Every company has to check the security credentials of its software vendors before signing on the dotted line to make a purchase. It usually involves a clunky non-digital process of signing NDAs and then requesting documents like pen test reports and SOC-2 compliance certification. This process can slow down sales while potential customers check the security posture of the vendor.
SafeBase co-founder and CEO Al Yang said the company wants to work with sales teams to speed up what has traditionally been a bottleneck in the sales process. “Our goal is to enhance mutual trust between the vendor and the buyer. Our focus is on the vendor to decrease sales cycles,” Yang explained.
He said to think of his company as a security resume, a way of presenting your security posture to your buyer to make the process more proactive and transparent — and ultimately move sales along. They do this by providing a portal for interested parties that moves them through all of the steps in the security audit in one place.
It works as an automated workflow of sorts. The first step is signing the NDA, which can take place in the portal, getting legal approval and electronic signatures in one place. That triggers the document review. As you move through the process, it presents the progress and what still needs to be done in a dashboard.
Yang said they don’t compete with security scoring companies like SecurityScorecard so much as work with them. The security score is one piece of information your company can use as you judge the security of the vendor, but Yang said SafeBase provides the details behind that score.
The idea is gaining traction. While the company launched in 2020, it already has over 100 companies using the product and ARR has grown 7x in the last six months, according to Yang. Customers include LinkedIn, Snyk and Instacart.
The startup recently almost doubled headcount, reaching 15 employees with plans to hire more with the new capital. Yang said that diversity isn’t just a check box for the growing company, but a core value. He said that while most companies don’t hire a head of people until Series B, SafeBase invested in that role early to help push diversity hiring.
Macy Mody, who runs marketing for the company, said that diversity begins in recruitment. “I think for us, a lot of it comes down to our candidate pipeline. We need to hire the best person for the role, but the best person for the role can be anyone. So how do we make sure we’re attracting all different kinds of candidates? And that’s something we’re really focused on, posting our roles in different places and really trying to recruit in an unbiased fashion,” she explained.
Today the company announced an $18 million Series A investment led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from Y Combinator and Comcast Ventures.
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