For this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, I asked YL Ventures Partner Andy Ellis (a former CISO) about his approach to storytelling, tactics for founder-led sales and marketing, and why he thinks the cybersecurity hiring challenge isn’t a talent shortage but a market misunderstanding.
We also discussed refining product-market fit, customer discovery methods, and common pitfalls like believing in one's own narrative too strongly. The conversation also touched on hiring strategies, managing design partnerships, and the importance of maintaining humility as a founder.
Andy said storytelling is particularly crucial for cybersecurity startups. When I asked him to define the term, he used a familiar fairy tale as an example:
“‘Don't talk to strangers who approach you on the street.’ That's the message of Little Red Riding Hood, there's nothing more than that. But we have this amazing fanciful tale of everything,” he said.
“Why? Because it captures the imagination of young children. And that's the art of storytelling — you had a message and you put it into a narrative vehicle.”
To build that vehicle, Andy described the framework called The Nine Truths, which identifies essential beliefs a prospect must have to be in the market for your product. “Marketing's job is now crafting the narratives that make those messages true for your prospective buyer,” said Andy.
One of the first steps along that path is identifying your negative Ideal Customer Profile: unqualified buyers you shouldn’t spend time thinking about. “I like the negative ICP,” he said.
“It’s too hard to define who your customer is, but it’s very easy to define who is not your customer.”
RUNTIME 44:15
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
(1:44) Andy describes his day-to-day work at YL Ventures with founders.
(4:08) "It's like you now have an infant, and your only job as a parent is to create a competent adult.”
(6:33) How he prefers to be pitched.
(7:52) ”The art of storytelling is taking a message and putting it in a narrative vehicle.”
(14:38) The biggest storytelling mistakes early-stage founders make.
(17:08) “ The basic entry level skill of reading the room is knowing when somebody already agrees with you.”
(18:50) “ Fear is a hard, hard sale… It's so transparent and CISOs do this every day.”
(19:36) Common cybersecurity GTM missteps.
(21:40) ”The moment that you can sell the same product to two different companies, you should have a sales rep.”
(23:45) How Andy helps founders read the room when they’re trying to make a sale.
(27:20) “ You're hiring really out of a very different pool when you're in the cybersecurity space.”
(29:08) “ Stealth is sort of a misnomer, but we're still sort of stuck in it.”
(30:54) What to say if you want someone to quit their cushy job and join your risky startup.
(32:46) Rock-star hires are “fantastic if they stumble into your lap, but you can't go look for them.”
(35:08) “ That first marketer you hire needs to be able to do a lot of things.”
(39:05) “People with massive egos have a lot of humility.”
(41:20) Trends in cybersecurity and AI he’s excited about in 2025.
LINKS
Thanks for listening!
– Walter.
