DARE #5 - Laurent Hausermann - Co-Founder @CyGo Entrepreneurs

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“Cybersecurity is like a never-ending game of cops and robbers. You’re constantly building defenses while others are busy looking for new ways in.”

Co-founder of CyGO Entrepreneurs, Europe’s first venture studio fully dedicated to cybersecurity, Laurent Hausermann looks back on his journey, his playbook, and shares a few brutally practical lessons every entrepreneur can apply, starting tomorrow.

Laurent, let’s start from the beginning. How did you fall into cybersecurity?

I like to say I fell into it as a kid because I’ve spent my entire career there.

It all started with a second-year internship at ELF in 1999. I was part of a team managing firewalls running on HP-UX stations at the time. My mission was about network monitoring and understanding data flows.

But what really hooked me was the technical depth — figuring out how computers and networks work, layer after layer. That curiosity still drives me today. Cyber is fascinating because it’s both infinitely broad and incredibly deep.

When I finished my degree, most of my classmates went into civil engineering but that just wasn’t me. I joined a new specialization that École des Mines d’Alès launched with Telecom Paris, diving into IT, telecom, and software. That’s when I first got into topics like PKI certificates and strong authentication, which were big security issues at the time.

I even dedicated my final project to cybersecurity and that pretty much set the course.

I guess “cyber” was a very different world back then?

Absolutely. The industry has completely transformed.

Back in the 2000s, it was all about tech and infrastructure — protecting computers.

Today, it’s about protecting jobs, companies, values, even democracy.

We’ve gone from a purely intellectual field to one that’s existential for our societies. That’s what makes it even more thrilling.

Did you always know you’d end up becoming an entrepreneur?

Not at all. It happened gradually through opportunities and people I met.

I started out as an engineer, then became CTO, and later moved into product management — back when “product” barely existed as a discipline. It only really appeared in the U.S. around 2010 and reached France a few years later.

At that time, everything was binary: you either sold or you coded. That was it. (Laughs)

My path kind of followed the evolution of the field. I went from pure tech to marketing learning how to articulate value then to product, understanding use cases and customer outcomes.

In parallel, I climbed the ladder: individual contributor, manager, director, and eventually, founder.

Step by step, each role prepared me for the next even if I didn’t realize it at the time

Was there a specific trigger along the way?

Not one single “aha” moment, more a series of encounters that nudged me in that direction.

I started in a small company that was later acquired by an EADS (Airbus) subsidiary. That’s how I landed at Arkoon, working with an incredible team.

The culture there was purely entrepreneurial. Everyone owned their part of the business. Thierry, our CEO, gave us full autonomy — we learned fast, and we learned a lot.

We had great wins, and also a big industrial setback around 2009. Product quality dropped, clients left, and we had to rebuild from scratch.

Eventually, we did, and by 2011–2012, an acquisition opportunity appeared… ironically from Airbus, bringing me back to where I’d started almost a decade earlier. (Laughs)

But I soon felt the urge to do more. So I went to Thierry and said, “I have an idea, want to join me?”

That’s how Sentryo was born.

By then you’d already seen what entrepreneurship looks like. What were your key strategic convictions when launching Sentryo?

My core belief: think international from day one.

You succeed because you’re global not after.

It’s not just about brand image; it’s about challenging your assumptions. You need to see how the world views your problem, who the real players are, and how distribution actually works.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I took from Arkoon.

Fun fact: Arkoon was founded the same year as Fortinet. By 2005–2006, we were well-established in France — solid customer base, multiple funding rounds, everything looked great.

Then we started expanding abroad, first to Spain and Italy. That’s when reality hit.

People told us, “Your product is great — you’re at the same level as Fortinet. But they’ve been here for two years. My teams are trained, my infrastructure is integrated. Why would I switch?”

The switching costs were just too high.

So with Sentryo, you went international right away?

Exactly. It looked impossible at first, but we decided to be pragmatic.

We blocked two days a month to spend abroad, no excuses. Germany was our first target, especially Munich, since Sentryo focused on industrial cybersecurity.

Some trips we had ten meetings, others just two. We’d walk around events knowing nobody. But little by little, people started recognizing us: “the French guys doing industrial cyber.” (Laughs)

And that’s how it starts.

Later, we expanded to the U.S. and the Middle East (Qatar, UAE), setting up local teams to deepen our footprint.

How long does it really take to establish trust in a new market?

That’s the tough part. In cybersecurity, there’s something called “Time to Trust”, and it’s long.

Winning trust means proving reliability and earning certifications. Because the tech is so specialized, clients rely heavily on external validation.

So yes, sales cycles are long.

To give you a benchmark: we created Sentryo in June 2014, and only in December 2017 did we sign our global partnership with Siemens.

Three and a half years: both short and very long at the same time.

Beyond international expansion, what other big challenges do you see for cyber founders today?

Two, mainly.

• First: user experience.

