fnGlobal Keynote & Roundtables with Oliver Friedrichs (August 30, 2023)

Serial entrepreneur and investor Oliver Friedrichs can trace his origins to the earliest days of tech when the internet was still in its infancy. As a hacker turned cybersecurity startup founder, Oliver hasn’t just witnessed the evolution of the cybersecurity landscape, he’s helped shape it.

“I've been in the cybersecurity space since the late 90s. I was a hacker,” Oliver says. “There was this thriving hacker culture that wasn't revolving around criminal activities like you would see today, like fraud and credit card theft and other types of crimes, but more about exploration.”

While Oliver didn’t have nefarious intentions, he was accessing systems illegally and ultimately came face to face with law enforcement. They gave him two options, use his forces for good and help secure the systems he was hacking, or get arrested.

“That's how I got into cybersecurity. And it really provided me with a massive opportunity,” Oliver says. “Over the last 25 years, I've had the chance to start five companies in the cybersecurity space.”

Four of those companies have since been acquired by industry giants like McAfee and Symantec. His current endeavor Pangea is a pioneer in the Security Platform as a Service space.

In a global keynote for Founders Network on August 30, Oliver will share the lessons he’s learned as a five-time founder.

His global keynote will cover:

• Conception and idea validation
• Setting the vision
• Building a team
• Raising capital

Opening Remarks @ 9:30am PT

Join us for opening remarks with Dina Fattom, Member Success Manager at Founders Network, to get the latest updates from the Network and opportunities for getting involved.

Keynote Speaker @ 9:40am PT

Oliver Friedrichs is Founder & CEO at Pangea; He was previously VP Security Products @ Splunk; Founder and CEO @ Phantom Cyber (acquired by Splunk); Founder and CEO @ Immunet (acquired by Cisco); Co-founder @ SecurityFocus (acquired by Symantec) and Secure Networks (acquired by McAfee).

Stage-Based Roundtables @ 10:30am PT

Community Partner:

Jeff Erickson

Jeff leads the Partnerships Team at Forecastr — a leading FP&A software company that helps startups create kick-butt financial models to impress investors, confidently raise capital, and effectively run their businesses better.

Jeff serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies and is an active angel investor. He's passionate about startups and enjoys working with founders and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Jeff is an experienced entrepreneur and was the founder and CEO of a successful consumer goods company that he rapidly grew from $1M in sales its first year to over $40M in annual revenue in its fourth year of operations and was ranked #138 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.

Prior to founding his own company, Jeff was a partner at Beanstalk Partners where he led the sales and business development activities. He also served as the National Sales Director for a venture-backed tech startup where he generated over $45M in client contracts and developed the company’s channel partner program.

Jeff has a degree in accounting and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah. After receiving his MBA in Finance from the University of Utah he served as the Vice President of Investments for Sentry Financial Corporation.

Guests Are Welcome!

Please bring a guest! Every member can bring one (1) guest to each event. Each guest must be a full-time tech startup founder so they can bring new perspectives, skillsets, and experience to your chapter.

All guests must be full-time tech startup founders and you can register them directly on this function page. See How to Register a Guest here.

Confidentiality Reminder

All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity.