Creating a $65B+ Company - The CrowdStrike Story
EP 91 of The Logan Bartlett Show: Untold stories from tech's inner circle
George Kurtz is the CEO of CrowdStrike, a $65B+ public cybersecurity company. In episode 91, we discuss why George never wanted a VC that needed him to be successful, the core belief that led to CrowdStrike’s success, lessons on hiring and firing, AI in the world of cyber and the surprising intricacies of paying ransom for cybercrime.
Click here to view the episode transcript | Watch on Youtube | Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
✉️ Episode Memo
→ Picking your VC partner
George’s first company, Foundstone, raised money in the first internet bubble and was one of the few successful investments for his venture capitalist. When McAfee was interested in an acquisition, these VCs were motivated just to sell the business to get a win for their fund. When starting CrowdStrike, George vowed to never work with VCs that would need him or CrowdStrike to be successful for them to raise another fund.
→ Why new ideas often need their own companies
CrowdStrike is a clear example that major innovations often require starting a new venture rather than trying to fit them into existing businesses. George spent many years at McAfee after selling his first company, Foundstone, to the business. Inspiration for CrowdStrike came while he was CTO at McAfee, watching a stranger next to him on an airplane wait 15 minutes for McAfee to boot up. He recognized new cloud-based architecture was necessary for McAfee to be competitive, but McAfee showed no interest because they were focused on selling the business. This is similar to the founding story of Zoom and Eric Yuan’s experience at Cisco’s WebEx.
→ When is the right time to fire someone?
It's unlikely that you'll regret firing someone too early, as keeping a poor fit around for too long is a more common mistake. Ask yourself, "Would you hire the same person again today?" If the answer is no, it's probably best for both parties to part ways sooner rather than later. Issues don’t resolve themselves, so take action when doubts arise.
→ AI is making cybercriminals' lives easier - what do we do about it?
Tools such as FraudGPT (a ChatGPT-like tool that operates without any restrictions) now make malicious activity easier and are democratizing cybercrime for bad actors. To address this issue, awareness is crucial, as well as understanding how adversaries operate and what motivates them. Cybersecurity companies must keep pace with technological advancements, and focus on enabling safe use of new technologies for their intended purposes.
→ When should companies pay ransom?
Many cybercrime organizations care about upholding their brand reputation, and these groups consistently uphold their promises when ransom payments are made. However, many do not. By now, George can often predict whether a particular group will fulfill its end of the bargain when the ransom payment lands, enabling CrowdStrike to advise on whether paying ransom is the best course of action.
Hear more about the key decisions and frameworks that brought CrowdStrike to a cybersecurity powerhouse in the full episode.
⭐ Trailer
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