DARE #4 - Adrien Gendre - CPO @Hornet Security
Oct 6, 2025
Sometimes, we meet people who inspire us. Who make us believe that another approach is possible. Who draw us into their energy.
“DARE.” is the series of optimists. Those who have the courage and creativity to continuously reinvent our businesses and daily lives.
Immerse yourself in the universe, the strategy, and the methods of those who are making changes.
Strong personalities for concrete interviews.
In a hurry? The 3 concrete insights from this article:
If you feel excitement AND fear, it means you are taking a step up. You have to go for it.
Innovation comes from freedom and proximity to customers, not from processes: understand the uses before structuring.
Authenticity and movement are keys to leadership: stay true, lead by example, and never become stagnant.
The discussion
Let’s start from the beginning. How did you get into Cyber?
It wasn’t a plan; it was mainly a meeting. Unlikely, no less. To put you in context, I was 22 at the time and had just finished my apprenticeship. At that moment, I received my first permanent job offer; attractive and in line with what I was looking for. However, I remembered that I had been advised to always look for a lever to negotiate, so I mechanically began to search for an alternative without any particular expectations.
My research led me to two opportunities. The first in a consulting IT firm in the upscale areas of Paris. I was impressed by the rigor of the recruitment process but was left with doubts about the cultural fit.
And a second opportunity in a new company run by a multi-entrepreneur, George Lotigier. The job listing required a good command of English and email SMTP protocol; I had neither. (Laughter)
But the founder's background intrigued me, so I dug deeper. I asked friends working at one of his other companies, and one of them said something that stuck with me: “You should go; this guy is an adventure.” So I declined the lead from the posh company and also said no to the first comfortable offer. I chose to work in a company of 24 people. In hindsight, I clearly made the right choice.
The interview turned into a fascinating 4-hour discussion, during which he explained to me how a publisher operates, his distribution network, and many other aspects of business I knew nothing about back then. At the end of the interview, he asked me to reflect. I asked him for feedback. He said, “For me, it’s OK.” I was stunned. A multi-entrepreneur telling me, a young person from a very modest family in Charente-Maritime, that he wanted me to join the company from the very first meeting… I jumped in.
What do you think he saw in you?
I imagine he sensed someone whole-hearted who would take ownership of the company's challenges.
And it’s true that right from the start, I dove headfirst into the business. I started in pre-sales, as a product manager and technical account manager, managing major strategic accounts. However, in my first year, we found ourselves at risk of losing a very big client. It happened during the summer vacation; I spent my days on calls trying to improve technical satisfaction. This may seem zealous, but for me, it was normal. I wasn’t questioning it at all. In fact, I wasn’t really promoting it to those around me. We just couldn’t lose the deal; that was all.
In fact, I only think in terms of the objective for the company. If that’s what it needs, that’s what we’ll do. It doesn’t matter how we get there.
More than 10 years later, you are still working together. If I remember correctly, you even went further by partnering, right?
Indeed. Just two years later, George had the opportunity to buy the entire company. He offered me to chip in. Again, context: at that time, I was 23, had no notion of entrepreneurship or corporate finance, and I especially had no money! (Laughter)
Chipping in meant getting into debt with my relatives, including my parents who would confide almost all their savings to me, not to mention the banks. It meant committing to pay them back every month for years. At that age, that’s food for thought.
But there was an environment conducive to it. I felt confident enough to make this decision that might seem irrational. But a phrase from a colleague, Grégoire, who would also become a partner during the same operation, resonated in my mind: “When you feel both excited about something and at the same time afraid to go for it, it means you are stepping up. So you have to go for it.” That’s how we took over the company as a trio.
Did George ever tell you why he wanted to partner with you? It’s not common to see a serial entrepreneur wanting to partner with a 24-year-old.
It’s funny that you ask that, because I’ve wondered about it for a long time. We talked about it not long ago, and he told me: “In a company, there are two types of employees. Those who invest in their job. And those who invest in the company.” Apparently, I belong to the second group.
You have to have a certain personality type to accept to go into debt up to your neck with your relatives and banks at that age. Have you always had a bold temperament? Do you consider it a strength?
