Security Chiefs ‘Too Polite’ for Startups, Says Cyber Flywheel Founder Alastair Paterson

Why It Matters

Clear, actionable feedback enables startups to solve the top security challenges, shortening the gap between innovation and enterprise adoption, which is critical for the UK’s ambition to become a global cyber‑security hub.

Key Takeaways

• CISOs often give vague feedback, hindering startup growth
• Design partnerships in US/Israel accelerate cyber innovation
• Harmonic Security doubled staff to 80, serving 100+ firms
• 50 CISOs pledged 30‑minute meetings with startup founders
• Top‑three CISO priorities drive startup adoption over incumbents

Pulse Analysis

The UK’s cyber‑security market has matured rapidly, yet a cultural barrier is slowing the translation of startup ideas into enterprise solutions. Alastair Paterson, co‑founder of Harmonic Security, points out that many chief information security officers (CISOs) default to polite, non‑committal responses—‘maybe we’ll get back to you’—instead of providing concrete criticism. This reluctance deprives fledgling firms of the data they need to refine products and align with real‑world threat landscapes. As a result, promising UK startups often look abroad, particularly to the United States, for the candid engagement that fuels growth.

Design partnerships—collaborative arrangements where CISOs work side‑by‑side with startups—are the engine behind the success stories in Silicon Valley and Israel’s cyber‑innovation clusters. By exposing early‑stage teams to actual security pain points, such as AI‑driven attack detection or compliance with ISO 27001, corporations accelerate proof‑of‑concept cycles and reduce deployment risk. Paterson’s cyber‑flywheel event illustrated this model: 150 investors and innovators gathered with 50 CISOs, who committed to 30‑minute discovery meetings. These focused interactions help startups target the ‘top‑three’ priorities that large enterprises cannot meet with existing vendors like CrowdStrike or Palo Alto.

The payoff for tighter CISO‑startup collaboration is already visible. Harmonic Security has doubled its headcount to 80 employees and now protects more than 100 organisations, demonstrating how early adopter feedback can scale a solution quickly. For the UK to compete with Israel’s cyber‑ecosystem—a decade behind its current trajectory—government and corporate leaders must institutionalise design partnerships, perhaps through formal consortia or funded pilot programs. Doing so will not only retain home‑grown talent but also position the UK as a premier source of cutting‑edge cyber‑defence technology.