Culture at Stairwell

21 AUGUST 2023

Welcome to

Introduction

Culture at Stairwell

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Proprietary and confidential.

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Proprietary and confidential.

Key investors & board members

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George Tenet

Former United States Director of Central Intelligence + Board Member

Eric Schmidt

Former CEO of Google + Board Member

George Hoyem

Head of Investments at In-Q-Tel + Board Member

Andy Harrison

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Steve Loughlin

Accel Partner + Board Member

Bill Coughran

Sequoia Partner + Board Member

Proprietary and confidential.

Vision

Our “core purpose”

Outsmart Any Attacker

We're amplifying capabilities across the board - from SOC analysts to threat hunters to incident responders - delivering the combined superpowers of a senior incident responder, a top-tier threat hunter, and a senior malware reverse engineer to every team member via an incredible automation solution.

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Stairwell is an automation engine that turbocharges threat detection and response. We enable companies to automate the equivalent of comprehensive multi-week compromise assessments in just seconds, for every file-related alert from their endpoint tools or SIEM. We run threat-informed detections, including YARA, at scale over every executable file in your environment, covering not only present files but also all files ever present since you joined the Stairwell family.

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Proprietary and confidential.

Leadership

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Tyler King

Head of Talent & Culture

Julie Simmons

Head of Legal

Proprietary and confidential.

There be dragons

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• Do you believe in “customer first?”
• Do you have a sense of urgency?
• Do you want to work hard?
• Are you ready to work for a startup?

Proprietary and confidential.

Everyone puts their values on the walls

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But how many companies actually embody those values?

Enron, whose leaders went to jail, and which went bankrupt from fraud, had these values displayed in their lobby:

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• Integrity
• Communication
• Respect
• Excellence

Proprietary and confidential.

Our values

Our values are actually practiced here

• Passionately Curious
• Diversity of Perspectives
• Products not Promises
• Go a Step Above
• Practical Excellence
• Freedom & Responsibility

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Actual company values are the behaviors and skills that are valued in fellow employees and are shown by who gets rewarded, promoted, or let go.

This is: who we want to be and how we want to operate.

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Value #1 - Passionately Curious

“Passionately Curious” means we believe in…

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• We're knowledge-hungry, always learning and driven by love, not paychecks.
• Challenges? We see 'em as brain food to feed our problem-solving cravings.
• We'd be doing this even if we hit the jackpot - it's not about the money, it's the passion.
• We're after go-getters who are so self-driven, we have to reign 'em in, not push 'em out!

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Value #2 - Diversity of Perspectives

“Diversity of Perspectives” means…

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• We look at problems from every angle, sparking innovation that's off the charts.
• The way things are done, doesn’t make them right.
• Skills growth is our middle name - it's all about getting better and nailing adaptability.
• Cybersecurity isn’t a solved problem; insights come from everywhere. It’s our job to hunt them down.
• Dissent when you disagree; once decided, support.

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Value #3 - Products not Promises

“Products not Promises” means…

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• Turning bright ideas into real-deal products? That's our thing.
• We're all about cutting through the complicated stuff for smooth-running efficiency.
• Adapting fast and delivering faster in a world that never stops changing.
• We're straight-shooters - you can take our word to the bank.
• Do what is difficult for us if it makes things easier for our customers & users.
• We can’t over-promise, because we always over-deliver.

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Value #4 - Go a Step Above

“Go a Step Above” means…

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• Making fast calls, but also the right calls - that's our way of stepping up.
• “It’s kind of fun doing the impossible.” - Walt Disney
• We raise the standards for everyone around us.
• Total commitment, open chats, and owning it all - that's how we roll.
• Taking the big leap for progress, even if it means a few steps back.
• Escalate problems from the start, not when all hell breaks loose.

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Value #5 - Practical Excellence

“Practical Excellence” means…

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• We aim high, but we're realists - it's about the journey, not just the finish line.
• Progress, not perfection, but perfection is perfectly acceptable.
• If it ain't broke, we're not fixing it. Change for change's sake? Not our style.
• Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
• We over index on not over engineering.

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Proprietary and confidential.

