Working At A Unicorn

It was recently announced that OneTrust, an Atlanta-based SaaS company and a leader in Privacy, Security, and Third-Party Risk Management software, raised $200 million in a Series A funding led by Insight Partners. There are three special items to note about this announcement: 1) the investment puts the valuation of the company at $1.3 billion, 2) OneTrust was able to accomplish this feat in just three short years of existence, and 3) as a member of OneTrust, I have had the pleasure of personally seeing this company grow from a startup to a full-fledged leader in its industry.

Any company that can raise $200 million in a Series A round must be doing something right. OneTrust, which is part of a company bloodline that includes AirWatch (sold to VMware for $1.54 billion) and Manhattan Associates (publicly traded), did something that is very hard to do for a lot of companies: it created an industry. In the early days, the company was solely focused on Privacy Management, which was often an overlooked component in most companies. However, when the EU passed the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and set an official date of May 25, 2018, it set off a reaction of global proportions. Companies around the world who operated in the European Economic Area (EEA) or collected personal information from people in the EEA were required to adhere to this new regulation, which meant that a lot of companies were vastly underprepared. Kabir Barday, founder and CEO of OneTrust, saw a golden opportunity for this in the early stages of the GDPR draft and quickly took advantage of it. $1.3 billion later, it’s safe to say the opportunity paid off.

Speaking of $1.3 billion, this new fundraising annoucement officially makes OneTrust a unicorn (although like Fred Wilson, I prefer to think of companies with a $1+ billion valuation as whales instead). Doing some research in the Atlanta startup scene, I found that there are only 3 unicorns in the area (the others being Kabbage and Mailchimp), compared to over 60 in California alone. Atlanta still seems to be nascent in the tech/VC scene, so it’s exciting to see OneTrust on the list.

That OneTrust reached unicorn status in three years is a feat in itself, especially considering it usually takes much longer for the average unicorn to reach that status. This is a result of a multitude of factors. The first being that there is a strong market for privacy, along with security and third-party risk. The market is shaped by the different privacy regulations that are being drafted (like the Californian Consumer Privacy Act) and passed all around the world. These regulations directly affect companies of all sizes and enforce them to demonstrate their compliance. That is exactly the problem that OneTrust solves; it holds a series of different products or modules designed to solve most, if not all, needs related to compliance in the privacy, security, and third-party risk industries. From GDPR to ISO27001 standards to vendor management, there is something for everyone. That is what makes OneTrust such a comprehensive SaaS product and well worth the valuation.

Being at OneTrust for over half of its existence has taught me a lot of things. I joined when there were only 150 people (now it’s closer to 1000) and I was directly exposed to the idea of wearing multiple hats. Working at a startup (when OneTrust was one back then, I don’t consider it a startup anymore) is not for everyone, but I decided to take a shot because that’s the kind of work I’ve known in my working life. There’s something about learning different roles that I have always been attracted to, especially when compared to a corporate environment. I have worked on different teams throughout the company, from Support and Consulting to Sales Engineering and now Product. That amount of experience in such a short amount of time has been nothing less than invaluable. I can’t think of another kind of environment where you can take on new roles in which you have no prior experience and be given the chance to excel in. 

Aside from the opportunity to move within the company and grow, there are a few things that have stood out to me during my time at the company. The company operates at a very efficient rate, where client feedback is king and the product is continuously augmented by the users who use it. The other noteworthy observation is the culture within the company as it relates to the people who work there. The teammates I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside have been absolutely phenomenal. Everybody is willing to help you if you need it. Everybody knows one another (although at the rate at which the company is growing, it may get slightly more difficult) and they are each willing to put the work in every single day. This kind of work environment only helps make the big picture goal possible, which is to become a leader in a newborn industry. Looking back, it’s easy to see why OneTrust is where it is.