Securing Cyber Data: A Promising Cybersecurity Start-up

The Internet has changed the world, but yet it has also increased problems such as cybercrimes. These cybercrimes are diverse, ranging from financial, personal to national security, among other issues. Cybercrimes target individuals, businesses, and even government agencies by monitoring emails, tapping calls, or hacking websites to retrieve essential information. As such, there is a need to secure data from unauthorized people with malicious intentions. Thus, a cybersecurity start-up promises huge returns as individuals, businesses, and the government seeks to secure their data. However, this kind of business is highly technical, and thus, relevant skills are required to secure data and thus stop potential cyber-hacks. Besides, any start-up requires a comprehensive business plan whose purpose is two-fold. Firstly, to seek funding and, secondly, to set out goals and objectives and how to achieve them. Thus, this paper aims to develop a comprehensive start-up business plan that can be put into use to start, run, and grow a cybersecurity venture.

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Business Overview

Costa Tech is a standard cybersecurity company located in Mountain View - California, United States. The main business objective of the firm is to design cybersecurity solutions for both domestic and corporate clients. Asides from the core services, the firm also offer training, consultancy, and technical support to clients. The firm's location is very strategic as it is among the most engaging technology communities in the United States; thus, we are close to relevant information technology companies and other assorted stakeholders.

Products and Services

At Costa Tech, we intend to offer our clients innovative cybersecurity services that will enable them to remain competitive in whatever industry they are. Besides, the company aims to have multiple income sources by offering extra services such as consultancy and training. The firm plans to provide the following services to our esteemed clients: cryptography, networking, programming, system hardening, consultancy, and advisory services, training, and technical support.

Our Vision Statement

At Costa Tech, the vision is to be amongst the top cybersecurity companies in the next three years. The firm aims to be a leading and innovative solution provider in the cybersecurity industry.

Our Mission Statement

For us to achieve our vision, we seek to build the best business structure that will employ only the best here at Costa Tech.; we aim to meet and exceed our customers' expectations.

Industry and Market Analysis

Background Information on the Industry

According to the Ponemon Institute, in 2015, the costs associated with cybercrime were 19% higher than in 2014 (Lord, 2015). Globally, cybercrimes projects to cost businesses $ 6 trillion in 2021 up from about $ 3 trillion in 2015 (Morgan, 2017). Therefore, it has necessitated the need for companies to create cybercrimes budget allocations depending on the scale of the company and the implications of hacks on the operations of the business. Besides, this has also led to massive investments in cybersecurity firms, as the first half of 2017 saw investors investing more than $1.2 billion to fund start-ups. According to forecasts, the cybersecurity market sets to expand exponentially with an expected rise of 12 - 15 percent, and therefore, investments are likely to reach $93 billion at the end of 2021 (Morgan, 2017).

Furthermore, according to Gartner, as of 2016, customer spending on cybersecurity products and services was approximately $80 billion, and this expenditure expects to exceed $1 trillion globally within five years (Kail, 2017). Moreover, Intel projects that the number of connected devices might reach 20 billion in 2020, representing a 30 percent increase from the 15 billion devices connected as of 2015. However, a report published by Statista projects that the number of connected devices could rise to 75 billion by 2025 (Statista Research Department, 2016). Regardless of the estimated number, there is a consensus that the number of connected devices sets to increase exponentially, meaning that the cybersecurity market expects to experience exponential growth.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a critical management framework that aids firms in evaluating their business and performance metrics relative to competitors and industry parameters. A SWOT analysis of Costa Tech will establish internal factors such as strengths and weaknesses as well as external factors such as opportunities and threats. Therefore, the results of the SWOT analysis revealed the following elements:

Strengths

The firm's strength lies in the fact that we offer various services to all our clients, which will enable us to acquire a considerable market share and compete against our competitors effectively. Our human resource team is creative, innovative, and capable of ensuring that we meet and surpass our customers' demands. Our employees are under good remuneration among other start-up peers in the cybersecurity industry, and thus our firm has been able to attract competent personnel. Our CEO possesses vast experience in the cybersecurity industry, having worked in various capacities in other established firms. Thus, he brings the right experience mix to our firm, thereby enabling us to attain our short-term goals and long-term objectives.

Weaknesses

The cybersecurity industry is crowded; therefore, it will be challenging for us to break even into this market, even despite having a strategic location. Besides, since we are a new enterprise, we lack the financial resources and staff strength that will enable us to compete against other established competitors effectively.

