Should I Build It Should I Build It
01 Jul 2025
Security

I’m building a simple, self-serve cybersecurity platform for small ...

...teams (2–50 people). It includes short, non-boring video lessons (60–180 sec), monthly phishing simulations, and a tool to check if an email looks suspicious — all without sales calls or bloated features. Most tools are built for big enterprises, but I want something lean, clear, and made for busy startups, agencies, and remote teams.

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space in the cybersecurity market, specifically targeting small teams with a self-serve platform. The 'Swamp' category indicates that many similar solutions exist, but haven't truly resonated with users or generated significant revenue. The presence of 8 similar products suggests considerable competition. While your idea of offering lean, clear, and non-boring cybersecurity training is appealing, the challenge will be differentiating yourself from the existing solutions that are failing to impress. Given the low engagement (average of 3 comments) on similar products, it appears users aren't actively raving about or deeply involved with these solutions.

Recommendations

  1. Deeply investigate why existing cybersecurity platforms for small teams haven't succeeded. Don't just assume you know; conduct user interviews, analyze competitor reviews (especially the 'criticism' sections), and understand the specific pain points that aren't being addressed. For example, the 'Just raised $17M...' product faced concerns around GitHub permissions; identify similar trust barriers in this space.
  2. Instead of targeting all small teams, identify a very specific niche being underserved. Consider compliance-heavy industries (e.g., healthcare startups needing HIPAA compliance training) or teams using specific tools (e.g., cybersecurity for remote teams heavily reliant on cloud-based collaboration platforms). Specializing will allow you to tailor your content and marketing efforts, improving your chances of resonating with your target audience.
  3. Before building your own platform, explore the possibility of creating tools or integrations for existing cybersecurity providers. Could you build a plugin that enhances a popular platform with your engaging video lessons, or a module focused on a specific type of threat that their current offering lacks? This would allow you to validate your core value proposition without the risk of building an entire platform.
  4. Carefully consider your pricing model. A common piece of feedback from similar products is the need for flexible payment options like 'Pay as you go'. Make sure your pricing aligns with the budget constraints of small teams and offers clear value for each feature.
  5. Focus on building trust and transparency. Address potential concerns about data privacy and security upfront. Clearly explain how your email checking tool works and what data it collects. Be transparent about your security practices and offer guarantees to build confidence with your users.
  6. Develop a strong content marketing strategy focused on educating your target audience about the specific cybersecurity threats they face. Create valuable resources like blog posts, checklists, and free tools that address their pain points and demonstrate your expertise. The goal is to build trust and establish yourself as a thought leader in the space.
  7. Actively seek feedback from your early users and iterate quickly based on their input. Given the low engagement in the space, it's even more crucial to foster a strong community and encourage users to share their experiences. Use this feedback to refine your product and marketing efforts.

Questions

  1. What specific cybersecurity threats are most pressing for your chosen niche of small teams, and how can you uniquely address those threats with your self-serve platform?
  2. How will you ensure that your 'non-boring' video lessons remain engaging and up-to-date as cybersecurity threats evolve rapidly?
  3. Given the existing competition and generally low engagement in this space, what is your unfair advantage that will allow you to acquire and retain customers?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space in the cybersecurity market, specifically targeting small teams with a self-serve platform. The 'Swamp' category indicates that many similar solutions exist, but haven't truly resonated with users or generated significant revenue. The presence of 8 similar products suggests considerable competition. While your idea of offering lean, clear, and non-boring cybersecurity training is appealing, the challenge will be differentiating yourself from the existing solutions that are failing to impress. Given the low engagement (average of 3 comments) on similar products, it appears users aren't actively raving about or deeply involved with these solutions.

Recommendations

  1. Deeply investigate why existing cybersecurity platforms for small teams haven't succeeded. Don't just assume you know; conduct user interviews, analyze competitor reviews (especially the 'criticism' sections), and understand the specific pain points that aren't being addressed. For example, the 'Just raised $17M...' product faced concerns around GitHub permissions; identify similar trust barriers in this space.
  2. Instead of targeting all small teams, identify a very specific niche being underserved. Consider compliance-heavy industries (e.g., healthcare startups needing HIPAA compliance training) or teams using specific tools (e.g., cybersecurity for remote teams heavily reliant on cloud-based collaboration platforms). Specializing will allow you to tailor your content and marketing efforts, improving your chances of resonating with your target audience.
  3. Before building your own platform, explore the possibility of creating tools or integrations for existing cybersecurity providers. Could you build a plugin that enhances a popular platform with your engaging video lessons, or a module focused on a specific type of threat that their current offering lacks? This would allow you to validate your core value proposition without the risk of building an entire platform.
  4. Carefully consider your pricing model. A common piece of feedback from similar products is the need for flexible payment options like 'Pay as you go'. Make sure your pricing aligns with the budget constraints of small teams and offers clear value for each feature.
  5. Focus on building trust and transparency. Address potential concerns about data privacy and security upfront. Clearly explain how your email checking tool works and what data it collects. Be transparent about your security practices and offer guarantees to build confidence with your users.
  6. Develop a strong content marketing strategy focused on educating your target audience about the specific cybersecurity threats they face. Create valuable resources like blog posts, checklists, and free tools that address their pain points and demonstrate your expertise. The goal is to build trust and establish yourself as a thought leader in the space.
  7. Actively seek feedback from your early users and iterate quickly based on their input. Given the low engagement in the space, it's even more crucial to foster a strong community and encourage users to share their experiences. Use this feedback to refine your product and marketing efforts.

Questions

  1. What specific cybersecurity threats are most pressing for your chosen niche of small teams, and how can you uniquely address those threats with your self-serve platform?
  2. How will you ensure that your 'non-boring' video lessons remain engaging and up-to-date as cybersecurity threats evolve rapidly?
  3. Given the existing competition and generally low engagement in this space, what is your unfair advantage that will allow you to acquire and retain customers?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 8
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 8.2%
    • Positive use signal: 12.3%
    • Negative use signal: 4.1%
  • Net buy signal: -4.1%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 4.1%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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