June 12, 2024

dope.security Unplugged with CEO and Founder Kunal Agarwal

28 minutes

He’s fashionable, creative, and the dopest CEO/founder…he’s Kunal Agarwal of dope.security, the Fly Direct Secure Web Gateway! The hosts and Kunal unpack his unique journey and unique approach to GTM - from his time at Symantec and Forcepoint, to the inspiration behind the fashion-forward branding of dope.security, to the importance of design and user experience in cybersecurity products. The chat also goes into some seriously cool marketing strategies, the magic of organic growth, and why Kunal's team prefers keeping things flat and friendly. If you're looking for ways to be dope in cybersecurity, well then this episode is made for you!

[03:00] Journey into Cybersecurity

Kunal’s interest in cybersecurity began in childhood, even leading to a near brush with jail.

[05:15] Experiences at Symantec and Forcepoint

From engineer to product manager and leader, he talks about valuable lessons learned at Symantec and Forcepoint.

[07:30] Starting dope.security

He shares his initial reluctance to start a company and how his dream of working at Symantec led to founding dope.security.

[11:00] Global UX and Design

Discussing the universal importance of good UX, he explains how dope.security prioritizes user-friendly designs through collaboration with Erica.

[19:00] CISOs and Cars Getting Coffee

The creative marketing program, inspired by a customer conversation, is explained along with its organic growth and team collaboration.

[21:00] Unique Marketing Strategies

dope.security’s grassroots marketing strategies involve the whole team and avoid traditional executive roles like CMO.

[23:00] The Anti-Executive Philosophy

He talks about the flat hierarchy and the importance of leaders being deeply involved in product details.

[25:00] CEO in a Creative Company

Emphasizing passion and detail-oriented work, he highlights their role in achieving success.

About our guest:

👉Find Kunal on LinkedIn

👉Follow dope.security

Be sure to also follow our hosts on LinkedIn:

👉Gianna Whitver

👉Maria Velasquez

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, or our podcast LinkedIn page, and keep up with us on Twitter.

See you in the next episode!

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