I don’t think that way, actually. I don’t make this type of decision rationally; otherwise, the risk weighs too heavily on the decision. I go with my gut and with people I feel comfortable with. The relationship we had already built with George and Grégoire helped a lot.
After that, it’s true that these situations generate stress. But for me, stress is adrenaline and therefore energy. As far as I’m concerned, if there isn’t any, it’s the opposite; something isn't right, there’s a void.
The fact that I’m driven by my gut makes me make decisions based on the excitement of the goal, without really knowing how to achieve it. “I’ll go for it, and I will figure it out later.”
For example, in 2014, the Vade technology was proving itself, but we were in slight decline. We needed to act; we needed to create opportunities and make the brand shine to seek growth. So we decided to set up in Silicon Valley, near San Francisco. Everything was decided in one meeting: I volunteered. I sold my car, gave up my apartment, and took my tickets to the US without a permanent VISA. I was still on ESTA.
It wasn’t without risks, but there was a conference dedicated to emails two months later. We needed to announce the opening of our offices at that time and sign some clients.
And then? Did it happen?
Haha! I was a hair's breadth away from being refused entry to North America, but fortunately, everything was in order, and it went through. (Laughter)
More seriously, I had some minor issues at customs. They were visibly puzzled by the fact that I had a company and a bank account in my name but not the right VISA. Luckily, I hadn’t yet received any income in my US account. I was still a French employee and still on ESTA, so they let me go. In retrospect, it wasn't pleasant, and I'm not sure I would recommend the experience of a 4-hour interrogation.
Be that as it may, it was a major element in the company’s success because only a month later, we started a relationship with Cisco. That led to signing a historic deal with them. And that was made possible by the presence of our office in the USA. If it hadn't been so concrete, locally and in dollars, it would have surely been very different.
Bravo! It must be useful to have someone with such drive in the team. Beyond that, how do your teams describe you?
I think the teams would describe me as demanding, if not stubborn. (Laughter)
Similarly, it's not something I cultivate; I simply think I’m wired to obsess over certain details. I worked hard on it, but at the time, I was bordering on neurosis on graphic details or even on functional choices that seemed minor but were key for me in positioning. I had certain intuitions that needed to be realized.
However, the advantage of reasoning in terms of final objectives without yet having “the how” is that as long as we agree on the finality, I have no attachment to the means of achieving it. I will always be open to a challenge if it allows us to reach our goal more efficiently. This actually invites more creativity. We do not lock ourselves into scenarios. All pathways are open to achieve the goal, and I think the teams appreciate that.
Finally, they might talk about my great love for demos. In fact, it’s my biggest driver. I need to be proud of the product and see the eyes light up in response. That’s what feeds me the most.
I envision every product, every feature, imagining how I will conduct the demo. That’s also why I need to visualize the functionalities by making mockups even before thinking about specifications or functional scopes.
How do you work with someone as radically committed as you? How do you operate in a team?
My style has evolved. Before, I was all about action. Now I’m trying to be more about building. I’m starting to see in hindsight that there is tremendous value in working with the same people over time and building a true relationship.
Only long-term time allows you to achieve true synergy with personalities that are diametrically opposed to yours. It takes time, but it’s very powerful when you reach this stage. After a while, you end up being completely natural at work. You reach a level of full mutual trust with the teams, which allows everyone to be authentic and act more than judge or calculate.
For me, authenticity is absolutely crucial. It’s what allows you to get through tough times. If you're fake, you will inevitably lose the trust of your teams. The day your collaborators wonder whether the company will sink or not, they will look at you. If they feel you're fake, it's already too late.
What are your tactics to motivate your teams?
Beyond constantly reiterating the values of the objective and why we do things, I try to lead by example. I frequently take on the thankless work. It's not even a calculation. We’re focused on the goal; we need to achieve it; we’re all in the same boat. There are things to do; we do them, that’s all.
Also, I’m a big advocate of the small victories policy. It becomes addictive. It helps to initiate a virtuous circle of commitment and result orientation.
So I structure many of the objectives to be achieved into small visible milestones, and I don’t ease up until we reach that little milestone. Once achieved, I have a surge of energy, excitement, warmth that I feel the need to share, which plays a big role in group motivation.
We talked about your qualities. Are there areas where you have room for improvement?
