The presentation 'Entrepreneurial Adventures: Starting Your Own Company' is not a traditional investor pitch but a pedagogical teardown of the startup process within the cybersecurity niche. Presented by Bryson Bort, founder of Scythe and GRIMM, the deck outlines the transition from a services-based model to a venture-backed product company. It highlights Scythe's $3M Seed raise in 2018 and its positioning as 'Wordpress for malware.' The deck is notable for its lack of traditional financial projections, focusing instead on the 'Startup Curve' of emotional volatility, the mechanics of incorpor…
Key takeaways
- Scythe was spun out of the services firm GRIMM in 2018 with a $3M Seed raise (Slide 3).
- The company describes its product offering as 'Wordpress for malware' (Slide 3).
- GRIMM, the founder's previous venture, was founded in 2013 and grew organically to 50 employees (Slide 3).
- The deck explicitly differentiates between services companies (which 'probably' shouldn't raise) and product companies (which 'maybe' should) (Slide 7).
- A 'Startup Curve' visualizes the journey from initial enthusiasm through a deep trough of 'Experimenting & Pivoting' before reaching scale (Slide 4).
- The presentation warns of 'Valley bias' and the insular nature of the 'Tech Bro' community in venture capital (Slide 9).
- Practical administrative advice includes the necessity of obtaining an EIN, DUNS number, and CAGE code for government contracting (Slide 6).
- The deck omits standard pitch elements like a 5-year financial forecast, specific competitor matrix, or a current 'Ask' for capital.
Introduction and Context
The deck titled 'Entrepreneurial Adventures: Starting Your Own Company' is a 37-slide presentation (19 of which are analyzed here) delivered by Bryson Bort at Def Con 28. Unlike a standard pitch deck designed to solicit immediate investment, this is a 'meta-deck.' It uses the story of Scythe and GRIMM to educate a technical audience on the realities of startup life. The tone is irreverent, utilizing memes and industry-specific humor, yet it contains significant data points regarding Scythe's early capitalization and strategic pivot from services to product.
Slide 1: Title Slide
The title slide sets the theme with a classic 8-bit Zelda reference: 'IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS.' This establishes the presentation as a guide for the 'adventure' of entrepreneurship. The Scythe logo is present in the bottom right corner, and the presenter's Twitter handle (@brysonbort) is in the bottom left.
Slide 2: The Founder's Background
This slide uses a collage of photos to establish the founder's presence in the cybersecurity community. It features logos for Scythe, ICS Village, GRIMM, and R Street. The imagery emphasizes a 'hacker culture' aesthetic, showing the founder in various settings, including a unicorn onesie, which signals a departure from traditional corporate suit-and-tie presentations.
Slide 3: The Three Pillars
This is the most data-dense slide in the set. It breaks down the founder's three main entities: Scythe (Product), GRIMM (Services), and ICS Village (Non-Profit). Specifically for Scythe, it notes the company 'Spun out of GRIMM in 2018 with a $3M Seed Raise' and describes the product as 'Wordpress for malware.' For GRIMM, it notes the company was 'Founded in 2013' and 'Organically grew to 50 hackers.' The non-profit arm, ICS Village, was co-founded in 2017 to focus on critical infrastructure awareness.
Slide 4: The Startup Curve
A conceptual slide titled 'Why Do You Want to Do This (to yourself)?' It features a graph showing the emotional trajectory of a startup. The curve peaks at 'Initial Enthusiasm' before crashing into a long trough labeled 'Experimenting & Pivoting.' The slide serves as a warning that the path to 'Product/Market Fit' and 'Scale' is preceded by significant hardship.
Slide 5: Validating the Idea
Titled 'What is the Idea?', this slide focuses on customer discovery. It lists several bullet points emphasizing the need to 'listen' rather than just talk. Key takeaways include: 'The best technology doesn't win,' the importance of a 'Value Proposition,' and the necessity of a 'Minimum Viable Product (MVP).' It suggests a process of iterative networking to refine the business concept.
Slide 6: Incorporation and Bureaucracy
This slide addresses the administrative requirements of starting a business. It lists legal structures (LLC, S, C), the need for an EIN from the IRS, and state/county requirements. Notably, it mentions 'SAM: CAGE Code' and 'DUNS Number,' which are specific requirements for companies looking to engage in US Government contracting—a common revenue stream for cybersecurity firms.
Slide 7: The Fundraising Decision
Titled 'To Raise or Not To Raise,' this slide presents a simple flowchart. For 'Services' companies, the answer is 'No (probably).' For 'Products' companies, the answer is 'Yes (maybe).' This highlights the scalability difference between human-capital-intensive services and software-based products, justifying Scythe's decision to raise a seed round while GRIMM remained organic.
Slide 8: Types of Investors
A high-level overview of the capital landscape. It lists VC Types (Funds, Private Equity), Angels, Friends and Family, Incubators, and SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants. The inclusion of the SBIR link reinforces the focus on government-adjacent cybersecurity development.
Slide 9: The Reality of the VC Process
This slide takes a critical view of the venture capital industry. It features a quote from Katie Moussouris: 'Everything cishet white male founders tell you probably will not work if you are not in that group.' The slide further describes the VC world as an 'insular community' characterized by 'West Coast (Valley bias),' 'Tech Bros,' and 'Relationships.'
