The SaaS CFO · Ben Murray
podcastplaybookHow They Raised $6.3 Million: The Story of a Cybersecurity Startup's Journey
Source excerpt
About The SaaS CFOWelcome to The SaaS CFO Podcast! In this episode, Ben Murray sits down with Mahdi Abdulzarak and Kim Van Lavieren, the co-founders of Dawnguard—an innovative SaaS platform aiming to transform how large enterprises design, secure, and manage their cloud infrastructure. Mahdi Abdulzarak, CEO, brings decades of cybersecurity leadership, while CTO Kim Van Lavieren draws on deep technical expertise from organizations like Amazon and the military. Together, they share the Dawnguard founding story, insights on fundraising as experienced founders, building with design partners, and how AI-driven solutions are changing the game in cloud security. From go-to-market strategies to engineering harnesses and pricing AI-powered products, this conversation delivers a behind-the-scenes look at launching and scaling a SaaS startup in a rapidly evolving industry. Show Notes: 00:00 Improving IT system…
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Apollo layer
What a founder can learn
Founder takeaway
For a technically complex enterprise product, use design partners to validate workflows, security requirements, and willingness to pay before scaling go-to-market. Treat AI capabilities as part of the customer value delivered—not as sufficient justification for the product or its price.
Why it matters
Enterprise cloud-security products face demanding buyers and long implementation paths. Early collaboration with representative customers can reduce product risk and provide stronger evidence for positioning, pricing, and fundraising.