Two months ago, we revealed Cyber Runway, which is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and supported by the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) and Deloitte, was back for the fourth year. Now, the largest cyber accelerator in the UK has officially kicked off with our Cyber Runway Launch Bootcamp taking place.
Over the past three days, we welcomed 27 members of our Launch cohort to Plexal Stratford, providing the necessary guidance for them to develop their cyber idea, understanding how to get it off the ground and progressed into a viable business.
Delivering insights on the cyber security landscape and how to create a value proposition through to creating a sales strategy, assessing the competition and embedding diversity and inclusion into their ventures, we covered a lot of ground to set them on their way.
Here’s what our cohort is working on:
Axiom Breach offers a comprehensive cyber security platform designed to perform phishing attack simulations tailored to specific environments.
Axions revolutionises healthcare cyber security, ensuring robust security and enhancing patient safety and operational efficiency in medical facilities.
CyberGuard360 is an AI-driven platform designed to provide robust cyber security for SMEs, leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms for real-time threat detection.
CyberSafeSchools aims to tackle the cyber security gap in UK schools with a user-friendly platform built on free NCSC tools, empowering students to contribute to school security.
Cymera is a vulnerability management platform that utilises large language models to contextualise real cyber security risks, providing intelligence and analysis.
dennytech enhances cyber security risk assessment posture of SMEs by integrating threat intelligence with multinomial logistic regression models.
Elifa empowers families by providing a secure digital platform for end-of-life planning, simplifying storage of documents and communication of wishes.
FraseLabs is a revolutionary cyber security training platform that simplifies the setup and deployment of isolated virtual environments, making advanced training accessible to all.
IB Data Governance and Cybersecurity aims to support and advise industries in the development and management of data, AI, and cyber security platforms.
IoTSec provides a solution for IoT devices using distributed machine learning to detect and respond to threats in real-time, aiming to protect critical infrastructure.
Jordan Reid is safeguarding the internet for over 65s with a security subscription service that protects users across all devices by blocking harmful data transfers.
LeapTronX wants to build a marketplace and broker trust that brings security professionals and the organisations together.
Meta 1st is transforming the human element from a vulnerability into a strength with AI-driven solutions that empower employees to identify and mitigate cyber threats.
Muskan Rajput and Muskan Kapoor aim to revolutionise cyber security by leveraging AI and machine learning to provide real-time detection and prevention solutions.
Nate Dunning is working on a security asset management tool that detects and categorises applications in a way that doesn’t require a team of experts to maintain.
Project 44 aims to protect the online food distribution network against unsafe/contaminated foods.
RespondLess provides automated, real-time incident response plans that are cost-effective and time-efficient for small and mid-sized enterprises.
Risu helps security teams to listen effectively and present qualitative data through tailored workshops and focus groups to improve evaluation and communication.
SecuFog addresses the critical need for enhanced security in smart transportation, as cities rely more on IoT devices for traffic management and public safety.
Sudhanshu Goyal wants to enhance multi-factor authentication by incorporating behavioral biometrics.
Svalinn Security Solutions is an AI-powered access control and sensitive data discovery software to identify files within a network the user doesn’t have permission to access.
Threat X automates ISO 21434 compliance, cutting threat analysis and risk assessment process time from five weeks to three days, reducing costs by 90%.
VeriIdentity is a blockchain-based digital identity platform designed to streamline know your customer processes and save company resources and time.
Ziafam Oras is an optimised risk assessment solution designed to reduce the turnaround time in conducting risk assessment.
Fostering collaboration is at the heart of what we do at Plexal. Therefore, community and peer networking are integral components of delivering Cyber Runway, as we bring ambitious innovators together in an ecosystem that promotes shared progress.
This means that once businesses and leaders graduate from our programme, they enter our alumni community through which we remain in contact to celebrate their wins and provide ongoing opportunities.
So, for the mentoring portion of the Cyber Runway Launch Bootcamp, we were delighted to welcome back six Cyber Runway Ignite leaders, who detailed the value of community and tactics for overcoming challenges, sharing these words of wisdom for budding entrepreneurs.
