01 · IDEATE
Sharpen the wedge.
One sentence. One buyer. One pain. If it doesn't survive ten conversations with your target buyer, it doesn't get built.
Whiteboard writes the first check for security founders before the deck is finished — backed by a network of ethical CISOs who are true partners.
FIRST CHECK THESIS
We invest before the round is named. Pre-formation, pre-deck, sometimes pre-cofounder. The bar isn't traction — it's that you've spent enough time inside the security problem to know which version of the answer is worth building.
What we look for
You've operated inside a security team or shipped a security product. You know the buyer's calendar, not just their title. The wedge is specific — “AI-native security platform” is not a wedge; “how an AppSec team approves the 14th LLM tool this quarter” is.
What we bring beyond the check
Direct intros to operating CISOs from CISO Ventures — design partners and early customers, not LinkedIn icebreakers. Operator review of your wedge, GTM, and product roadmap from a team of industry leaders.
What we don't bring
A “platform team,” a Slack of four hundred portfolio CEOs, or generic GTM playbooks recycled from non-security companies. We stay narrow on purpose.
CISO VENTURES · THE MOAT
CISO Ventures is the invite-only network of ethical senior security leaders we've built around the firm. Members come for peer time. Founders we back get introduced where intros actually convert: across the table at a twelve-person dinner, not in a LinkedIn cold message.
Accelerate your journey to meet design partners.
Visit cisoventures.com ↗IDEATE → EXPERIMENT → MEASURE → MODIFY → SCALE
The first twelve months of a cybersecurity startup are the cheapest place to be wrong. We partner with founders to build a strong foundation by leveraging a disciplined five-step playbook.
01 · IDEATE
One sentence. One buyer. One pain. If it doesn't survive ten conversations with your target buyer, it doesn't get built.
02 · EXPERIMENT
A real buyer says yes or no. Not an MVP. A test.
03 · MEASURE
What signal advances the company? What signal kills the experiment? Decide before the data, not after.
04 · MODIFY
Adjust the wedge before you've raised the round that locks you in.
05 · SCALE
Only after the first four are honest. Headcount, ARR commitments, and category language come last, not first.
TEAM
Whiteboard is run by Abhijit Solanki. Most recently led Strategic Alliances and Business Development at Proofpoint. Before that: a $100M+ security product portfolio turnaround at Symantec, cyber investing lead at NexStar, Strategy & Corporate Development at VMware, started in McKinsey's tech practice. The deal screen is operator-grade because the operator history is real.
Book time with Abhi →