Critical Start

Critical Start was founded in 2012 by former RSA Security executive Rob Davis, following nation-state attacks on cybersecurity organizations such as RSA and VMWare Carbon Black in 2011.

In March 2018, Critical Start announced an agreement to acquire the security analytics platform Advanced Threat Analytics{{Cite web|url=https://www.darkreading.com/analytics/critical-start-to-buy-advanced-threat-analytics/d/d-id/1331283|title=Critical Start to Buy Advanced Threat Analytics|website=Dark Reading|date=15 March 2018|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221017/https://www.darkreading.com/analytics/critical-start-to-buy-advanced-threat-analytics/d/d-id/1331283|url-status=live}} to incorporate its Zero-Trust Analytics Platform.{{Cite web|url=https://www.channelpartnersonline.com/2018/03/15/mssp-critical-start-to-acquire-mdr-provider-create-white-label-channel-offering/|title=MSSP Critical Start to Acquire MDR Provider, Create White-Label Channel Offering|date=2018-03-15|website=Channel Partners|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114222542/https://www.channelpartnersonline.com/2018/03/15/mssp-critical-start-to-acquire-mdr-provider-create-white-label-channel-offering/|url-status=live}} As a part of the agreement, Critical Start launched its native iOS and Android mobile security operations center application.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/critical-start-to-acquire-advanced-threat-analytics-300613859.html|title=Critical Start to Acquire Advanced Threat Analytics|agency=PR Newswire|access-date=2019-11-14}}

In August 2019, Critical Start published its second annual research survey reporting that security operations center analysts face a "surprising number of alerts each day that are taking longer to investigate."{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-research-from-criticalstart-finds-that-8-out-of-10-security-analysts-report-annual-security-operations-center-turnover-is-reaching-10-to-more-than-50-300908810.html|title=New Research From CRITICALSTART Finds That 8 Out of 10 Security Analysts Report Annual Security Operations Center Turnover Is Reaching 10% To More Than 50%|agency=PR Newswire|access-date=2019-11-14}} According to an article featured on [https://www.msspalert.com/ MSSP Alert], the report surveyed security operations center professionals across enterprises managed security service providers, and managed detection and response providers to evaluate the state of incident response within security operations centers from a variety of perspectives, including alert volume and management, security operations center analyst training, turnover, business models, and customer communications.{{Cite web|url=https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/criticalstart-findings/|title=SOC Analysts Overwhelmed by Alerts, New Study Finds|first=DH|last=Kass|date=2019-09-02|website=MSSP Alert|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221018/https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/criticalstart-findings/|url-status=live}}

The survey found that more than 8 out of 10 security operation center analysts reported that their security operations centers had experienced between 10 percent and 50 percent analyst churn in the past year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/alert-fatigue-big-problem-cybersecurity-professionals-too|title=Alert fatigue a big problem for cybersecurity professionals too|date=2019-08-30|website=Healthcare IT News|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221024/https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/alert-fatigue-big-problem-cybersecurity-professionals-too|url-status=live}} Additionally, 70 percent of respondents investigate more than 10 alerts each day{{Cite web|url=https://blog.barracuda.com/2019/08/31/security-analyst-burnout-should-be-top-of-mind-on-labor-day/|title=Security analyst burnout should be top of mind on Labor Day|last=Vizard|first=Mike|date=2019-08-31|website=Journey Notes|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221015/https://blog.barracuda.com/2019/08/31/security-analyst-burnout-should-be-top-of-mind-on-labor-day/|url-status=live}} – up from 45 percent the previous year{{Cite web|url=https://www.enterprise-cio.com/news/2019/sep/02/alerts-are-ignored-and-turnover-high-security-teams-suffer-incident-overload-report-says/|title=Alerts are ignored and turnover is high as security teams suffer from incident overload, report says|website=Enterprise Apps Tech News|date=2 September 2019|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114224020/https://www.enterprise-cio.com/news/2019/sep/02/alerts-are-ignored-and-turnover-high-security-teams-suffer-incident-overload-report-says/|url-status=live}} – while 78 percent state that it takes over 10 minutes to investigate each alert, which is up from 64 percent the previous year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/criticalstart-findings/|title=SOC Analysts Overwhelmed by Alerts, New Study Finds|first=DH|last=Kass|date=2019-09-02|website=MSSP Alert|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221018/https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-research/criticalstart-findings/|url-status=live}} Critical Start revealed later that month that they would be expanding to a channel-driven model along with the expansion of the company's national distributors and network of value-added resellers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.channelpartnersonline.com/2019/10/09/critical-start-unveils-all-channel-strategy/|title=Critical Start Unveils All-Channel Strategy|date=2019-10-09|website=Channel Partners|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221019/https://www.channelpartnersonline.com/2019/10/09/critical-start-unveils-all-channel-strategy/|url-status=live}}