Abu Sayed, Director at Daintta, the cyber security consultancy
“Being part of the Cyber Runway alumni has been brilliant for my company. Personally, it’s given me a lot of skills, tools and techniques that’s helped our organisation grow. More broadly, being part of the Plexal community is fantastic – it’s one of the few that’s actually unique. The team has curated a community of like-minded yet very diverse organisations, which can come together to solve some of the most complex challenges we face in society today. It’s a pleasure being part of that.
“While on the programme, I realised it’s important for us to pay it forward as people took time out of their day to share their experiences and knowledge with us, which was really helpful. That’s what makes Cyber Runway different – it’s not just theory, you’re learning from live experiences. As a company, we’ve grown significantly over the last 18 months and a lot of that is down to the foundations we got from the programme. It’s only right that I came back and shared some of my experiences with the next crop of founders.”
Ben Graville, CEO and co-founder at Visible, which empowers people to see their digital self
“Entrepreneurship is like a big game of snakes and ladders and I’ve learned a lot of things the hard way. If I can help founders find the ladders and remove the snakes, that’s a positive outcome for coming back to act as a mentor.
“It doesn’t feel like I’m part of the Cyber Runway alumni because the programme feels like it’s continued. We have a WhatsApp group, in which everyone helps each other and I still speak to everybody at least once a week, having accessed a great set of people who I never would have met otherwise.”
Chris Clinton, CTO and co-founder at Naq Cyber, the security and data compliance solution
“Cyber Runway Ignite really connected us with likeminded founders in a safe environment and it was valuable to have exposure to VCs, so giving back through mentorship feels like a responsibility. One piece of advice I’d give to an early-stage founder is: no-one cares about your product – speak to customers to find their pain and build a product to solve it.
“We’ve been involved with Plexal for several years, which has helped accelerate our growth, while the networking has been amazing. We’ve secured numerous opportunities through flexible support and connections we’ve made. Looking ahead, we’re growing incredibly quickly and expect to be the default compliance solution for digital health in the next two years.”
George Dunlop, Director of Partnerships and co-founder at Quantum Dice, which provides a quantum random number generator for trusted cyber security
“A lot of accelerators focus on the company but Ignite was so supportive of us as individual founders, which allowed us to develop as a peer group of friends, so I really wanted to give engage with people at the idea formation stage of their business journey.
“We’re going strong at Quantum Dice and really delivering capability for customers, so I’m really excited to see that expand in the security we use for our digital keys. My advice to founders is to focus on your ask; what is the next step and what are you looking for to validate your hypothesis or theory?”
Mayur Upadhyaya, CEO and co-founder of APIContext, which offers end-to-end visibility across the API landscape
“Participating in Cyber Runway has formed what feels like a lifelong support network. Having good revenue and amazing customers, where we are now compared to where we were upon joining Cyber Runway Grow is totally different and having received so much support from Plexal and the programme, it feels nice to contribute back to the ecosystem.
“I often ask people ‘Who’s the buyer of your product?’ Usually, the response is ‘That’s a great question, I hadn’t thought about that.’ So, helping people navigate the challenges they’ll face is very fulfilling. Anyone with an enterprise proposition should be understand it’s super-competitive right now, so find I recommend they start with distribution immediately – find partners and marketplaces that can provide support.”
Shelley Langan-Newton, CEO of SQR, the identity verification platform
“Being part of the Cyber Runway and Plexal ecosystem has been incredible. The saddest part of leaving Ignite was feeling like it was over – until I was quickly informed that it was just the beginning of the next chapter with the alumni. Remaining in contact with the other five members from my cohort has been the sprinkling of moondust on top of the knowledge I gained within the programme itself.
“I believe you can’t just take from a community – you must give back. If I’ve learned things I can pass on and help someone to avoid mistakes, or connect people within my network, I’m more than happy to do that.
“My one piece of advice for an early-stage founder is to be curious; asking the right question at the right time can just spark that thing you didn’t realise you needed to know and having an open mind to it is just invaluable.”
