Portland cybersecurity startup raises another $3.35M to fund growth
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Rob Simopoulos is co-founder of the Portland-based cybersecurity firm Defendify.
Defendify, a Portland-based cybersecurity provider that works with small businesses, closed a $3.35 million venture capital funding round to finance further growth.
Existing investor Maine Venture Fund led the round with participation from current investors 3dot6 Ventures, York IE, Maine Technology Institute, FreshTracks Capital, and Wasabi Ventures, with new investment from Coastal Ventures and Opus Ventures.
Defendify said it will use the funding to accelerate go-to-market strategies, product development and add to its team, which has nearly doubled from 23 in early 2020 to 40 today.
Over the past couple of years, Defendify has brought on Mark Sunday, former chief information officer at Oracle Corp., as a senior advisor; digital transformation and marketing expert Emily Carville as chief marketing officer; and SaaS business development expert John Mayfield as director of sales.
"We’re thrilled that this new round of capital enables us to continue building our suite of solutions, increase exposure in the market, and grow our team to bring the Defendify platform to those who need it most," said Rob Simopoulous, who founded the company in 2017 with Andrew Rinaldi.
Defendify, featured in a 2018 Mainebiz list of 10 Maine startups to keep an eye on, has raised $6.7 million to date in three funding rounds. Previous rounds include $1.69 million raised in 2019 and $2 million raised in 2020.
Hiring plans
Simopoulos told Mainebiz that the company is currently hiring in sales, customer support and product development.
Asked about any hiring challenges, he said, "I feel we are having great success finding talented team members to join our team."
He also pointed to the company's flexible work culture and hybrid work environment as pluses, noting, "The fact that our team can work remotely or in Maine is dramatically expanding our talent pool. We are building a Maine company with team members living locally and nationally."
Defendify aims to offer growing businesses, usually those with small information technology teams and under 1,000 employees, a cybersecurity solution that’s simple, affordable, flexible and scalable and aligns with regulatory, compliance and cyber insurance needs.
Defendify is one of 30 companies in the current portfolio of Maine Venture Fund, which invests in dynamic businesses that have the potential for significant impact and growth in Maine.
“Defendify is building a robust and comprehensive cybersecurity platform that is a fit for small and midsized organizations with limited IT resources,” said Joe Powers, Maine Venture Fund's managing director. “We’re excited to be working with the team, and it’s clear Defendify’s leadership is well-positioned to continue their impressive growth, including significant impact here in Maine and beyond.”
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