Bipul Sinha, the CEO of cybersecurity firm Rubrik, reflects on his entrepreneurial journey from humble beginnings to building a $500 million revenue company. Sinha, inspired by his father's persistence and ambition despite facing financial hardships, emphasizes the drive instilled in him by those challenging times.
Having spent eight years honing his skills at Oracle, Sinha gained the confidence to avoid a return to poverty. Rubrik, founded in 2014, provides backup and data protection software, capitalizing on the growing awareness that cyberattacks are inevitable. In a candid statement, he critiques the traditional cybersecurity industry, asserting that despite its massive revenue, it has failed to prevent cyber threats.
Rubrik's success lies in its focus on resilience rather than just protection. With a revenue exceeding $500 million, the company offers scalable solutions for data backups, recently earning recognition in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions.
Acknowledging some limitations highlighted in the Magic Quadrant, such as “limited SaaS application coverage: Rubrik has limited support of SaaS applications beyond Microsoft 365. Coverage is not yet available for applications such as Salesforce, Google Workspace, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure AD, ServiceNow, Azure DevOps and GitHub.” Sinha outlines plans to expand application backup support in 2024. Despite a slowdown in revenue growth, Rubrik remains a formidable player in the industry, supported by bold initiatives like a $10 million ransomware recovery warranty.
Sinha's cautious approach to cybersecurity is evident in Rubrik's architecture. He said, “We combined backup software and storage software in a single software. That single software does the function of both. Since we don't have any storage that syncs over the network, people can't discover us.” The company's API-first design ensures secure operations, requiring authentication for all endpoints and blocking APIs that could potentially compromise data.
Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Sinha notes challenges in balancing involvement in decision-making as a founder CEO. Overcoming the bottleneck stage, he has learned when to step back, allowing the company to thrive.
As Rubrik evolves, it remains acquisitive, recently acquiringLaminar, a data security posture management platform. Sinha observes a shift in buyer conversations, with cybersecurity becoming a strategic priority at the C-suite level. Despite market consolidations, he sees ample opportunities, emphasizing the market's changing landscape.
Sinha's Rubrik stands as a testament to overcoming adversity, delivering robust cybersecurity solutions, and adapting to the dynamic cybersecurity landscape.
