David Alcaraz-Duran, a regional sales director for Huntress’s North America OIS sales team, was at an industry event in 2019 when he asked Huntress CEO Kyle Hanslovan what the future of the company looked like. What happened next was shocking: Hanslovan presented him with a notebook filled with the early sketches of a “master plan” — a plan that would unfold before his very eyes over the next few years.
“This exponential growth has proven that I was severely underestimating the massive potential impact Huntress was going to make in the small- and medium-sized business market,” Alcaraz-Duran said.
Huntress has reached numerous milestones over the past few years. Since 2019, the company has hired more than 500 new team members while refining its product suite, giving rise to a workplace where breaking records is just a part of the daily grind.
When Principal Product Researcher Dave Kleinatland joined the company in 2019, he was one of 14 employees. He hadn’t worked at a tech startup since the late 1990s, and he imagined working at Huntress might be akin to the hit TV series Silicon Valley.
Nevertheless, there was one thing Kleinatland knew for certain: He was joining a team whose values he shared; chief among them, the idea that every business deserves protection, not just the Fortune 500. Huntress’s mission — to deliver world-class security to small- and medium-sized businesses — resonated deeply. And despite the growth that followed over the next six years, that mission hasn’t changed.
“Everyone on the team is dedicated to protecting the 99 percent,” he said.
It’s this potential for impact — not a growing headcount and smashing revenue targets — that gets teammates like Recruiting Programs and Operations Manager Courtney Wonders out of bed each day, though those things are important, too.
“While those numbers are still important, my perspective has evolved to see that growth isn’t just about getting bigger — it’s about getting stronger,” Wonders said.
About Huntress
Huntress’ cybersecurity platform enables small- and medium-sized businesses to employ endpoint detection and response, protect Microsoft 365 environments and employee identities, offer security awareness training and more.
Key Milestones in Huntress’s Growth Journey
Huntress hit its first major milestone after expanding to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Leadership saw this as a critical component to supporting the company’s expanding customer base and positioning the business for future growth.
After this expansion, Wonders said her team became more specialized in certain areas, a specialization that would go on to support the company’s growing product suite.
New product capabilities included endpoint detection and response and a 24/7 security operations center team. According to Alcaraz-Duran, one of the most impactful results of this enhancement was adding assisted and automated remediation.
“Now, we don’t just stop bad actors; we can also automatically clean up their systems with a partner’s approval,” Alcaraz-Duran explained.
Next up? A $22-million acquisition of Curricula, a platform that empowers customers’ employees to better defend themselves against hackers through fun, story-based security training.
Shortly thereafter, Huntress launched a managed identity threat detection and response to fight business email compromise identity-based attacks. And just last year, the company launched a new managed security information and event management solution, which makes it easy for SMBs to centralize their security data and improve threat visibility.
The outcome?
“Our platform is now a comprehensive, all-in-one security solution built with our partners in mind,” Alcaraz-Duran said.
“Our platform is now a comprehensive, all-in-one security solution built with our partners in mind.”
The market is saturated with vendors, many of whom have massive resources and are coming down-market to capture a share of the managed service provider space, Alcaraz-Duran said. What sets Huntress apart is its commitment to its original mission.
“My focus, and the vision for our future growth, is to not get distracted by this noise,” he said. “Instead, we are doubling down on our core strengths: building highly efficient solutions that are purpose-built for the managed service provider workflows, ensuring the highest quality in every aspect of our platform and maintaining a level of support that our partners can always rely on.”
How Huntress Levels-Up Its People
To help the sales team keep pace with this growth, Alcaraz-Duran cultivates the opposite of “bro culture.”
He wants sales representatives to work in an environment where reaching personal goals is just as important as hitting revenue targets. That’s why Alcaraz-Duran focuses on mentoring team members, providing them with the necessary guidance, tools and support they need to excel while setting them up for future promotions.
“By preparing them for future advancement, I’m not only helping them advance their careers but also building a stronger, more capable team that’s ready to take on new challenges to meet the growing needs of the company in the years ahead,” he said.
Continuous learning is one of the cornerstones of Huntress’ culture, which is why the company offers a professional development fund that gives teammates $3,300 annually to be put toward certificate or degree programs, conferences or similar opportunities. Every team member also has access to BetterUp for one-on-one coaching, which Wonders herself has benefited from for the past two years.
This access to growth-focused resources and opportunities, coupled with a culture of support, makes it easy for people to evolve alongside the company.
“Huntress ensures the team has the resources needed to keep pace and elevate themselves for whatever challenges are coming next,” Kleinatland said.
What’s Next for Huntress
As Huntress celebrates its tenth anniversary, its people are reflecting on all of the accomplishments that have brought them here — and all that lies ahead.
“The crazy part is that where we are now is likely still considered part of the beginning,” Kleinatland said.
“The crazy part is that where we are now is likely still considered part of the beginning.”
Over the last six years Kleinatland said he’s seen his teammates do their part to help shape the company’s future, relying on each other’s determination and expertise to reach major milestones.
Despite this scale, Huntress hasn’t lost its value of“BElonging,” with “BE” representing the bull’s eye. Instead, Wonders said there’s a consistent belief that you and everyone around you are a part of the mission and valued.
“I’m looking forward to contributing to our future growth, elevating our processes and supporting our teams at an even greater scale,” Wonders said. “Whatever is coming next for Huntress, I’m ready for it.”