In June 2023, Critical Start opened two new facilities, one in Lehi, Utah, and another in Pune, India. The facility in India is the company's first Center of Excellence for engineering.{{Cite web |last=Innovates |first=Dallas |last2=Seeley |first2=David |date=2023-06-26 |title=Plano's Critical Start Expands Global Footprint with New Offices in Utah, India |url=https://dallasinnovates.com/planos-critical-start-expands-global-footprint-with-new-offices-in-utah-india/ |access-date=2023-11-29 |website=Dallas Innovates}}

Employee reviews on Indeed present differing opinions on working at Critical Start. One review from 2021 described it as having an "awesome culture with a CEO that cares about employees," while another from 2023 stated that "leadership corrodes culture." As of February 2024, the overall rating on Indeed.com was 3.1 out of 5 stars.{{cite web |url=https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Critical-Start-1/reviews|title=Working at Critical Start: 8 Reviews|website=www.indeed.com|accessdate=23 February 2025}}

On Glassdoor, Critical Start had a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 112 anonymous reviews.{{cite web |url=https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-CRITICALSTART-EI_IE1571388.11,24.htm|title=Critical Start|website=www.glassdoor.com|accessdate=23 February 2025}} Glassdoor also listed the company as a recipient of Built In’s "Best Places to Work" awards for 2023, 2024, and 2025.

In June 2019, Bregal Sagemount, a growth equity firm, invested $40 million in Critical Start as part of the company's first outside investment. {{Cite web|url=https://www.cisomag.com/cybersecurity-startup-critical-start-secures-40-million/|title=Cybersecurity startup Critical Start secures $40 million|date=2019-06-17|website=Cyber Security Magazine|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011004331/https://www.cisomag.com/cybersecurity-startup-critical-start-secures-40-million/|url-status=live}} According to the Dallas Morning News, the "investment helped accelerate its North American expansion"{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/business/entrepreneurs/2019/06/13/what-a-plano-cybersecurity-firm-s-40m-capital-raise-tells-us-about-the-region-s-ecosystem/|title=What a Plano cybersecurity firm's $40M capital raise tells us about the region's ecosystem|date=2019-06-13|website=Dallas News|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221016/https://www.dallasnews.com/business/entrepreneurs/2019/06/13/what-a-plano-cybersecurity-firm-s-40m-capital-raise-tells-us-about-the-region-s-ecosystem/|url-status=live}} and partnerships with Microsoft, Splunk, Palo Alto Networks, Cylance, and Carbon Black. It also helped expand the company's market presence for its MDR services, including the opening of new field offices in Los Angeles and New York City – to "serve enterprise customers and its network of channel partners."{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldbizmag.com/1/post/2019/07/criticalstart-raises-40-million-in-minority-investment-to-fuel-growth-of-its-zero-trust-platform.html|title=Criticalstart Raises $40 Million in Minority Investment To Fuel Growth of Its Zero-Trust Platform|website=World Biz Magazine|access-date=2019-11-14}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

DC Advisory served as the financial advisor to Critical Start. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dcadvisory.com/en/deal-announcement/50528/|title=DC Advisory acts as exclusive financial advisor to Critical Start on its growth investment from Bregal Sagemount|website=DC Advisory|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114221018/https://www.dcadvisory.com/en/deal-announcement/50528/|url-status=live}}

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