Opportunities

The cybersecurity market portends plenty of opportunities both at making a brand name and at generating revenues. The cybersecurity niche is a relatively new market with tremendous growth potential. We will conduct extensive market research that will enlighten us on the opportunities available to us and how we can utilize them to scale our competitive advantage.

Threats

As a start-up, we are likely to encounter several challenges in the initial stages of operations. Firstly, the main threat is stiff competition, as the cybersecurity market is highly competitive. Secondly, the firm expects to encounter changing trends in the industry as a significant threat, but we will ensure that we remain proactive so that we can quickly adapt to trends. Lastly, there are recruitment challenges as the cybersecurity business is highly technical, and thus, there is a shortage of skilled personnel.

Market Analysis

There are majorly two types of cyber threats that organizations face; internal and external cyber threats. Internal threats are often carried out by a firm's current or former employees. According to statistics from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), in 2015, nearly 43 percent of the cyber-attacks incidences were caused by current staff, while a further 23 percent were carried out by former employees. They had seized working for their respective firms (PwC, 2015). Meanwhile, external cyber-attacks are usually carried out by activists, hackers, organized crime outfits, and government surveillance agencies, amongst other unauthorized outsiders. Besides, outside cyber-attacks generally occur within minutes and are carried out using several methods such as phishing, spyware, RAM scraping, and credential theft (Melnick, 2018). Therefore, our services are tailor-made to protect our client's systems from both inside and outside cyber-security threats.

Target Market

The target market is diverse, as most businesses with an online presence are susceptible to cyber-hacks. However, based on our market analysis, we have established accurate data regarding those whom we target. As such, our main objective in the cybersecurity market is to provide innovative solutions to financial institutions, healthcare companies, government agencies, other tech companies, celebrities, small businesses, educational institutions, military, and political organizations.

Customer and Value Proposition

Costa Tech aims to offer cybersecurity services that will enable our clients to remain proactive ahead of any potential hacks. The firm intends to be amongst the top five cybersecurity enterprises in the United States of America. However, this is a challenging feat, and thus we have to device several competitive strategies that will enhance customer and value proposition. As such, our unique selling proposition is that our solutions are preventive, thus making more firms to prefer our security designs since it will allow them to secure their data and thus remain proactive in business. Secondly, in regards to differential advantages over our competitors, we have a huge pool of experienced personnel on board who have an in-depth understanding of the cybersecurity industry. Thus will foresee the development and growth of our start-up to become a significant force to be reckoned within the industry and amongst the target market. As a firm, we are continually ensuring that our employees remain motivated to meet and exceed the client's expectations, both domestic and corporate. As previously mentioned, our facility is strategically located here in Mountain View - California giving us a conducive business environment that enhances the sustainability and growth of our business. Moreover, as a company, we are updated with market trends, and we ensure that our employees are trained on emerging technologies to enhance their skills to enhance the performance and productivity of our company.

Marketing Strategy

Marketing is a crucial aspect for any enterprise, either new or existing. The aim of marketing is two-fold: firstly, to generate revenue for the business to sustain and grow the firm. Secondly, to create awareness for both existing and new customers about the products and services offered by the firm. Therefore, we have conducted an extensive market analysis to understand the needs and wants of our target market. Besides, the market analysis is crucial as it will enable us to develop necessary strategies that would be essential both in the short and long run. Also, the market analysis will be a simple guide to estimate the marketing budget. Therefore, following our market analysis, we have devised several marketing strategies, such as:

Using introductory letters to formally introduce our business to our target market and other relevant stakeholders in the cybersecurity industry.

Holding a party to launch our firm in a bid to create awareness about our products and services.

Placing advertisements in tech magazines, newspapers, and mass media to broadcast our firm.

Engaging in direct approaches, such as negotiating with potential clients.

Placing adverts on billboards in strategic places in Mountain View and California as well.

Utilizing tech platforms and social media networks to market our products and services and create awareness about the firm.

Promotion and Advertising Strategy

Cybersecurity firms need to engage in the right publicity to ensure longevity in the industry due to the intense competition in this market. In this regard, promotion and advertising strategies will enable us to communicate our brand positively and enable us to compete effectively against our competitors. Therefore, to promote our brand, we intend to use the following publicity and advertising strategies:

Attend tech seminars and relevant conferences to network with key stakeholders in the cybersecurity industry.

Roll out trial versions of our products for clients to test them and generate feedback that will be under review and any necessary adjustments made on the final product.

Utilize social networking sites such a...