Ten Startup Tips I Wish I Knew
10 Tips I Wish I Knew as a Founder: Lessons from 30 Years in Cybersecurity Startups and Investing
By Ron Gula, Gula Tech Adventures
Starting a company is hard. Scaling it is harder. And doing it without repeating others’ mistakes? That’s nearly impossible—unless you listen. In this blog, I’m writing a letter to my younger self, circa 1997, right before launching my first company, Network Security Wizards. These are the top 10 lessons I wish I had known when starting out—wisdom forged through building companies like Tenable and investing through Gula Tech Adventures.
Whether you're a first-time founder, a serial entrepreneur, or just cyber-curious, these 10 tips are for you.
1. You Don’t Have to Be in Government to Work with Government
When I left the Air Force, I thought the only way to contribute to national defense was by working inside the system—as a military officer or a government employee. What I didn’t realize is that “Beltway Bandits”—private sector contractors—play a huge role in supporting the DOD, NSA, and other federal agencies.
This matters because it opens up career and entrepreneurial paths. You can build a startup that sells to or supports government missions without ever taking an oath or holding a clearance. In fact, sometimes the private path is faster, more flexible, and more lucrative.
Lesson: Don’t assume you need a badge to make a difference in public service. There’s a thriving market for trusted commercial support.
2. There Are Infinite Ways to Sell Software
Early in my career, selling software meant shrink-wrapped CDs at Best Buy. Today, the landscape includes SaaS, open source, subscriptions, community editions, and more. Even in the late ’90s, I got to see companies like USinternetworking hack licensing models—buying cheaper bulk licenses and reselling them as hosted apps before “SaaS” was a thing.
What matters more than your code is how you monetize it. Can customers pay you over time? Will they buy into a service instead of a product? Can you use freemium or trials to grow adoption?
Lesson: A great product without a smart pricing and packaging model will struggle. Experiment, iterate, and adapt.
3. Yes, You Can Work With Your Spouse or Family
When Cindy and I started Network Security Wizards, we got a lot of eyebrow raises: “You’re married? That’s a risk.” But 25 years later, we’ve co-founded multiple companies and an investment firm. We've also seen great sibling-run businesses, parent-child partnerships, and more.
Sure, it comes with challenges. But if you trust the person and communicate transparently—especially with your team—these relationships can be powerful assets.
Lesson: Don’t let tradition dictate your org chart. If you can trust them with your life, you can probably trust them with your startup.
4. Frustration Is a Launchpad
Every successful company I’ve started was born from a moment of frustration. At USinternetworking, I couldn’t modify the intrusion detection rules during an active hack. That pain led me to build Dragon IDS and found Network Security Wizards.
But beware: just because it bugs you doesn’t mean it’s a big enough market. You need to validate whether others feel the same pain—and whether they’re willing to pay for your solution.
Lesson: Startups thrive where passion meets pain—but make sure it’s not just your pain.
5. You Don’t Always Need Venture Capital
Yes, I’ve raised capital. Yes, it helped us scale. But both Network Security Wizards and Tenable were built on tight financial discipline and customer revenue—not massive VC rounds. In fact, most of the money raised at Tenable was secondary—it went to employees, not into the business.
Raising too much too early can dilute your ownership, pressure you into bad decisions, and turn your company into a fundraising treadmill.
Lesson: Capital is a tool, not a trophy. Use it when you need it—don’t chase it to validate your worth.
6. Tech Is Not the Most Important Part of the Business
As an engineer, I used to think good tech would sell itself. It won’t. You need marketing, sales, customer success, legal, HR, product management… the list goes on. Some startups die not because their tech is bad, but because their go-to-market motion, pricing, or customer education fails.
Also, if you can’t describe your product clearly, it’s not going to sell—even if it’s brilliant.
Lesson: You’re building a company, not just a product. Treat every function like it matters—because it does.
7. You Will Have to Pivot—Often
At Network Security Wizards, we failed to pivot into intrusion prevention, and our competitors leapfrogged us. At Tenable, we made major pivots regularly—from audit tools to vulnerability management, from perpetual to subscription licensing, from on-prem to cloud, and more.
Pivots aren’t admissions of failure—they’re signs of maturity. Good founders listen, adapt, and stay one step ahead.
Lesson: Build your team and product like change is inevitable—because it is.
8. Clear, Consistent Communication Is a Superpower
One of the most underrated skills in entrepreneurship is storytelling. At Tenable, I practiced telling the same story—to investors, customers, and staff. What problem are we solving? How do we solve it? What's our proof? What’s the vision?
That repetition created clarity. It made us credible. It made it easier to raise money, close deals, and keep our team aligned.
Lesson: If you can’t pitch your business clearly, you won’t build it clearly.
9. Product Companies Have More Upside Than Services Companies
Services are a great way to build a lifestyle business or self-fund early product development. But they don’t scale easily. You’re limited by headcount. You’re vulnerable to pricing pressure. And you can’t build a billion-dollar valuation by billing hours.
A product company, by contrast, lets you scale infinitely (if you get it right). That’s why so many service firms dream of launching their own platforms.
Lesson: Build a product. Even if you start with services, make the transition early.
10. A Great Team Beats a Lone Genius Every Time
The “army of one” founder is a myth. Even at Network Security Wizards, I succeeded because of Cindy and others. At Tenable, we built a dream team—co-founders, sales leaders, product experts, and engineers who grew the business faster and more sustainably than I ever could alone.
The best startups aren’t solo missions—they’re team sports.
Lesson: Surround yourself with people you trust and who challenge you. Share the spotlight and the struggle.
Final Thoughts
These 10 lessons are personal. They were hard-won. But if you’re starting a company today—especially in cybersecurity, software, or enterprise tech—I hope they save you time, heartache, and maybe even a bad investment or two.
Remember, it’s not about being perfect—it’s about being persistent. Be flexible. Be communicative. Know when to ask for help and when to bet on yourself.
And if you ever want to talk strategy, pitch ideas, or just learn more about what we do at Gula Tech Adventures, you know where to find us.
Thanks for reading—and good luck on your founder journey.
Ron Gula
President, Gula Tech Adventures