CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz on building a generational company | S2E5

Since its inception in 2011, CrowdStrike has had a profound impact on the security landscape. Yet, despite their wildly successful 2019 IPO, there is no finish line for CEO and Co-Founder George Kurtz. With each passing year, the company grows larger, the market opportunities expand, and the need to prevent breaches becomes even more critical. 

In this episode of Spotlight On, George and Accel’s Sameer Gandhi reflect on how their shared vision for a full suite of security solutions on a single platform, which kickstarted the partnership in 2013, has become a reality. As CrowdStrike approaches the 5th anniversary of its IPO, boasting a market cap of $72 billion, George reflects on the company’s enduring success. He shares his learnings as a second-time founder, detailing how he structures his investors and his board, and how his unwavering focus on solving the hard problems first continues to guide the company today.  

Conversation highlights: 

00:00 - Recounting the first meeting between George and Accel, which, against all odds, kickstarted a successful partnership 

11:34 - How George held onto conviction for an unconventional approach to security 

16:41 - Advice for founders operating in highly competitive landscapes

30:19 - Building an effective board of directors 

33:00 - The importance of retaining the agility of a startup, even as a scaled business

38:01 - Parallels between racing and leading a business: time, data, team, and detail

44:40 - Considerations for the impact of AI and dark LLMs across the security landscape

51:05 - How George reinforced his commitment to customers post-IPO

Featured: George Kurtz, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of CrowdStrike, and Sameer Gandhi, Partner at Accel