Meet April Pitch Presenter #1: Greg Edwards of CryptoStopper, Detecting + Stopping Ransomware

Apr 12

Two angel investing group executives with whom we’ve done deals in the past suggested I take a look at CryptoStopper. What impressed them also impressed me. The CEO, Greg Edwards is an experienced entrepreneur and leader with a good track record. He’s taken three companies to liquidity events. His people are very loyal, following him from one company to the next. His current company, CryptoStopper, is on trend and has impressive traction. The VisionTech Screening Committee was also impressed with what Greg’s doing so we invited him to present at our April virtual pitch events. Here’s a preview.

BP: You’re based in Iowa. How did you hear of VisionTech Angels?
GE: Raising capital, you have to look beyond your backyard. I’ve been working closely with Frontier Angels in Bozeman, Montana, and NO/LA Angels in New Orleans, securing $860,000 toward our $1.5 million raise. They suggested I speak with VisionTech Angels and made the introduction.

BP: Tell me about your company and how it came to be. What unmet need did you see?
GE: I’ve been in the managed service provider (MSP) space for almost 25 years. Since 1998, I’ve owned WatchPointIT, reselling off-the-shelf security solutions. At the same time, I founded and successfully exited Axis Backup, an offsite backup company. I saw firsthand the rise of ransomware events happening in the backup space. Ransomware attacks accounted for 15% percent of all cyber attacks in the United States in 2018, and almost every business, government entity, university, healthcare system, and utility company are targets. I realized that backup was a horrible last line of defense against ransomware. CryptoStopper was created to stop the unnecessary destruction and chaos caused by ransomware. 

BP: How are you solving your market’s pain point?
GE: CryptoStopper solves the pain of ransomware attacks by stopping actively running ransomware that gets past traditional cybersecurity tools. CryptoStopper software tool literally shuts down active ransomware attacks in milliseconds, preventing the attack from encrypting  anything beyond “bait” files. This limits costs incurred by customers due to server down time, tracing the attack, restoring backup files, and paying ransoms to recoup data. If it sounds like a nightmare, it is. Best to avoid it with CryptoStopper.

BP: How large is your addressable market?
GE: Currently there are about 42,000 MSPs in the United States with a total addressable market of $252 million in annual recurring revenue. The mid-market and enterprise business represents another, larger opportunity down the road.

CryptoStopper

BP: What is your traction to date?
GE:  For a young company, we’ve been strong out of the gate. We already have 94 MSP partners, more than 14,000 license in use and annual recurring revenue of $300,000. March was our best month to date with 21 new MSP partners. Our goal is to have 2,000 by the end of 2024.

BP: What is your revenue model?
GE: Simple and sticky: SaaS in the form of perpetual monthly recurring licenses sold to MSPs.

BP: Do you have any competitors and if yes, what is your competitive advantage?
GE: There are competitors entering the space. Our advantage is ease of deployment and configurability along with being a separate point product that can’t be stopped by the ransomware attackers. Also, we’re targeting small- and mid-size organizations , a market segment that’s relatively untapped. These entities have fewer resources, less infrastructure and many remote workers, which make their needs unique. They tend to outsource their cybersecurity solutions to a third-party MSP.

BP: Do you have any IP protection?
GE: We filed a provisional patent in March 2021 to protect trade secrets related to our detection algorithm; however, it has not been completed due to concerns the application may give away our competitive advantage. We have put in place Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreements with all founders, employees, and consultants. We’re also planning  to keep our techniques, algorithms, and strategies as trade secrets.

BP: What raise is this?
GE: This is our seed round. We have about $640,000 to raise before the round closes.

BP: How do you plan to use the funds?
GE: Primarily on sales and marketing. We want to expand our lead generation as we are ready to scale.

BP:  Please give three reasons why VisionTech Angels should invest in your company?
GE: I have four reasons! he opportunity and growth potential for CryptoStopper as an anti-ransomware cybersecurity company is massive and perfectly timed. The leadership team taking CryptoStopper to market is experienced and has an exceptional understanding of launching a product within the MSP space. We plan to supplement our leadership team with a board of directors that will include industry experts in cybersecurity and SaaS. Next, the scalability of the business is built-in using Azure Apps. Finally, with a 98 percent retention rate of customers and the ability to add thousands of additional MSP partners with limited additional resources, CryptoStoppers growth potential is exponential.

BP: Sounds great! Thank you.
GE: My pleasure.

To learn more about CryptoStopper, visit  their website or listen to this podcast. VisionTech Angels’ March Pitch Events will be virtual on Thursday, April 28 at Noon ET and at 6 p.m. ET. Pitch events are open to our members and accredited investors interested in joining our group. To register, check your email for an invitation, go to our Events page or email Ben Pidgeon at bpidgeon@visiontech-partners.com.