SME Cybersecurity is a team of cyber and identity founders and operators who help private equity and growth investors before and after they invest, from sourcing and diligence on a target through value creation after close.
Most cyber diligence is run by analysts who have never carried a number, shipped a product, or integrated an acquisition. We have.
Every principal has founded or led a cybersecurity or identity business, owned a P&L, and lived through the transactions that follow. We have sold a company to a global private-equity leader, run worldwide M&A for the category leader in identity, and built and scaled professional services organizations at Okta, Tealium, and beyond.
That means we read a target the way an operator does: where the product really sits, whether the go-to-market actually scales, what integration will cost, and where the value is hiding. Pattern recognition you can only get from having done it.
“Most portfolio companies have a growth strategy. Few have a commercial system capable of executing it.”
Alicia Dietsch · Fortis InnovatorsA joint practice of Fortis Innovators and SME Cybersecurity, with Alicia Dietsch, former commercial operations lead for AT&T Business ($35B B2B). For PE portfolio companies whose growth plan is outrunning their commercial system.
Scoped engagements with a clear deliverable, built for the speed of a live process.
An operator's read on a cyber or identity target: product maturity and defensibility, go-to-market scalability, competitive position, customer concentration, and technical debt. We pressure-test the thesis before you commit capital.
Sector-specific value creation for cybersecurity and identity portfolio companies: positioning, product roadmap, packaging, and competitive differentiation tied to the investment thesis.
Thesis-driven target identification, market mapping, and bolt-on sourcing, then post-merger integration that actually captures the synergy across technology, leadership, and operations.
Fractional CISO, CTO, and COO support for portfolio companies that need senior cyber and operating muscle without a full-time hire, including board-ready reporting.
When the gap is commercial execution rather than cyber-sector strategy, our sister practice with Fortis Innovators turns the growth plan into a commercial system that delivers.
Built ICSynergy into a top-tier identity and access management advisory firm, then led the process that ended in its acquisition by The Carlyle Group in 2021. Operator-led growth, positioned and sold to one of the world's leading private-equity investors.
Platform and bolt-on diligence, value-creation planning, and integration for control investors building in cybersecurity and identity.
A technical and commercial read on earlier-stage cyber companies, plus GTM and scaling support for portfolio founders.
Sector expertise and operator perspective to support sell-side positioning and buy-side target assessment.
We work with a select group of sponsors. If the situation fits, a short conversation tells us both.