Value #6 - Freedom & Responsibility

“Freedom & Responsibility” means…

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• You have the keys to the car, be home by 10:30pm.
• Freedom comes with accountability - own your actions, own the outcomes.
• Know & respect your own limits. It’s through teamwork that we expand them.
• Honest mistakes happen - we learn, adapt, and get back on track.
• Trust is our currency - we trust you with freedom, you pay us back with responsibility.

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Values are great, but..

There’s more to working at a company than the values on the wall.

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Our values underpin everything we do.�

We all know most companies say they have values, but don’t value those things.

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Culture is how values are practiced every day.

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Here’s what that looks like, in no particular order.

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Guiding principles

Guiding principle #1 - we are a lean startup

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We are a lean startup.

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That means we believe in:

• Innovating with MVPs, Build-Measure-Learn.
• Working smarter not harder by leveraging open source resources when we can.
• Working through “the hard things,” operating from zero to one until someone tells us otherwise.
• Betting on our collective success, reinforcing faith in our mission.

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Aligned Values:

Practical Excellence

Products not Promises

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #2 - we are one team

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We are one team, united by a common goal.

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That means we believe in:

• We are not a family. We operate as a pro sports team with discipline & an emphasis on performance.
• We hold each other accountable, & treat everyone with respect regardless of their position in the company.
• We hire, develop, & cut smartly so we have stars in every position.

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Aligned Values:

Diversity of Perspectives

Go a Step Above

Practical Excellence

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #3 - we value outcomes

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Efforts matter, but results matter more. We are not for everyone.

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That means we believe in:

• We focus on results, not hours spent, & celebrate the achievement of great work.
• We reward A-level performance & respectfully part ways with sustained B-level performance.
• We understand that consistently high engagement, across the board, is necessary to the success of the company.
• We believe in the power of top talent to produce 10x the impact, especially in creative work, & strive to build teams with this potential.

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Aligned Values:

Products not Promises

Go a Step Above

Practical Excellence

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #4 - we are dynamic

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We act in the best interest of our customers and company.

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This means:

• We prioritize speed & believe in the power of swift execution & adaptability, even if it means improving as we go.
• We uphold the principle of “disagree & commit,” fostering a culture of respectful disagreement followed by unified action.
• We embrace truth, expect open communication & discussion of issues, & expect everyone to bring issues to the surface.

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Aligned Values:

Diversity of Perspectives

Go a Step Above

Practical Excellence

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #5 - extreme ownership

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We act like we own the company (because we do.)

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This means:

• We focus on the mission and how best to accomplish it.
• We accept total responsibility of actions & words.
• We own any problems and develop solutions to those problems.
• We don’t make excuses.
• We figure out a way to win.

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Aligned Values:

Go a Step Above

Products not Promises

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #6 - audacious goals

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The startup cliché is “we are making the world a better place.”

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This means:

• We truly believe we can alter the future to make the internet a safer place.
• We believe it is our mission of helping companies solve important problems.
• We believe in the importance of setting - & achieving - “big, hairy, audacious goals.”

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Aligned Values:

Go a Step Above

Products not Promises

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #7 - we measure

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We act in the best interest of our customers and company.

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This means:

• We know what gets measured & gets managed.
• We believe great metrics & good measurement is exceptionally important.
• We value strategy, objectives, defined roles, & clear communication of goals.

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Aligned Values:

Practical Excellence

Products not Promises

Proprietary and confidential.

Guiding principle #8 - have faith

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We may not always have all of the answers, and that’s okay.

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This means:

• There will be ambiguity, & we may not always get all of the answers we think we need.
• We need to have a good amount of faith in our mission & trust in the direction we are heading.
• Faith is not always backed by data, & as a result faith is often tested.
• We are the path-makers, we go where there is no road so others don’t have to.

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Aligned Values:

Products not Promises

Go a Step Above

Practical Excellence

Proprietary and confidential.

Recommended reading

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Short list of things you might want to short list:

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Recommended reading - leaders

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Additive list of things we ask our leaders to read:

https://arbinger.com/store/

Proprietary and confidential.

Questions? Comments?

We want to hear from you!

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Feel free to reach out to anyone on the Stairwell team:

• Tyler King, Head of Talent & Culture (tyler@stairwell.com)
• Eric Foster, VP of Business Development (foster@stairwell.com)
• Mike Wiacek, CEO & Founder (mike@stairwell.com)
• Anna Tiss, People & Culture (anna.tiss@stairwell.com)

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Proprietary and confidential.