Karl Swannie was a geographer working in the scenic city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, when he started analyzing social media data based on location. He quickly saw there was valuable real-time information that was not being used, so he started Echosec Systems to find a practical use for those insights.
After several years of experiments and hard startup lessons learned, Echosec finally shifted from being an inexpensive news/insights tool to a comprehensive threat intelligence platform for large organizations.
Echosec Systems is now a leading open-source intelligence service (OSINT) that uses publicly available information (PAI) from social media and other sources. They help public and private organizations improve situational awareness and identify threats using geographic insights with real-time data.
Echosec was partially sold to a “search fund” called The Tusker Fund in 2020 and Jeff Oldenburg came in as CEO to scale the company, which he did. In 2022, Flashpoint acquired Echosec completely and the business continues to grow.
“When we sold the majority of the company the first time and the money hit my bank account, it was so surreal. It was in my bank account but it didn’t mean a thing. I didn’t really change anything.
“I assume that there are many, many founders that still have the lagging PTSD that goes on for a year afterward where you’re still waking up at 3:00 in the morning worrying about whether or not you’re going to be able to make payroll or whether a contract’s going through.
“I went through that transition for a really long time, much longer than I expected. I’m still going through that. I wasn’t used to having time. That’s just weird.”
In this episode, Karl explains:
- How they started as an inexpensive B2C solution and then pivoted to large B2B deals with big organizations
- What it’s like to be a Canadian software company selling a threat detection service to large organizations around the world
- How they finally started to scale when they focused on the largest customers with the biggest needs
- How he worked with a private investor to start the company but used venture debt to grow it when they were profitable
- What a “search fund” is and why this was a great fit to partially acquire the company and bring in an experienced CEO
- What it was like to sell the company and not be the CEO-in-charge any more
- What he learned about himself in this journey that he is applying to his next venture
Echosec Company Facts
- Founded: 2013
- Description: Echosec Systems is a leading open-source intelligence (OSINT) provider using publicly available information (PAI) for threat detection
- Practical Funding Type: Small funding and debt from Canadian investor Owen Matthews, venture debt from TIMIA Capital,
- Number of Employees: 32
- Acquisition: Partially acquired by Tusker Fund (a “search” fund) in 2020 then fully acquired by Flashpoint in 2022, for “about $100 million in total investor returns.”
- Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Links
- Karl Swannie on LinkedIn
- Echosec on LinkedIn
- Echosec website
- Flashpoint website
- Alacrity Canada (Owen Matthews)
- TIMIA Capital (Mark Bakker)
- Jeff Oldenburg (Tusker Fund then Echosec CEO) on Linkedin
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