I could have started this article with all the facts and figures indicating a thriving, hyper-growth startup; they are undeniably impressive and our ongoing company trajectory is strong. However, for me, these numbers don't reflect what I am most proud of in 2019.
When you see "growth" in a business context, it almost always relates to metrics, revenue, funding, employee numbers... all that stuff I didn't have to think about a decade ago.
I could have started this article with all those facts and figures; they are undeniably impressive and our ongoing company trajectory is strong. However, for me, these numbers don't reflect what I am most proud of in 2019. The reality is, we have built a truly spectacular team of people who care well beyond bare finance metrics. We've experienced a "growth spurt", one that has shaped the enormous heart of this company now and into the future.
Allow me to demonstrate this, dear reader:
We established the Warriors Give Back program, a global all-hands charity initiative that drove more than 10 events over 12 months in Sydney, Boston, London, and Bruges:
And, with one of the worst bushfire seasons on record in Australia, we pulled together to donate to the Rural Fire Service and WIRES just before the year came to a somber end. It is an ongoing crisis where nothing feels like enough, but I was touched by the empathy shown across our global team.
These Warriors Give Back events remind us regularly that there is more to life than metrics, and we are all more grounded for making the effort to walk in the shoes of others who are less fortunate. Humanity and humility are key in sustaining a positive culture, and our team champions this at every opportunity.
In terms of our product, we created 1727 new secure coding challenges in 2019, across ten new language frameworks. This is a mammoth achievement for our engineering team, churning out an average of 144 new challenges per month - more than any previous year to date. In terms of our users, some interesting numbers surfaced as well:
When I first started this company, I made it very clear that diversity was going to be instrumental in our future success. I don't want to be stuck in an echo chamber of people just like me; the difference of opinion, culture, gender, diets, and race is part of the magic in a global startup. As of now, our team represents:
I'm immensely proud of our vibrant team, and it is evident in everything we do.
Oh, and yes, we have grown more than 100% in revenue, completed our Series-B funding round (representing the largest-ever US investment in an Australian cybersecurity venture), rapidly scaled to a team of 120, and opened up new offices in Portland and Singapore.
It is our fifth birthday, and though the company is the same age as my daughter, the similarities between their journeys have ended. Thankfully, I still have a few years left to watch her become a happy, healthy grown-up. With children, these years zip past in the blink of an eye, but Secure Code Warrior is no longer the cheeky toddler. Faster than I could have imagined five years ago, we've had to come of age and move out on our own. We're up for traveling the hyper-growth path ahead, but I'm still getting used to the idea that the grown-up in charge is me.
