I’ve spent just over five years recruiting for cybersecurity vendors across North America—from the post-COVID hiring boom, to the industry’s version of a great depression, to what now feels like a slow but steady return to stability.

If there’s one takeaway from this period, it’s that early-stage hiring is never predictable. But it is pattern-driven. And the companies that treat hiring as a strategic lever—not an afterthought—are the ones who consistently find and keep the best talent.

Below are a few observations from the last year, both on where the market is heating up and what Series A founders need to get right if they want to compete for top GTM talent.

Where We’re Seeing Real Momentum

Identity: A Legacy Space Getting Completely Reimagined

Identity has had a massive resurgence. The amount of innovation happening here shows how much opportunity still exists in “old” categories when the pain is still universal and unsolved. Companies modernizing legacy IAM stacks, tackling non-human identity, or consolidating tool sprawl are attracting strong technical buyers—and strong talent.

SOC + AI: Automation With Guardrails

Security operations is shifting fast. Teams want automation, but not at the expense of control. Tools that intelligently triage, enrich, or partially automate Tier 1/Tier 2 workflows are getting traction. CISOs may never fully hand over the SOC to machines, but they’re prioritizing anything that reduces alert fatigue and moves analysts up the stack.

Secure AI & Application Security: The New Non-Negotiable

With engineering teams adopting AI across the SDLC, AppSec is back in the spotlight. Vendors helping developers ship secure code faster—or reduce AI-driven vulnerabilities—are seeing real mindshare. This is one of the few areas where buyers see risk, urgency, and budget all aligned.

What It Takes to Attract A-Players at Series A

Hiring at this stage is a different sport. You're competing for candidates who have options and who deeply evaluate mission, market timing, leadership, and compensation structure.

Here’s what the companies who win talent consistently do:

1. Get your story straight.

Your mission, messaging, and problem statement must be clear, concise, and anchored in urgency. Candidates want to know:

●        What problem are you solving?

●        Why does this matter now?

●        Why is budget actually being allocated here?

If you can’t articulate this in two tight paragraphs, your candidates won’t be able to either.

2. Run your recruiting motion like an enterprise sales motion.

Spray-and-pray outreach doesn’t work at Series A.
 Your process needs:

●        Curated, multi-touch outreach

●        Education, not just a job description

●        A candidate journey that mirrors how you’d nurture a high-value prospect

Great talent should walk away understanding why this role is right for them, now.

3. Build an interview process that evaluates what actually matters.

Before you take a candidate call, know:

●        What you're evaluating

●        Who’s evaluating it

●        How you’ll score it

A simple, aligned scorecard eliminates the “vibe-based” hiring decisions that sink early-stage teams later.

4. Be realistic—and competitive—with compensation.

Comp adjusted across the market this year, especially for early-stage companies facing tougher conditions.
 To attract money-motivated reps, you need:

●        Realistic quotas for a build-from-scratch motion

●        A comp plan tied to achievable outcomes

●        True accelerators for overachievement

Talent respects transparent math.

5. Use a recruitment partner who can amplify your message.

Not because I want all your business in 2026 (although I won’t turn it down), but because at Series A the founder or GTM leader is still carrying everything.

Your bandwidth is limited.
 Your brand is still forming.
 Every hire shapes your trajectory.

A strong search partner protects your time, your reputation in the market, and the candidate experience—while ensuring the first wave of hires extends far beyond your personal network.

Final Thought

Series A is the stage where every hire counts. Your story, your process, your compensation, and your partner all influence whether you attract builders—or miss out on them.

If you're scaling your first GTM team or entering the next chapter post-funding, I’m always open to sharing what I’m seeing in the market and how others are approaching it.

Salary context for Series A GTM hiring

One of the biggest challenges founders face at Series A is calibrating compensation in a market that’s still resetting. To help with that, we’ve recently published the Stanton House Cybersecurity & AI Startup Salary Guide 2026, which includes US salary benchmarks and recruiting insights across Sales, Sales Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Success, alongside Product, Engineering, and AI roles. It’s designed specifically for venture-backed and PE-backed cybersecurity and AI companies, and provides context on how compensation, role scope, and skill expectations are shifting as teams scale. For founders building their first GTM function — or candidates assessing what “competitive” really looks like in 2026 — it’s a useful reference point.

Please contact me directly to request your copy.