David Brumley, CEO of Mayhem: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Security Testing

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with David Brumley, CEO of Mayhem, an automated security testing platform that’s raised over $38 Million in funding, about how a hacker mindset in defensive security can turn the tables on aggressors, and give your cyberdefense the edge in the endless technology arms race. By deploying automated systems to construct a comprehensive map of an enterprise’s existing security landscape, built on an off-the-shelf code, Mayhem identifies exactly where action should be taken to tighten up any potential cracks in your defenses before a disastrous incursion ever occurs.

We also spoke about David’s colorful life before transitioning to a career in the tech startup space, what it was like setting out to disrupt Silicon Valley in the 1990s and how things have changed since then, and why hostility in public discourse is just par for the course when you challenge established industry dogma. Without paying too much attention to the category creation complex, David sees Mayhem as forging its own niche based exclusively on the efficacy of its software solutions.

Topics Discussed:

• How David decided to change his life, and how one crazy night led him to the world of technology solutions


• How Silicon Valley got its start in the University sphere, and how things have changed since the years of classified ads to become billion dollar investment opportunities


• Why disrupting industry dogma inevitably brings public backlash, and how David manages to move beyond it by focusing on solutions


• Why the hard part of building a business isn’t having a vision, but holding onto your vision when things don’t go your way


• How recognising the utility of research is the only way to really move an industry forward with cutting-edge technology


• Why Mayhem started with enterprise-led sales, but found new opportunities by developing PLG channels to build adoption from the ground up

Favorite book: 

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers