Kaneva's Chris Klaus: Why Your Startup Should Join An Accelerator
By invitation from our partners at Startup Exchange, Kaneva founder Chris Klaus shared his entrepreneurial journey during an evening fireside chat in our shared community space — from building his first cybersecurity company in his grandmother’s spare guest room, to giving university students a platform to launch their own startups.
On closing his first big deal: “When I first started, I didn’t know marketing or sales. All I knew was how to code. It was a lot of fun mailing the floppy disk with an 8-page manual thinking, ‘Wow I’m getting paid $30,000 for this!’”
On giving his grandmother equity for providing him office space: “I called up my grandma and asked her if I could set up my company’s headquarters in her spare guest room. She said yes, which turned out great for [both of] us because I gave her some equity for it. So that became HQ for Internet Security Systems Inc. for 6-9months.”
On why your startup should join an accelerator: “What happens is network effect - it’s the big thing you won’t get on your own. I recommend joining an accelerator - whether it’s Create-X or Techstars - whichever you think would be beneficial. The real value in my mind is who you are getting connected with, in terms of smart people that can open up doors for you. Whether it’s [connecting with] other people in your industry, venture capitalists, angels, or good business advice - that’s the real value.”
On the peer mentorship that organically occurs within an accelerator program: “It’s kind of like working out. You work harder because you see other people work hard as well. If you see another startup doing better, how are they doing better? Why are they getting more customers? You start learning from each other.”
Missed the fireside chat? Listen to the audio recording of the conversation you missed below.
We partnered with Startup Exchange to host this fireside chat in our shared community space. Learn more about who they are below.
About Chris Klaus: Prior to founding Kaneva, Chris Klaus created Internet Security Systems Inc. (ISS) in 1994 as a computer engineering student at Georgia Tech. After going public in 1998, ISS was acquired by IBM in 2006 for over $1.9 billion. Chris Klaus became one of the most visible contributors to Georgia Tech, contributing a $15 million naming gift to the university to build a three-story academic building (over 400,000 square feet of space) for its College of Computing, Engineering, and related programs. In 2015, he founded CyberLaunch, a startup accelerator focused on helping grow both security and machine learning startups. Today, he continues to serve the community as a board member to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Board of Visitors, the Georgia Game Developers Association (GGDA), and more.
About our partner: Startup Exchange
The Startup Exchange community is comprised of students of all years, all majors, all different backgrounds. We promote entrepreneurship education at Georgia Tech by organizing speaker events, workshops, and panels for students. We connect students with startups through our network of fellow students, founders, and mentors. Above all, our mission is to foster a group of people who support and help each other reach new heights.