Frenos Takes Home the Prize at 2024 DataTribe Challenge

Continuous security assessment platform newcomer Frenos narrowly edged out the competition to win this year's DataTribe Challenge, held by seed-stage venture capital firm DataTribe.

Four finalists were chosen from hundreds of preseed and seed stage cybersecurity and data science startups, and each got to present their case during Wednesday's finals. The finalists, who will split part of a $25,000 prize, presented their businesses to a panel of judges, investors, and industry leaders. They also received one-on-one messaging and strategy coaching from DataTribe.

Whether the finalists had the right teams in place and were truly experts in their fields played a big part in their evaluations, says DataTribe chief innovation officer Leo Scott. The judges also assessed the addressable market for their offering and how well they meet that need. 

Frenos, based in Charlotte, NC, did both. The startup created a zero-impact, continuous security assessment platform for operational technology (OT) environments, giving organizations the ability to perform attack simulations and penetration testing. 

"They are truly leading experts in the OT environment," Scott says. "And if you look into the geopolitical landscape, it is a pretty important space, from broad national security to literally keeping the lights on."

The three others finalists were Austin, Texas-based DataMonstr, Red Bank, NJ-based Force Field, and San Francisco-based Validia.

Brian Proctor, founder and CEO of Frenos, says participating in the competition has helped his company on its road to landing seed funding. 

"One of the great things about it, which we really liked, is that every finalist is assigned an adviser from DataTribe. So they really work hand in hand with you to refine the pitch [and give] feedback on your presentation," Proctor says. "We had an excellent adviser, David, who was part of our team. Honestly, without David, I'm not sure what the outcome would have been. He was a huge help."

DataTribe has invested in eight of the finalists from its six previous competitions, and more than 20 companies have received funding after participating in the competition, Scott says.

Check out what DataTribe's Leo Scott had to say regarding the DataTribe Challenge in this Dark Reading News Desk segment from Black Hat USA 2024.