Cyber M&A · Diligence · Value creation

We have built, scaled, and sold cybersecurity companies. Now we do it for your portfolio.

SME Cybersecurity is a team of cyber and identity founders and operators who help private equity and growth investors pick the right targets, de-risk the deal, and create value after close.

Carlyle
Led the sale of ICSynergy International to The Carlyle Group (2021).
Global M&A
Headed worldwide M&A at iC Consult, the Carlyle-backed identity platform.
200+/yr
Delivery leadership behind 200+ professional services projects a year at Okta.
30+ yrs
Founder and operator experience across cybersecurity, identity, and telecom.
Why SME

Operators on your side of the deal, not generalists.

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.

Why we built SME →


How we engage

Four ways we plug into the deal lifecycle.

Scoped engagements with a clear deliverable, built for the speed of a live process.

Pre-deal

Commercial & technical diligence

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.

When: evaluating a target, on IC timelines.
Post-close

Cyber value creation

Sector-specific value creation for cybersecurity and identity portfolio companies: positioning, product roadmap, packaging, and competitive differentiation tied to the investment thesis.

When: sharpening a cyber or identity portfolio company. For cross-sector commercial-execution and GTM work, see Growth Partners.
Sourcing & integration

M&A targeting & integration

Thesis-driven target identification, market mapping, and bolt-on sourcing, then post-merger integration that actually captures the synergy across technology, leadership, and operations.

When: building a platform or executing a roll-up.
Fractional leadership

Operating bench on demand

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: a portfolio company has a leadership gap.

See the full advisory framework →

A joint practice · with Fortis Innovators

“Most portfolio companies have a growth strategy. Few have a commercial system capable of executing it.”

Alicia Dietsch · Fortis Innovators

Growth Strategy & Commercial Execution Partners

A joint practice with Alicia Dietsch, who led commercial operations at AT&T Business ($35B B2B). Board-level standing to challenge the growth plan, and the operational specificity to hold management to it, in one engagement.


Track record

What it looks like when it works.

Anchor engagement

ICSynergy International → The Carlyle Group

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.

2021
Acquisition by Carlyle
IAM
Pure-play specialization
Founder-led
Built and exited
Who we work with

Built for investors in the cyber and identity sector.

Private equity

Platform and bolt-on diligence, value-creation planning, and integration for control investors building in cybersecurity and identity.

Growth & venture

A technical and commercial read on earlier-stage cyber companies, plus GTM and scaling support for portfolio founders.

Investment banking

Sector expertise and operator perspective to support sell-side positioning and buy-side target assessment.

Considering a cyber investment?

Get an operator's read before you commit.

We work with a select group of sponsors. If the situation fits, a short conversation tells us both.