We could talk about it for a while. (Laughter)
But to put it simply, I don’t anticipate very well. I’m very intuitive; I can see where to go, but I sometimes decide without having fully explored how to get there. This can lead to a slight lack of structure that is important for developing complex projects.
For example, I am a CPO, but I’m not sure I can describe all the product methodologies that we use in the team. I could dig deeper and understand it, but some others, in particular, other team members, will be much better than me on this subject. It works because I’m aware of it and I seek out these talents. We’ll come back to that, I think.
In my mind, I have the theory of the cat that always lands on its feet at one point or another. I don't really explain it. But that’s why it’s important for me to work with structured people. The complementarity of profiles allows us to solve all problems. Beyond ambition and obsession with the goal, you also need a team that finds solutions along the way to realize projects. Someone to analyze my operating mode and translate my gut feelings into an efficient process.
It’s not easy at first, but ultimately, that’s how you build winning teams that win often. Achieving the goal becomes the norm. It’s built over time and with complementary people.
On a human level, this nevertheless implies respecting each one’s territories and ways of functioning. If you start to micromanage, you reduce the team's potential to your own potential, and thus limit the team to your weaknesses.
Conversely, giving freedom and building a strong trust relationship brings positive surprises, opportunities, and things you hadn’t thought of. That’s how the cat lands on its feet against all odds. (Laughter)
It’s incredibly powerful. I’m sure it has been a strong breeding ground for all our innovations.
What do you need to see in an interview to hire a teammate?
To start, I need to get along well with the person. If I can’t imagine going for a drink with them, it won’t work. So I first look at “soft skills.” On this point, I believe that if there’s a doubt, there’s no doubt. I’ve seen too many doubts during recruitment turn out to be true. If we take those doubts into account too late, the organization systematically loses efficiency.
Otherwise, I like my teams to have a certain lucidity about their skills and aspirations. They should have an idea of what they will excel at. That helps build that complementarity. Generally, it also shows a certain modesty that is crucial in a balanced organization.
Ultimately, it’s when you have people in the right positions that the magic happens. I’ve seen people perform poorly in one role and become excellent in another.
So I look for people who have already done this introspection work. They will deliver faster and thrive more quickly in their role. It also helps lighten the managerial load in favor of the company's objectives since you ensure you have people who shine right from the start in their positions.
Do you have mentors or role models?
I don’t have a mentor per se. I don’t really believe in modeling oneself after a personality that isn’t yours. However, I constantly learn from others, whether through actions I see or phrases I hear. More often than not, this comes from peers or the teams themselves.
I think notably of my colleague Grégoire, whom I mentioned earlier. We traveled around the world together for conferences and trade shows. Once, we were in Philadelphia for a very significant prospect. He calls another important prospect who is based in Seattle. It’s just the other end of the United States. He says to them: “We’re in Seattle. Can we meet?”
And guess what? They agreed, so after the meeting, we changed plans: we were no longer going home; we bought tickets to Seattle. I loved the boldness and the idea that “the objective is a priority over logistical issues.” (Laughter)
It’s many small moments like that, details or phrases like the one about excitement and fear, that hit me and inspire me daily.
Incredible! Now, if we talk a little strategy, Vade has been through impressive trials. Every company has ups and downs, but Vade has faced significant challenges due to its international presence. To me, it’s a great example of resilience. What are the best practices for staying the course during a storm?
The basis is to be authentic, as we said earlier. You need to be from the start. It’s pointless to try to become authentic when things get tough. Without authenticity, communication is disastrous.
Then, a major principle: always keep moving. You must never remain still. The worst during a crisis is when the troops abandon ship out of fear. People only make that decision when there's immobility or a lack of visibility about what’s next. As humans, we are wired to speculate about the answers, and generally, it’s in a negative manner.
By being in motion, we accomplish two very powerful things:
We focus on the goal, we achieve satisfactions, so the brain is less occupied with negative speculation.
We progress, so results arrive, which improves the overall sentiment and alleviates the crisis.
This is true in times of crisis, but also when going through an acquisition.
Staying in motion. 100% aligned. That said, it’s not always easy when you don’t know where you’re going. How do you plan for the long term?
