Beauceron Security, a Fredericton company that measures clients’ cybersecurity risks, has been named to the Cyber London accelerator program in the U.K.
Known as CyLon, the accelerator hosts cybersecurity startups from around the world, offering them £15,000 (C$25,600) in investment, work space in London and training sessions with international experts. Beauceron is one of nine participants in the current cohort, and the only Canadian.
Growing out of the University of New Brunswick, Beauceron has developed a cloud-based risk-management platform that monitors the human elements in cyber-risk. In other words, it helps companies and organizations make sure their staff are doing the right things to ensure they are protected against cyber-attacks.
“It’s an honour to be selected along with firms from the U.S., U.K., Sweden and Germany for this highly competitive program,” said Beauceron CEO and co-founder David Shipley. “Being the only Canadian firm in the eighth cohort is not just a nod to what we’ve done so far as a team but also to New Brunswick’s growing national leadership in cybersecurity.”
Some members of the Beauceron team are already in London at the mentorship sessions, which are being delivered by industry specialists and experienced entrepreneurs. Shipley also said the company plans to build links with CyLon’s community of buyers, investors and advisors across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the U.S.
Once the course ends with a Demo Day in November, Beauceron may consider maintaining an office in London to lead its growth in Europe.
CyLon has already successfully accelerated 59 companies since April 2015, and its portfolio of international companies is now valued at more than $343 million. CyLon alumni have created more than 300 jobs and raised over $85 million of follow-on funding since graduating from the program.
In an interview, Shipley said things have been going “phenomenally well” for Beauceron, with more than 40 clients using the product, ranging from 100-person companies to major multi-nationals. The company has now grown to eight team members, and Shipley hopes to hire four more by the end of the year.
He added that the company is already seeing benefits from being selected by CyLon because it helps to validate the company in the eyes of Canadian clients.
Said Shipley: “It’s great for recognition of the fact that we’ve developed some creative and innovative things that people outside of Canada see value in.”