Venn is a company providing purpose-built technology for secure Bring-Your-Own PC (BYO-PC). Securing remote work on any unmanaged or Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) computer, Venn is a solution that is radically more simple and less costly than using virtual desktops or locking down every PC. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Venn Software co-founder and CEO David Matalon to learn more.
David Matalon’s Background
As co-founder and CEO of the company, Matalon leads the organization whose culture is built on the idea of work+life and helping people thrive on being at their best every day in both work and life.
Before Venn, Matalon led OS33 (2010-2019), the leading secure workspace solution for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), Broker-Dealers, and other security and compliance-driven companies. Matalon has spent his career focused on technology solutions that help organizations provide their teams with more freedom and flexibility without compromising organizational security and compliance.
Matalon’s interest in technology and his propensity for entrepreneurship took root at a young age. He started his first business when he was 13, teaching family and neighbors how to use Microsoft Word and Intuit. Immediately after graduating from college in 2000, he started Offyx, one of the first Application Service Providers backed by Oppenheimer, IBM, and Cisco and seeded his successful career in cloud computing.
A native New Yorker, Matalon earned his undergraduate degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business and his Master’s Degree from Columbia University. He and his wife are raising their four children in their hometown, Great Neck.
Formation Of Venn Software
How did the idea for Venn Software come together? Matalon said:
“Venn was conceived as a virtual desktop alternative when I was running Venn’s predecessor company, OS33. Our customers were Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), Broker-Dealers with independent reps, and other security and compliance-driven companies. We provided them with a secure workspace solution that both enabled anywhere-productivity and met all of their regulatory requirements. Most of these customers are still with us today. Around 2018, I recognized the virtual desktop technology and remotely-hosted solutions (which we did plenty of) needed to evolve. These solutions were complex and costly. They frustrated users with latency and incompatibility issues. Also, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) was advancing rapidly. Users would ask us, “Why are you having us connect to a remote session to open a browser or open Outlook?” or “Why can’t I use Zoom?” Users just wanted to get their work done the way they would normally work – locally, natively. At the same time, regulatory requirements were becoming even more extensive, and new cybersecurity threats and challenges seemed to emerge daily.”
“This is what inspired us to build an entirely new software-based approach to securing remote work – to allow users to work the way they wanted yet still be secure and compliant. That was the start of Venn.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for Venn Software so far? Matalon shared:
“Using the product for the first time and knowing that we were really on to something special.”
Challenges Faced
What are some of the challenges Matalon faced in building the company, and has the current macroeconomic climate affected the company? Matalon acknowledged:
“The current macroeconomic climate has not had a big impact on the company. Many companies are looking for ways to improve efficiencies and reduce costs, and Venn can help companies do both. We can help customers reduce costs by eliminating virtual desktop infrastructure while also avoiding the cost of shipping laptops back and forth to employees.”
Core Products
What are Venn Software’s core products and features? Matalon explained:
“Venn is a radically simpler and less costly alternative to VDI for securing remote work. Security and compliance-driven organizations can now easily protect company data on any unmanaged or BYOD computer without the cost and complexity of virtual desktops.”
Evolution Of Venn Software’s Technology
How has Venn Software’s technology evolved since launching? Matalon noted:
“Since launching Venn, we have worked tirelessly to ensure our unique approach meets the demands of the modern remote workforce with a simple, easy-to-use platform for PCs and Macs. We’ve also obtained our first patent. This foundational patent for a ‘Secure Visual and Computational Boundary for a Subset of Resources on a Computing Machine’ strengthens the company’s intellectual property and furthers our ability to expand our investments in Secure BYO-PC technology.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Venn Software’s most significant milestones? Matalon highlighted:
“We are excited to be working with our OS33 customers and upgrading them to Venn’s new product. One of our larger Fortune 500 customers recently upgraded to the new technology very successfully.”
Customer Success Story
Upon asking Matalon about a customer success story, he commented:
“We are excited to be working with various customers across different industries. One of our customers provides a large moderation platform and works with hundreds of clients. They frequently need to onboard and offboard people rapidly. They were tired of the cost and complexity of using VDI. They also tried Enterprise Browser but found that for the majority of their customers, it wasn’t a robust enough solution to meet compliance and ensure that all of their data and applications were secure. Thanks to these factors, Venn has become their go-to solution.”
Funding
In late June, Venn Software announced it raised $29 million in Series A funding led by NewSpring. Matalon pointed out:
“The focus of the funding has been R&D to bring this new technology to market, and also our go-to-market functions, such as sales and marketing, to expand our market presence.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is Venn Software pursuing? Matalon assessed:
“With hybrid and remote work the new norm, there is a growing need to provide Secure BYO-PC solutions for companies that want to get out of the employee hardware business, embracing BYO policy or avoiding the cost and complexity of VDI. It’s a hard TAM to quantify, but it is a growing share.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Venn Software from its competition, and how is its approach to protecting data an industry first? Matalon concluded:
“Our main competitive technology is virtual desktop. Venn provides a virtual desktop alternative. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, which has long been the de facto approach to protecting apps and data on remote and unmanaged computers, is increasingly being recognized as a less-than-ideal choice. VDI is complex, expensive, and often frustrating for users. It’s redundant for browser-based applications and doesn’t perform well with video applications.”
“With Venn, there is zero backend infrastructure, and all applications run locally, not remotely. It’s similar to an MDM solution but for laptops: work lives in a company-controlled Secure Enclave installed on the user’s PC or Mac, where all data is encrypted and access is managed. Work applications run locally within the Secure Enclave – visually indicated by the Blue Border – where business activity is isolated and protected from any personal use on the same computer. Company data is protected without having to control the entire device, and as a result, remote work is secured without the cost, complexity, and performance issues of VDI.”
