The Eight Traits Of Highly Successful Security Startups

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Security Innovation Network Showcase 2011 -- The most successful new security companies are those that are young, innovative, and willing to bet big on outside funding, according to research revealed here Wednesday.

The Security Innovation Network (SINET), an organization focused on the advancement of security innovation, this week held its showcase of 16 emerging companies that are breaking new ground in security.

As part of the event, SINET revealed the results of its study that shows how the 16 winning innovators differed from the other nearly 200 emerging companies that applied to be in the showcase.

"This year’s SINET 16 Innovators are younger, more focused on growth than profitability, and more willing to bet big by taking outside investments than the larger pool of applicants," SINET says.

Half of the SINET 16 have raised more than $15 million in funding, compared to 22 percent of the other applicants. Most of the winners are relatively young, and 57 percent have revenues of more than $2.6 million annually.

The winning companies are innovative, averaging 4.1 patents submitted, and geographically concentrated -- more than 80 percent are located in northern California or the Washington, D.C., area. In general, the top security innovators were focused on four categories of security: