Startup of the Day: Talsec, a Ukrainian-founded security company

Founded by Sergiy Yakymchuk, Talsec is a B2B startup that offers Components for App Developers (SDK) that act as a security agent within mobile apps, protecting them from threats like Reverse Engineering, Malwares, and Rooted devices. Currently, the startup’s team consists of 12 people, expecting to grow up to 20-25 in the next 12 months. Recently, the startup has received an investment of €1.1 million from Dig Ventures and DEPO Ventures.

In the Startup of the Day column, the founder of Talsec Sergiy Yakymchuk, shares the details about the startup’s idea, its product, and the future plans.

The Startup of the Day column on AIN is dedicated to tech projects from all sectors that originate from the CEE countries. If you would like to introduce your project, please fill in the questionnaire.

Tell us about your startup. How does it work?

Talsec is B2B startup that offers Components for App Developers (SDK) that act as a security agent within mobile apps, protecting them from threats like Reverse Engineering, Malwares, Rooted devices and many more. We address the needs of FinTechs and other mobile first businesses helping them to pass penetration testing, comply with best practices and security requirements regulators.

How did you come up with the startup’s idea? What was the reason/motivation behind it?

I always wanted to be a player on the global stage. This is my battle field against “bad guys”. The experience from my previous work still serves as a basis for me to more easily uncover the pain points of the financial industry, the key concerns of a typical CTO of a digital bank or the owner behind investment apps.

We decided to enter the market with a product that offers protection for mobile-first businesses, with an initial focus on fintechs. We want Talsec, with its freemium toolkit, to become standard for developers needing to ensure the security of their applications and their users. This year, we are on track to multiply our audience and revenue and significantly expand awareness of our products within the developer community,

How long did it take to reach the prototype or MVP? What did you encounter?

Talsec is a spin-off from the middle size Czech security vendor company based in Zlin Monet+. This technology has over 5 years of evolution and efforts of best security engineers, that gave this product necessary level of maturity to address needs of financial sector.

Our business model is innovative and it is based on deep understanding of the needs of fast paced mobile first companies. We managed to distyle the focus customer segment and package the value proposition so that it is affordable and contains what really matters for teams to get a quick win solution for security compliance.

When exactly did you launch your product? Or when the launch is planned?

The first Freemium packed SDK called freeRASP was released in October 2021.

Tell us about the startup’s business model. How do you monetize your product?*

We have B2B product led growth model i.e. we allow Freemium usage. Companies prefer to experiment with freeRASP. We have pretty generous Fair Usage Policy conditions. Free version has architecture security limitations and some restrictions. When the App becomes valuable and require SLA, businesses consider buying the version.

What are your target markets and consumers?

Among our clients are: FinTechs, Neo-banks, Payment apps, Investment apps, Gaming, Retail Loyalty, eCommerce and Streaming apps. Everywhere where security matters.

If the startup has already launched the product, what are the results: metrics, income, or any clear indicators that can be evaluated.

We approached the break even point. Our revenue tripled during the year and community of freemium users shows the steady growth. We have closed the round and we are now actively preparing for the accelerating and scaling.

What about your team? How many people are working in the startup? If you’re looking for new employees, indicate whom exactly.

We are currently have a team of about 12 people and we expect to grow up to 20-25 during next 12 months.

Have you already raised any investments? Provide us with more details on each funding round: the amount, investors, the purpose of the investment.

Recently, we have received an investment of €1.1 million in the first round from London-based Dig Ventures and Czech DEPO Ventures. This funding is intended to accelerate our penetration into the global market and support further development.

What’s next? Tell us about your future plans.

We are working to become a first choice building block for the App issuers where security matters. Our goal is to be known by FinTech CTOs or Heads of Mobile Devs as quick win solution how to reach the compliance and set the necessary security baseline.