At the Summa Equity Annual Investor Meeting in Oslo, I had the privilege of joining Jacob Frandsen on stage for a conversation about the state of cybersecurity and the broader forces shaping technology companies today. The dialogue revolved around four big questions. Each one central to how investors, founders, and operators should be thinking about the future:

1. Balancing Investing in Innovation vs. Delivering Profitability

“It’s not innovation or profitability. It’s knowing when and how to balance the two engines that drive growth.”

• Innovation as survival – At smaller scale, innovation is paramount and innovation creates the moat that ensures relevance. Without it, companies risk being commoditized.
• Profitability as discipline – Operational excellence, sales efficiency, and cost control are non-negotiable as you scale.
• Two-engine model – Run one engine for profitability, another to push the edge of innovation.
• AI disruption – Both of areas of profitability and innovation are nicely coming together with AI: AI applied in any are of a company are driving profitability, time to market, etc. On the other hand, entire cyber products are being rewritten with AI at the core. Missing the AI wave on either side kills your future relevance.

2. AI and Cyber: Opportunity and Risk

“AI is both a multiplier of capability and a source of new risks. Success comes from knowing when and how to use it.”

• Force multiplier – AI accelerates development, marketing, sales, detection engineering, and lowers barriers for non-experts.
• AI-led attacks – Still emerging, but attackers will adopt quickly — as defenders we must keep pace.
• Security for AI – A number of new challenges we are facing. This will likely grow into its own market, but the fundamentals (data protection, trust, governance) remain the same.

3. Defensible Positions for Emerging Cyber Companies

Especially in the light of large security platforms like Crowdstrike or Microsoft or SentinelOne, how can smaller companies and startups be relevant at all?

“In cybersecurity, defensibility isn’t just about tech.”

• Wedge strategy – Start narrow, with an overlooked market or product gap. For example, the MSP / SMB segment is still significantly underserved but presents a vast opportunity.
• Data gravity – Unique datasets become the backbone of long-term defensibility, especially with AI to mine the data and make it actionable.
• Ecosystem first – Build API-driven integrations that make you indispensable within workflows, rather than standing alone. Modern security organizations that are using one of the large platforms are still using about 20 other products to fill gaps. If those products are integrated into the larger platform it greatly reduces the complexity and ease for the operators. For the security vendors it opens up the opportunity for technology partnerships on the flip side.

4. Europe vs. US: Different Playbooks

“US is about speed and boldness; Europe is about trust and staying power — the opportunity for EU business is bridging both playbooks.”

• Speed vs. trust – US rewards rapid scaling and bold claims; Europe emphasizes trust, compliance, references, and credibility. European customers are rarely early movers on new technologies.
• Market fragmentation – Europe is highly localized; VARs and telcos dominate, with significant regional differences in regulation and go-to-market.
• Talent edge – Europe offers strong technical talent from world-class universities. ETH anyone? 🙂
• Opportunity – EU players can win by leaning into local strength; US entrants will struggle to replicate that quickly in all the markets. Adapting a product to local markets with different languages, different tax codes, cultures, labor laws, data privacy laws, etc. is a lot of work. That is why you see most US companies expand into UKI first and then slowly entering some of the countries in mainland Europe.

Closing Thoughts

The conversation reinforced for me that cybersecurity doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It intersects with innovation cycles, global talent pools, regulatory environments, and the transformative force of AI. Companies that thrive will be those that balance innovation with discipline, embrace ecosystems, and play the long game across diverse markets.

I left the stage energized. Not just by the challenges, but by the opportunities for European companies to seize if we approach them with clarity and conviction.

I had the pleasure to attend the Summa Equity Annual Investor meeting today in Oslo. It was inspiring to hear about companies in the Summa portfolio that are making a real difference. Taking a step back from day-to-day cybersecurity and business conversations, it’s refreshing to dive into themes that truly matter for humanity. At the Annual Investor Meeting in Oslo, Summa’s four investment areas came into sharp focus and they highlight both the scale of the challenges and the opportunities ahead.

