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Comment by mwilkison | Hacker News Reader

http://www.zerodb.io/

ZeroDB is an end-to-end encrypted database that lets you operate on data while it's encrypted.

Question: We want to sell to large enterprises (financial services, healthcare, saas providers, etc.). The common advice is to start with SMBs/startups and get traction that way before going upmarket to enterprises. How can we balance that with the fact that what SMBs are asking us for is very different from what enterprises have told us they'd like in a fully-baked product?

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Ok this sounds really cool so I can't resist replying.

This is great time to be selling security software, especially at the data level.

I've never totally bought the "start with startups" approach for enterprise security software. I'd suggest finding a CSO at a large enterprise that loves what you're doing, and tell him/her that if you can get a signed LOI for a pilot, you're happy to build whatever they'd like. This will likely be enough to raise some seed money to build it. Then go make that customer as happy as you can.

Curious. What are the differences in features being asked?

ZeroDB co-founder here.

Basically, end-to-end encryption for client (browser, mobile) software vs protecting backend software which uses some flavor of SQL

To add a bit to michwill's answer:

Startups want a JavaScript version so they can use it in-browser. And they are more interested in full-text search than other types of queries.

Enterprises are big on integration with existing stuff (Microsoft SQL Server, SharePoint, etc.) and using it as a CASB-esque solution.

My gut tells me to work on the features that alleviates the bigger hair on fire problem for the customer. Usually, startups have less pressing needs for security than large enterprises, but I can actually see how your tech opens up a lot of startups to build quickly in that very lucrative healthcare space that is being thrown up in the air because of the Affordable care act.

You should aim to build only enough to close a sale. IF you build the in-browser features will that ACTUALLY close them? And that calculus should include this: Will it close enough SMBs that it counteracts doing a single integration with an existing system that will close 1 big customer.

Yes, that's currently the plan!

More than that: when end-user is SMB but paying customer is a B2B cloud software vendor, needs are often the same as for startups.

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