Our AceON alumnus, the cybersecurity start-up 2P0, continues to make strides on their entrepreneurial journey. We’ve seen their impressive ability to adapt and identify key industries for their solution, with defence emerging as one of the most promising sectors. Let’s take a closer look at what it truly means to build a cybersecurity start-up, as seen through the eyes of the CEO and CTO of 2P0.

Sustaining a strong team long-term

When discussing the importance of a strong team as the foundation for a start-up’s potential success, we have here the founders of 2P0, who have known each other for 28 years since elementary school and their combined experience is immense.

2P0, a UK-based start-up, was founded in March 2024 by two founders: Andrej Šeševička, CEO, and Milan Kazarka, CTO. Andrej studied electrical engineering and has worked in IT services for 20+ years. He also helps manage a local news and TV station in Central Slovakia, an area that inspired the creation of 2P0. Milan, also an electrical engineering graduate, has focused on software engineering and product development for the last 15 years. He owned an industrial design for five years, raised funding in the past, and developed interactive systems known as “touch tables”.

Milan believes that mutual respect and open-mindedness are key to lasting co-founder relationships. “We try to never mock each other in our friendship and business relationship. Even though we have different political beliefs, often conduct business differently, and have different skill sets, we don’t outright dismiss ideas - we try to figure out how to best leverage each other’s strengths.

There might be, and probably is, a billion-dollar idea in many companies that gets dismissed.”

He recalls dismissing a humble Brazilian intern’s Ed Tech start-up idea while working in Berlin in 2012. “We sort of thought it was "cute" and didn't really spend much time thinking about it. The whole environment was the usual start-up space where one person says they'll be the next Amazon.” That intern turned out to be Henrique Dubugras - now the billionaire founder of Brex.

From idea to impact: tracing the product’s journey

2P0’s product verifies the authenticity of digital photos and confirms authorship. Its primary use case is determining whether a person who claims to have taken a photo on their phone actually did - and how they can prove it.

In the start-up ecosystem, it is often observed that a company’s product evolves due to market validation or the discovery of alternative, often more profitable, use cases. 2P0 is no exception:

• In Q2 2024, CEO Andrej initially envisioned 2P0 as a tool primarily for verifying media supplied to news agencies, given his involvement with a local news channel.
• Later that year, construction companies took an interest in the product - particularly in construction reviews, where verification is crucial. As Andrej says: "Sometimes, you need to be sure that a person took a photo of the bridge on the right, not the one on the left; that they took it on Monday, not on Friday; and that they took it themselves rather than asking a friend to do it."
• The app was released in 2024 for industrial use (Trust2p0 on iStore) serving pilot customers in the construction sector to track work progress at construction sites. Recently, an experimental version was launched for the public (available on iStore) to explore additional use cases.
• Exploring the defence industry was a natural next step. Early discussions revealed significant potential for military applications and private military contractors. As a result, 2P0 began seeking ways to integrate more deeply into this sector. Joining the NATO´s network was a logical move, and they were successfully selected for the Hackathon.

Chicken-and-egg problem

When asked which industry seems to be the best focus for 2p0, both founders described it as a “chicken-and-egg” question. They believe they need to test the waters across different sectors to find the best fit - but to do that, the company needs resources.

“Even though we're told there's vast funding in defence, it's hard to validate in that area as a start-up,” says Milan.

Andrej adds: “Right now, we’re trying to find the best possible prechicken to get the first chicken egg. So, it’s possible we’ll pivot a few more times, but no use case will be forgotten.” Their long-term vision is to equip the world with technology that ensures every photo is 100% original and traceable allowing anyone to verify the source and authenticity. Whether it’s news, social media, online store advertisements, or documentation for financial and industrial institutions, the need for verified visuals is clear.

Fundraising or bootstrapping?

2P0´s founders don't think it's possible to bootstrap this type of company without at least one founder being deep in cybersecurity. When it comes to investment, the moment you step outside of Slovakia the situation gets better and in the US it seems that you get a million dollar investment for pitching a bag of potatoes. Nothing new, but it is important what the conditions are.

