Malwarebytes CEO wants to 'reinvent security'
Anti-malware vendor's CEO wants to remake the way security software works
The CEO of Malwarebytes has told CRN that he wants to "reinvent" security by being to end-point security what the App Store is to an iPhone.
The anti-malware vendor recently scored $50m (£35m) in funding, just eight years after it was founded by Polish-born entrepreneur Marcin Klecyznski when he was 18.
Having started out as a consumer-only outfit, Malwarebytes now draws half its sales from B2B and more than a third of revenues from the channel.
Klecyznski (pictured) told CRN that Malwarebytes harbours ambitions to further shake up the security industry.
"I want to reinvent security. I think the way security is today is still wrong; I want to move more into being a platform," he said.
"Think the App Store on your iPhone - I really want to do the same thing for end-point security. So an IT administrator could log on and see all the computers in the network in real time, and could install and update security software from there. Whether the computers are in Beijing, London or Chicago, from their desk they can see it all."
Kleczynski cited Crowdstrike, SentinelOne and Palo Alto Networks as among the "next-generation" products Malwarebytes competes against.
He started in the industry when he was just 14, when he downloaded a pirate video game and infected his family computer with malware.
After seeking out a cybersecurity forum, he was given 50 steps to clean his computer, which took three days to complete. From this his passion for cybersecurity was born, eventually leading to the creation of Malwarebytes.
By the time Kleczynski was 18, he had launched the first version of Malwarebytes, reaching a $10m revenue by the end of the year.
He explained: "We launched the product in January, and I was due at the University of Illinois in August. The run rate was going from $5,000 a month to $25,000 a month to $75,000 a month in the three months leading up to my going to Illinois, so I had to make a really critical decision as to whether I went or stayed.
"Over the next two years from 2008 to 2010 I ran the company basically from a dormitory and then in a fraternity house and then from my own apartment."
Now the company has $100m in revenue split 50/50 between consumer and business clients and offices in California, Florida, Ireland and Estonia.
The amount of channel business the company does was a sixth of its overall business in 2014, growing to a third of the business last year. The channel accounts for 36 per cent of its overall business in Q1 of 2016.
Kleczynski said: "We are growing more and more skewed towards the channel, which is great. In the UK we work with partners including Kite Distribution and Blue Solutions, and we have added 1,000 resellers over the last five months."
He explained that the US still accounts for 85 per cent of Malwarebytes' revenue and users, with the other 15 per cent coming from English-speaking countries including the UK, Canada and Australia.
He added: "But if you look at non-English speaking countries, our penetration rate is still pretty low. So that is a big opportunity for us; we will probably start moving into APAC.
"Security is not a solved problem yet and I don't think it ever will be. It's a cat and mouse game, it always will be. The criminals are always a step ahead; they know something we don't."