight highlights the dual focus needed to succeed in both technology development and business strategy.

Navigating Investor Conversations

For any tech founder, mastering the language of business is essential. Garret’s experience illustrates the importance of presenting a clear business case.

He emphasized:

“If you can get your message down to value and profit and income and growth… then you can go pitch to the general audiences,”

This approach opens doors beyond niche markets to broader investor communities.

Managing Global Teams

Finally, we discussed the dynamics of managing a geographically dispersed team. Garret shared that his company’s team members are spread across the US, Pakistan, and Egypt, reflecting a truly global footprint. As a global and remote-first entrepreneur myself, I appreciate the value of diverse perspectives and the agility it brings to a company.

In conclusion, my conversation with Garret Grajek was not only enlightening but also confirmed the intricacies and challenges of leading a tech startup in the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity. His journey offers invaluable insights for current and aspiring entrepreneurs navigating similar paths.