We mainly purposefully avoid doing so! (Laughter)
I’m joking; it’s important to have structure, but I believe that one of the keys to success lies in the ability to remain opportunistic. All the best decisions we’ve ever made for the company were based on an intuition, a hunch, or an opportunity.
I’m convinced that locking ourselves into rigid processes or plans can kill a company. It’s been said that the difficulties Nike is facing right now are mainly due to this overly pushed ROI culture they have.
This may work when building a production machine that runs smoothly in a stagnant market, but when it comes to creativity, I’m convinced it bogs things down. It kills the connection with the customer. It removes all emotion from the approach. So it kills innovation.
Therefore, we need a vague direction, have a culture that generates opportunities, and know how to seize them and change course when needed. I think investors know this very well. That’s why they tend to bet more on the entrepreneur than on the project itself.
Speaking of innovation: how do you lead it on the product side?
First and foremost, I find it important to clearly differentiate between technological innovation and product innovation.
Technology addresses systemic problems. For example, there are too many cyber threats; we will develop technology to address that.
Product innovation, on the other hand, meets a need. It can be the necessity for employees of a company to intuitively protect their assets at a controlled cost. We will, therefore, create a product that incorporates technology and an experience that meets that need.
Unlike technological innovation, which addresses a problem and is often based on research, product innovation is about having an idea that responds to a need.
For a product innovation, I believe strongly in the spontaneity of the idea in a context where it can emerge. This echoes what I just said, but while leaving room for creativity and ensuring that there aren’t too many processes in place. It’s important to delineate major themes to provide direction to thinking while allowing time for maturation. We exchange a lot and, above all, we are very close to customers. It’s through discussions that ideas arise.
A very important point too is to stay close to the company’s technological departments and discuss regularly with them to know what is happening or will happen. The principle of an innovation is rarely a pure creation. It’s often two things we connect that together create new value and respond to a need.
In this context, it’s vital to have a culture that doesn’t just limit itself to applying customer feedback. If all publishers operated like that, the market would be completely homogeneous. If we want to differentiate through innovation, we need to try to understand the customer’s usage and be proactive with proposals.
What recommendation would you have for the Product Owners reading this?
I would say two things.
The first: innovation doesn’t have to be expensive. For example, we regularly conduct “product runs” as a team. The goal is simple: we give ourselves an afternoon to identify everything we can modify to make the product better. But two conditions: it must be quick and inexpensive. Redesigning the page is already too much. We consistently find improvements and sometimes details that transform the usage or even the positioning of the product.
The second: there are features for which people will use your product and others for which they will buy it. We need to be aware of that, and it’s not always the same. So we need to plan for “cool” functionalities that wouldn’t have made the cut in a ROI-driven process.
Moreover, these are often features that are not expensive to develop. But it’s enough that they are relevant and differentiating to change the product’s image and thus increase sales. That’s why we always have “the demo experience” in mind from the conception of a new feature. Every feature has its share of emotion that it must communicate.
Adrien, this has been extremely rich. Thank you very much for this exchange. I will finish with my two final traditional send-off questions: in a context where some consider that technology is taking over our lives, do you consider yourself optimistic for the future?
I would say yes, but under certain conditions. (Laughter)
Historically, the world has been punctuated by breakthrough innovations that did not find their audience at the beginning. Take electricity, for example. At first, it was seen as a devastating heresy, a death innovation. Ultimately, electricity isn’t so bad! (Laughter)
I think that with the rise of Generative AI, we are simply going through this phase of structural rejection. That said, we must be cautious.
What worries me most is the fact that Humanity is sacrificing its capacity for learning and reasoning in favor of LLMs. The day we stop learning to reason for ourselves, through effort, and learn through effort, too, we have lost.
And given the importance society places on comfort versus effort, that’s not going to be easy. My conviction is that it will be up to parents and families to ensure a certain standard regarding the intellectual learning of children. If society takes this issue seriously, the State and politicians will follow. The advantage is that it avoids blaming others; we can start with ourselves. (Laughter)
And finally, a piece of advice you would give to your “You” from 10 years ago?
I would tell him to stay the course. Many times, I doubted. Turbulence is part of the game. And also, not to underestimate the importance of one’s circle. It’s what carries you when times are tough.