Wow, where do we start?
Since we founded in 2017, we have looked and explored different cyber uk start-up accelerator programmes. We have always been been sceptical due to the focus that these programmes place on looking for external investment. For years, we have fended off external investment for RoboShadow as this would rock our mission statement to the core. Investors aren't interested in the 'World's Best Free Tier' vulnerability management solution, they are looking for 10x returns.
Thankfully, this is not the case with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) & the GCHQ's UK Cyber Start Up Accelerator Programme. RoboShadow is proud to have been selected as one of 4 cutting edge Cyber Security start-ups in the private sector. The programme is designed to help us achieve our goals and level the UK's cyber playing field; changing the way the world does vulnerability assessment, and vulnerability scanning to audit their security posture.
The NCSC programme, endorsed by the UK government, is an exclusive group of companies who have been chosen to join this game-changing initiative. This programme will provide us with access to the NCSC’s world-leading Cyber Security experts, as well as mentorship and support from GCHQ in order to grow our business. Since the programme began, it has supported over 40 companies and raised nearly £90 million to support their projects.
We have been completely blown away by the level of assistance we have received in order to perfect our product. At the moment, there are only so many things we can say publicly but effectively:
Although only 4 weeks into the programme, we have been seriously impressed with the support. The programme is a non-stop roller coaster of experts being called in; from Venture Capital, product placement, marketing experts, pitching advice - just about everything a Start-up focusing on effective vulnerability management needs!
The programme is like a Y-Combinator for UK Cyber Tech businesses. We have been with everyone from GCHQ security experts with "no names” (Not kidding!) to IBM, Deloitte and a whole house of wonderful people helping us build our cyber offerings. The dedicated mentors are outstanding and we even had an entire afternoon with a particularly interesting public speaking session with specialist Amy from Wholehearted AF.
The list feels endless, however we have 3 main goals we are hoping to achieve:
We are even hoping to get RoboShadow as far as to becoming one of the main products you can use for achieving Cyber Essentials Plus Assessment!
One of the core benefits we are already reaping is that we are now part of the NCSC's Cheltenham Cyber Hub. This is effectively the main Cyber Security centre for the whole of the UK. The hub brings together both government and business in one powerful national security eco-system.
If your interested the pitch that we won entry to the programme with went something like this....
Hi everyone, my name is Terry Lewis from RoboShadow and our mission is to level the cyber security playing field by democratising the way people approach internal and external vulnerability assessments:
We are super privileged to be doing this with 3 other amazing start ups:
Headquartered: Birmingham
Founded: 2020
Lexverify uses artificial intelligence to monitor communications for potential legal and compliance issues.
Headquartered: Bristol
Founded: 2017
Rowden Technologies has a range of cyber security tools and is "working on the digital fingerprinting of devices to help secure networks”. Its users include government customers.
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Headquartered: Cambridge
Founded: 2017
ZORB provides cybersecurity software designed for remote employees and a physical device that acts as a defence for a home’s internet network.
Some of the press for the programme so far:
At the time of writing this blog we are halfway through a complete polishing exercise of the whole product set. We are getting ready for the due-diligence which is happening on a daily basis by a team of experts, mentors and generally fab people. We can't wait to share our progress with you!
Our mission is to make cyber security accessible to everyone, so that's why we are excited about being part of this programme. We hope to use it as an opportunity to learn from some of the best minds in the industry and to also help bring some much needed innovation into the national security.