Slide 10: Addressable Market
A visual representation of market size using unicorn icons holding scythes and dollar signs. While it lacks specific numerical figures (TAM/SAM/SOM), the imagery suggests that Scythe is targeting the 'Unicorn' class of companies or aiming to become one by 'reaping' market share. The sun with a dollar sign represents the ultimate exit or large-scale opportunity.
Slide 11: Hiring Strategy
Focuses on early-stage recruitment. It suggests a 'Reference Model' based on friends and professional 'Rank.' It also lists incentives necessary to attract talent in a competitive market: Equity, Options, and Bonuses. The 'Now Hiring' sign indicates that growth is a constant requirement.
Slide 12: Back Office Operations
Lists the essential but often overlooked functions of a business: Contracts, Legal, Human Resources, Payroll, Accounting, and Business Insurance. The magnifying glass over a bar chart suggests that these functions require close scrutiny to ensure the company remains viable.
Slide 13: Intellectual Property
Covers the four main types of IP protection: Patents, Trade Secrets, Trademarks, and Copyright. It includes a humorous note to 'Talk to a lawyer. They’re usually not this good looking,' accompanied by a stock photo of professional models.
Slide 14: Emotional Resilience
Titled 'Every Month,' this slide warns founders they will face a 'random existential crisis that no amount of planning can prepare you for.' It offers a message of solidarity: 'You will get past it, you will survive... And you're not alone.'
Slide 15: The Entrepreneurial Club
A quote attributed to the presenter: 'Becoming an entrepreneur is like joining an exclusive club where the only requirement is the desire to join. Every member will help you.' This emphasizes the importance of the founder community as a support network.
Slides 16-19: Expert Testimonials
These slides feature advice from other prominent figures in the cybersecurity and VC space. Ron Gula (Slide 16) discusses the impact of COVID-19 on supply chain security and the importance of having both company and personal goals. Casey Ellis (Slide 17) defines a founder as someone 'irrationally pissed off about a problem.' Dan Tentler (Slide 18) provides the practical tip of getting a PO box to avoid home-address spam. John Strand (Slide 19) offers a cynical 'Don't' three times before agreeing to talk, emphasizing the difficulty of the path.
What This Deck Does Well
Authenticity: The deck avoids the polished, sterile feel of typical pitch decks, which likely resonated well with the Def Con audience. · Strategic Differentiation: Slide 7 clearly explains why the founder chose to raise money for one venture (Scythe) but not the other (GRIMM), providing a lesson in business model selection. · Administrative Clarity: Slide 6 provides a checklist that is often missing from 'inspirational' startup talks, giving founders a concrete starting point for incorporation. · Community Focus: By including quotes from other founders (Ellis, Strand, Gula), the deck positions the startup journey as a collective experience rather than a solitary one.
What Is Missing From the Deck
Financial Projections: There are no revenue targets, burn rate estimates, or growth charts. While appropriate for a conference talk, a real pitch would require these. · Competitive Analysis: The deck mentions 'competing with companies like Zoom' in the Gula slide, but there is no dedicated slide comparing Scythe's 'Wordpress for malware' to other breach and attack simulation (BAS) tools. · Detailed Product Roadmap: We know what the product is ('Wordpress for malware'), but we don't know the specific features, development milestones, or technical architecture. · The 'Ask': There is no mention of how much money the company is currently seeking or what the specific milestones for the next round of funding would be.
Founder Takeaways
Founders should emulate the clarity of the business model distinction found on slide 7. Being able to articulate why your business requires venture capital (scalability, product-led growth) versus organic growth (service-led, linear scaling) is crucial for credibility. Additionally, the incorporation checklist on slide 6 is a high-value template for any founder in the pre-seed stage. Finally, the use of industry-specific metaphors (like 'Wordpress for malware') is an excellent way to explain a complex technical product to investors who may not be subject matter experts but understand platform dynamics.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Scythe's core product according to the deck?
- On slide 3, the company describes its product as 'Wordpress for malware.' This suggests a platform-based approach to creating or managing malicious code for security testing purposes. The slide also notes that the company was spun out of GRIMM, a cybersecurity services firm, in 2018 following a $3M Seed funding round.
- Does this deck include a financial 'Ask' or valuation?
- No. Because this deck was created for a presentation at Def Con 28 rather than a private investor meeting, it does not include a current funding ask, valuation, or use of proceeds slide. It mentions a past $3M Seed raise on slide 3 but focuses on educational content for future founders.
- How does the founder view the difference between services and product companies?
- Slide 7 provides a clear decision tree for fundraising. It suggests that services-based companies should 'probably' not raise venture capital, whereas product-based companies 'maybe' should. This reflects the founder's own experience growing GRIMM (services) organically and Scythe (product) through a seed raise.
- What administrative hurdles are highlighted for new startups?
- Slide 6 and slide 18 cover the 'unsexy' parts of entrepreneurship. Slide 6 lists legal structures (LLC, S, C), IRS requirements (EIN), and government identifiers like CAGE codes and DUNS numbers. Slide 18 adds a humorous but practical tip from Dan Tentler about using a PO box to avoid being 'bombarded with spam' at a home address.
- What is the 'Startup Curve' mentioned in the deck?
- Slide 4 features a hand-drawn graph showing the emotional journey of a founder. It starts with 'Initial Enthusiasm,' followed by a sharp drop when 'Reality sets in.' The longest phase is 'Experimenting & Pivoting' at the bottom of the curve, which eventually leads to 'Product/Market Fit' and 'Scale.' The slide asks, 'Why Do You Want to Do This (to yourself*)?'
