Andrew Peterson, Signal Sciences (acq. by Fastly)

Summary

Andrew Peterson built Signal Sciences from nothing to $100M ARR and sold it in 2020 — without a deck, without a background in cybersecurity, and without a clear plan. He sits down with Patrick and Somrat to walk through the whole journey: the accidental seed round, the two years of building before launch, the moment they knew they had something real, and what he'd do differently now.

Key takeaways

• Raise on relationships, not process. Andrew closed his seed round in two weeks by telling his story honestly over lunch — no deck, no competitive process. His advice now: slow-play it, build conviction with a few key investors, and don't shoot all your shots at once unless your traction is undeniable.
• Ship earlier than feels comfortable. Signal Sciences spent nearly two years perfecting the product before launch. It worked — but Andrew credits luck more than strategy, and now pushes founders to get in front of customers sooner, even with a lesser product.
• Your unfair advantage isn't the idea or the tech. The best pitch isn't about the market opportunity — it's about why you are uniquely positioned to win it. Industry expertise, relationships, go-to-market edge. That's what Andrew looks for as an investor, and what he wishes he'd understood earlier as a founder.