Even now, many cyber products are just too complex — to deploy, to use, to maintain. We’re way behind the rest of the tech industry there.

• Second: strategic scope.

Can you thrive as a niche player in a niche market, or do you need to become a broader platform?

It depends on your users.

At Sentryo, we faced that early. In 2014, the French government was running a tender for network sensors under the LPM. Initially, we wanted to build a detection probe for industrial networks. But after talking to clients, we realized their pain went far beyond that. So we broadened our positioning — and ironically, it made everything simpler and clearer.

Because at the end of the day, users can’t juggle fifty dashboards.

You need to understand their workflow and cover 80% of their daily needs in one place.

Think of Pennylane, it’s the platform for accountants, period. Or Payfit, imagine it without meal vouchers. It would be absurd. You’d force users to switch tools for something everyone needs. That’s extra integration, extra friction.

Cyber is no different: you need that panoramic view.

Let’s talk a bit about mindset. What personal traits have helped you most along your journey?

I’d say connecting the dots.

I’m good at linking things that, at first glance, have nothing to do with each other.

That’s a superpower when you build companies. You can’t chase 150 ideas at once but if you see the patterns, align initiatives, and merge efforts, you can aim much higher.

It’s like turning a messy knot of threads into a single strong rope.

And on the flip side — what requires the most effort from you?

Patience. (Laughs)

I struggle when things move slower than I’d like. I’ve had to learn, sometimes painfully; that people process decisions at different speeds.

In Europe especially, we tend to pause and reflect a lot more.

I realized that during my four years at Cisco, working closely with Americans.

There, speed is sacred. If you’re two minutes late, people are already checking if you’re alive!

In Europe, we focus on the what and why.

In the U.S., the first question is always when?

It’s just a different operating system.

Do you have an example of where those two mindsets clashed?

Oh yes, integrating our small French startup into Cisco was a crash course in that.

When they acquire you, you commit to stay at least three years: they buy technology and people.

The challenge wasn’t material; conditions were great. The challenge was cultural.

For Americans, when they ask a question, they don’t want a perfect answer, they want an answer now.

Time is the ultimate currency.

If you ask for more time, you’d better deliver exactly when you said you would.

In France, we like to explore deeply and craft the perfect solution. But if that takes two months, an American sees it as disrespect.

Now imagine navigating that daily, bridging 40 people on our side with 30,000 Cisco employees (plus contractors).

You start by delegating to two or three trusted folks, but soon you have to scale that alignment. Everyone needs to understand those cultural codes otherwise, it just doesn’t work.

That sounds intense. How do you personally manage stress and stay resilient?

I practice backcasting instead of forecasting.

Instead of starting from today and mapping the next steps, I picture the end state, where I want to be in two or three years,and then work backward.

It brings clarity, calm, and focus.

Also, I’ve learned to see the glass half full.

In the early days, I was constantly stressed about payroll and fundraising. But perspective helps, we’re in France, there’s a strong safety net, my team is young and employable, we’re creating jobs… that mindset shift changes everything.

Any productivity rituals or daily habits you swear by?

Yes, one big one:

Every six weeks, I block a full day dedicated solely to strategy.

No calls. No emails. No distractions.

Just deep reflection with my cofounders: Where are we heading? Why? What does it imply?

I love those sessions. Conversations sharpen ideas and sometimes, I even have them with ChatGPT. (Laughs)

I’ll go for a walk, dump my thoughts, let it challenge me, then read the synthesis later. It sounds chaotic, but it really crystallizes insights.

Another thing we do at CyGO: we handle exploratory projects only at the founder level.

That keeps the core team focused while still leaving room for innovation.

It means we never have to say “no” to an opportunity — we just explore it ourselves first.

Before we wrap up, how would you describe your leadership style?

Demanding but kind. (Laughs)

That’s feedback I’ve received often.

I push hard, not to question people, but to go deep and build something truly distinctive.

My proudest moments are when former team members tell me how much they grew at Sentryo.

I remember one young graduate in UX who wanted to switch to engineering. We gave her the chance, but with clear expectations:

“Here’s your JavaScript training, here are your mentors, we’ll review in three months. The only condition, your teammates still want to work with you by then.”

She stayed seven years and absolutely thrived.

That’s what “demanding but kind” means to me betting on people’s potential while keeping the execution bar high.

No surprise, excellence is one of CyGO’s core values. It’s what keeps us all pushing forward.

Last question — what advice would you give your 10-years-younger self?

Simplify. And start selling earlier.

That’s something we repeat a lot at CyGO with founders we coach: fight the impostor syndrome.

That voice that says, “We’re not ready yet, we need this feature, that integration…”

Forget it.

You don’t risk much, if you’re smart and leave a good impression, people will take your call again next month.

And the sooner you’re in front of customers, the faster you learn.

That’s the truth: progress lives in the field, not in the lab.

So don’t wait for perfection.

Just launch.