Startups Need to Cyber Up as Early as Pre-Seed!
Startups Need to Cyber Up as Early as Pre-Seed!
10 Cyber Takeaways for Early-Stage Startups to Win New Customers
You start with a great idea, a talented team, and a sharp market fit. You decide to launch a startup venture to fulfill this passion. Fun!
If you just got started—congrats! You’re in the Pre-Seed stage.
As early as this stage may be, here are our top cybersecurity decisions you should be making to set yourself apart from the crowd and grow your appeal to venture capitalists and customers alike!
Create a Security and Privacy Policy
Creating a security and privacy policy for your company and adding it to your website will position you as a mature organization that takes security risks seriously. This shouldn’t be a pricey task—consider seeking direction from AI tools.Scan Your Code With SAST and SCA Tools
It’s a small effort that allows you to spot security issues early in development. You can use a free tier from vendors like Snyk or CodeQL from GitHub.Mind Your Tech Components’ Licenses
Read and understand the licenses shipped with each library you use. Some licenses are “copyleft,” meaning you can only use the library in your product if you also publish your own code. Different licenses have different implications. You can find a comparison here.Invest in Secure Architecture
Architecture wraps your entire solution: all your code reuses the same components repeatedly. If you’ve designed a secure architecture, you reduce the chance of security flaws creeping in. Set your defaults to a secure state, require authentication for your app (except the auth app, which is better to manage separately), always use secure communication protocols (encryption in motion), enable disk/database encryption (encryption at rest), and rely on mature, well-maintained libraries.Leverage PaaS to Focus on Your Core Product
PaaS technologies from major vendors offer ongoing maintenance and a high level of security. Don’t get bogged down with infrastructure upgrades and hardening—pour your energy into building the best product possible.Stay Aware of Compliance, Privacy, and Regulations
You don’t have to implement every requirement from Day 1, but keep these in mind to inform your decisions. For example, if you deal with health data, read HIPAA. For payments, check PCI-DSS. If you hold personal information, be aware of GDPR. And if you aim to work with enterprises, be prepared for eventual SOC 2 or ISO 27001 requests.Mono-Repo vs. Multi-Repo
When I started my own venture, our team debated which was best. A mono-repo keeps everything in one place and doesn’t require version synchronization, while a multi-repo approach allows better segregation of access, reduces commits per repo, and makes changes more trackable. From a security standpoint, choose the multi-repo approach.Secure Your CI/CD and Cloud Infrastructure
If you’re a startup in 2025, you likely use a lot of SaaS solutions like GitHub, Jira, and Slack in your CI/CD pipeline. You give them access to your code, so do periodic reviews of your core assets to identify any unauthorized access. Review who has access and reduce it to the minimum required. Your production environment is likely in the cloud, where customer data resides—verify that you don’t expose assets to public access, ensure your IAM is well-managed with personal accounts, manage your access keys, and enable MFA.Lock Down Your Workspace
You’re probably using Google Workspace or Office 365, both of which offer solid security controls. At a minimum, enable MFA and be careful when sharing documents.Get a Cybersecurity Friend
You’ll make a lot of decisions that can affect your security and compliance. Having someone who knows cybersecurity can save you time, money, and potential headaches. The right advice at the right time can promote your business and prevent costly mistakes.
You’re taking your first steps into your venture. You’ll face countless business and technological decisions, so stay focused on what matters. Create something unique—let others worry about the rest!
Sergei Penchuk