Four Themes Shaping the Future

Here are the four themes that Summa invests in and some interesting facts that I gathered during the presentations:

Circularity

• Desalination as a pathway to more clean water
• How little of our waste is recycled, despite mounting pressure on resources
• The ongoing pollution of water, air, and soil and the need to stop it at the source

Sustainable Food

• The world will need ~55% more calories in the near future
• Aquaculture (fish farming) is essential if we want to feed the planet sustainably – there is not enough grass to feed the cows that we’d need to feed the world
• 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the food system

Energy Transition

• Electricity demand is projected to double by 2050
• Outdated grids will struggle to keep up with demand, especially from data centers
• In Europe, electricity price volatility has surged 150% in just four years

Tech-Enabled Resilience

• Cybercrime now costs the global economy more than $10 trillion annually
• Resilience is not optional — from cybersecurity to supply chains, it underpins progress in every other theme

Why It Matters

These themes may sound broad, but they tie directly to the choices we make today. Food, water, energy, and digital resilience are the foundation of a thriving future. Hearing how Summa is approaching them — and backing real companies solving real problems — is both sobering and energizing.

As someone deeply engaged in cybersecurity, it’s eye-opening to connect that work to the bigger picture: resilience, sustainability, and how we ensure humanity thrives well into the future.

Thanks to Summa Equity for hosting such a thought-provoking gathering and for having me speak about cyber security.

Bringing a new product to market is hard—especially for small companies with limited sales resources. While large players can rely on global sales teams, most startups and scale-ups need to be smarter in how they approach their go-to-market (GTM) and route-to-market (RTM) strategies.

Recently, I walked through a set of practical approaches for some of the companies that I work with as an advisor and board member. I wanted to share these lessons more broadly as they might be useful for others as well. These lessons apply broadly to any small technology firm looking to punch above its weight.

Start with Segmentation and ICP Clarity

The first step in any GTM journey is understanding who exactly you are selling to. Segment your market carefully and define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). A well-defined ICP keeps you focused and helps you avoid wasting precious time on prospects that aren’t a good fit.

Match the Route-to-Market to Each Segment

Different customer types buy differently. Some may prefer to purchase through a distributor, others via a managed service provider (MSP) or a systems integrator (SI). Aligning your RTM strategy with each ICP segment ensures you meet your buyers where they already are.

Distributors: Give Before You Get

One of the biggest misconceptions startups have is that distributors will automatically champion your product. In reality, distributors expect you to bring them demand first. Show them you can generate business and they’ll start paying attention.

Leverage Technical Partnerships

Forming technical partnerships with larger vendors is often one of the fastest ways to expand reach. These companies already have distribution networks, customer relationships, and market credibility. By integrating or aligning with them, you can ride their coattails into places you couldn’t reach alone.

Ask Your Customers How They Buy

Your existing customers are one of your best sources of intelligence. Ask them:

• Do they prefer working with MSPs? Who do you work with yourself?
• Do they use certain distributors?
• Do they have go-to SIs or VARs?

Not only will you learn more about your market’s buying habits, but customers can often introduce you directly to their providers to short-circuiting months of cold outreach.

Regional VARs: An Untapped Opportunity

Large VARs are tempting, but it’s hard to get their attention. Smaller, regional VARs are usually more receptive, hungry for growth, and open to building mutually beneficial offers. For many startups, these local relationships turn out to be far more productive.

Don’t Rely on Cold Calling Alone

While direct sales will always play some role, scaling purely through cold outreach is rarely sustainable for startups. Partnerships, integrations, and channel leverage amplify your reach, making each sales dollar work harder.

Closing Thoughts

For small companies, success isn’t about brute-forcing your way into the market. It’s about smart leverage. By segmenting effectively, aligning routes-to-market, and building the right partnerships, startups can create multiplier effects that would be impossible through direct selling alone.

The road to market is rarely straight, but with the right GTM strategy, even small players can carve out a strong position in highly competitive industries like cybersecurity.