Our Journey with eSentire

19

Sep 2017

In early 2012, we were presented with an opportunity to meet with a company that was changing the landcape of cybersecurity: eSentire. Natrually, with our long history of venture investing in cybersecurity we were keen to meet with Eldon Sprickerhoff, Founder and J. Paul Haynes, CEO of eSentire to learn more about the company and what differentiated them in this landcape. Introduced by our colleague and their early investor Alkairm Jivraj, now President and CEO at Espresso Capital, we could see the early potential in this company. However the timing was off. They had raised little in the way of VC funds and were still transitioning from being a predominately boutique cybersecurity consulting firm to a managed security as a service platform. We were just beginning to raise our independent Venture Capital Fund and although we were interested in the differentiated technology and the vision for the business we could not invest at that time.

What struck us immediately about eSentire was the approach the team was taking to deal with cybersecurity threats. Instead of focusing on defending the enterprise at the perimeter, as the leading incumbents were, the approach taken by eSentire was to counter the norm. Understanding that complete hack prevention was impossible they instead turned the conventional model on its end. Simply put – whether you know it or not you have been hacked! So, let’s focus on hunting and killing the malicious code that has already or will make it through your defence layers.

In July of 2012 we were delighted to join the board as an independent voice and to have the opportunity to be a part of something special. It has been an incredible five years working with eSentire and seeing some of their exciting accomplishments:

  • In 2013 the team attracts a Series B financing from leading US VC firm Edison Partners and adds cyber security investing partner Lenard Marcus to the board.
  • The company’s impressive early growth attracts a world class CTO – Mark McArdle and CRO John Harris to the team.
  • As growth accelerates in 2015 eSentire attracts a Series C investment from leading Canadian growth fund and friend of Information Venture Partners – Georgian Partners.
  • In Feburary 2016 they receive Series D financing from existing investors and help from our new fund.
  • Gartner recognizes Managed Detection and Response as a new category in cybersecurity and gives credit to eSentire for creating the category.
  • 2016 marks the third straight year with greater than 60{0573984a2b8f609c30111d9663e55dcffe5bf46757f544e848868cbca776ed36} growth.
  • The world class team grows to over 300 strong!

 

The exit to Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing, is a smart strategic move for eSentire that will further assist them with growth in the cybersecurity industry. “With the ever-increasing complexity around cybersecurity and scarcity of security talent, more companies are seeking comprehensive managed services that proactively detect and respond to cyber threats in real time,” says Cary J. Davis, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus. “eSentire provides the most complete suite of technologies and services in the MDR market and has experienced industry-leading growth and impressive customer satisfaction. We are excited to partner with management to support the Company’s continued expansion and help them serve the complex cybersecurity needs of their customers.

We’re proud to have worked seamlessly together with J. Paul, Eldon, Mark, John and our colleagues on the board – Simon Chong, Nick Lantuh, Lenard Marcus and Adnane Charchour who have helped make this all happen. With a little over five years on the board and 1.5 years as an investor, we’ve seen a highly promising company evolve into a highly successful one that decided to further its growth by joining Warburg Pincus, a world class investor that has the capital and resources to take the company further.

We’d like to thank the executive team and the employees for all of their hard work and execution – it has been a privilege to work alongside you. We wish you all the continued success and look forward to watching you continue to win in the future.