He arrested a hacker, then spent 18 months clearing his own name. Now he’s a cybersecurity VC. | TechCrunch

A different view of exits

Stephen Ward, co-founder of New York cybersecurity investor Brightmind Partners, argues that startups should be sold while their value is rising. He says investors must consider possible exits when making investment decisions, even as many publicly describe their portfolio companies as future IPO candidates.

Brightmind, founded two years ago, closed its first fund at $250 million late last year. Ward raised it with co-founder Gur Talpaz, drawing on a career that included the Coast Guard, nine years in the Secret Service and cybersecurity leadership jobs at TIAA and Home Depot.

From Coast Guard to Secret Service

Ward grew up in northwest New Jersey between two farms. After high school, he joined the Coast Guard and spent four years in search and rescue, then studied criminal justice at Seton Hall.

After graduating in 1998, Ward says he sent about 300 résumés without receiving a response. A Seton Hall professor who served as a chaplain to Secret Service personnel helped introduce him to people, and the agency contacted him first.

Ward worked on investigations and moved into cyber after the September 11 attacks in 2001. While stationed in New York, he arrested a hacker responsible for what Ward described as the era’s largest credit card data theft.

A case that followed him

Rather than charge the hacker, Ward turned him into an informant and managed him for about three years. The hacker continued breaking the law, and after being caught again, falsely told the agency Ward had been involved.

Ward had by then left the Secret Service for the private sector. He says he spent roughly 18 months clearing his name, a period he described as deeply painful. The hacker received a 20-year sentence, and Audible acquired the story rights for an eight-episode podcast, “Operation Firewall.”

Building a cybersecurity career

In 2007, J.P. Morgan recruited Ward to build a cybersecurity unit. He recalls finding the transition difficult and feeling out of place, but stayed and later called the investment bank the “best management school.”

Ward then spent six years as chief information security officer at TIAA and joined Home Depot in 2019, where he worked for two years. Brightmind’s investment in identity security startup SGNL was followed by an agreement in January for CrowdStrike to acquire the company for $740 million, 11 months after Brightmind led its Series A.

Ward is now raising Brightmind’s second fund, targeting roughly the first fund’s size. Talpaz left in April, along with another early colleague, leaving Ward as the firm’s sole general partner.