Since its inception in 2011, CrowdStrike has had a profound impact on the security landscape. Yet, despite their wildly successful 2019 IPO, there is no finish line for CEO and Co-Founder George Kurtz. With each passing year, the company grows larger, the market opportunities expand, and the need to prevent breaches becomes even more critical. 

In this episode of Spotlight On, George and Accel’s Sameer Gandhi reflect on how their shared vision for a full suite of security solutions on a single platform, which kickstarted the partnership in 2013, has become a reality. As CrowdStrike approaches the 5th anniversary of its IPO, boasting a market cap of $72 billion, George reflects on the company’s enduring success. He shares his learnings as a second-time founder, detailing how he structures his investors and his board, and how his unwavering focus on solving the hard problems first continues to guide the company today.  

Conversation highlights: 

• 00:00 - Recounting the first meeting between George and Accel, which, against all odds, kickstarted a successful partnership 
• 11:34 - How George held onto conviction for an unconventional approach to security 
• 16:41 - Advice for founders operating in highly competitive landscapes
• 30:19 - Building an effective board of directors 
• 33:00 - The importance of retaining the agility of a startup, even as a scaled business
• 38:01 - Parallels between racing and leading a business: time, data, team, and detail
• 44:40 - Considerations for the impact of AI and dark LLMs across the security landscape
• 51:05 - How George reinforced his commitment to customers post-IPO

Featured: George Kurtz, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of CrowdStrike, and Sameer Gandhi, Partner at Accel

Learn more about Accel’s relationship with CrowdStrike:

• Accel & CrowdStrike
• CRWD: Solving the Hard Problems First
• The CrowdStrike Memo: a Conversation with Sameer Gandhi  

Explore more episodes from this season:

• S2E1 | Klaviyo’s Andrew Bialecki on proving a tech startup can be built anywhere
• S2E2 | Webflow’s Vlad Magdalin on the biggest lessons learned from bootstrapping and raising capital 
• S2E3 | Syrup’s James Theuerkauf on building an AI-powered product that cuts through the noise
• S2E4 | Sysdig’s Suresh Vasudevan on embracing a “challenger mindset”
• S2E5 | CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz on building a generational company
• S2E6 | Accel’s Amit Kumar and Ivan Zhou on being an effective startup partner when things don’t go according to plan
• S2E7 | Remote’s Marcelo Lebre on the future of the global workforce
• S2E8 | Gamma’s Jon Noronha on how early-stage startups can challenge industry incumbents
• S2E9 | Monte Carlo’s Barr Moses on creating a playbook for a product that’s never been built before
• S2E10 | ConductorOne’s Alex Bovee on the critical ingredients of a high-growth startup
• S2E11 | Netskope’s Sanjay Beri on building an iconic company through controlled innovation
• S2E12 | Chainalysis’ Jackie Burns Koven on building trust in new technologies
• S2E13 | Wonder's Marc Lore on blending vision and execution

Access Spotlight On Season 1 episodes here.