Andrej and Milan were pitched an investment proposal last year, but they found it to be more of a takeover of the technology rather than a genuine investment. The terms were that the intellectual property would be moved to a third country, with most of the funds spent by the investment firm on their developers. The proposal came from entities at the intersection of defence and those involved in scouting for countries that invest heavily in defence.

They were told multiple times that there are possibilities in defence investments, but the solution would first need to be validated. Both founders agree that validating a cybersecurity start-up in defence isn't the same as validating other types of companies. For now, they’re sticking to their proven strategy of bootstrapping - until genuine investor interest emerges.

Lessons learned: from founders to founders in cybersecurity

"Don't be afraid to launch your solution, and don't worry too much about people copying it if you're an early start-up." This was the advice the founders kept hearing from all sides. But as soon as they made their prototype available for testing, they noticed intensive activity from two locations - San Francisco and Beijing. Multiple devices from these areas were testing the product extensively and were probably attempts of reverse engineering of their solution. They believe this interest stems from the nature of their technology, which is deeply rooted in cybersecurity and encryption.

“I would say that the approach to developing a solution in cybersecurity and defence should be different. You should expect that there will be those who want to analyze you from head to toe. You are not building a marketplace of products or a marketing tool, but in some use cases, a defence tool or even a weapon.” says Milan Kazarka, CTO of 2P0, drawing from his recent experience.

Another piece of advice from 2P0´s team is to resist the temptation to fulfill every request from the early customers. It’s important to remember that they may not always represent your broader target market.

Pleasing everyone who promises to use your solution can lead to burnout in the early stages of your business. It can also result in wasted time and effort, as you may find yourself going down paths that don’t align with the needs of most of your future customers.” adds Milan.

Participation in NATO´s accelerator

2P0 has noticed that while there are numerous events for start-ups, there is a significant lack of cybersecurity and defence programs in Europe. As a hardworking team, they managed to find opportunities and were successfully selected to attend programs such as StartupBootcamp, Omantel, and our AceON Accelerator.

The newest development is their participation in the NATO´s Innovation hackathon, DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic). They all agreed that it’s not possible to develop an entirely new system within the span of a week. Most of the companies there took their existing solutions and tried to figure out how to adapt them to solve the problem presented at the beginning of the hackathon.

At the NATO hackathon, they faced a chicken-and-egg problem. The expectation was that they would present a solution to specific, current defence challenges, but they couldn’t offer a solution that would take too long to implement. In the end, they focused on shaping and refining what they already had.

When working on defence technologies, prize money in the tens of thousands of euros, with the expectation to deliver results in just a few weeks, feels almost symbolic. Their largest takeaway from the program was the process with the mentors. From the outset, they realized they would need to find a "golden path." Given that their solution is in cyber defence, simply shaping it might not be enough, and they need a rethink - a refactoring.

Trends shaping the future of defence

The founders of 2P0, Andrej and Milan, shared also their opinions on trends in defence:

Technology becomes obsolete faster than ever

One key insight from the team is that technologies move really fast. At the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, drone technology was seen as a novelty - until both sides began using asymmetric tactics. Now, the adoption of modern technologies happens so rapidly that any advantage gained quickly becomes obsolete.

The role of AI in defence: hype vs. real-world application

AI is becoming a major focus in the defence industry. While some companies offer genuinely valuable AI-driven solutions, there is often a sense that AI is used more as a buzzword than a truly impactful tool - something seen across various industries.

Of course, any speed advantage in analyzing data and extracting insights can provide a competitive edge. However, one of the key challenges with AI in defence is ensuring the reliability of its output. Much of today’s AI operates on what could be described as "decisions from fuzzy probabilities" - which may work well for generative AI in marketing but requires much greater scrutiny on the battlefield.

Ultimately, the question comes down to how AI is integrated into decision-making. Is it merely an assistant, helping to process vast amounts of data, or is it making critical decisions, removing the human element from the equation? “I believe we have become overconfident and too reliant on simplification hacks. Many of the systems we use today are either unnecessarily complex or trusted too blindly when it comes to security. I advocate for a back-to-basics approach - following the KISS principle from Unix systems: Keep it simple stupid.” concludes Milan Kazarka.

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