BitArmor Attracts Both Customers and Investors
BitArmor, a rapidly growing Pittsburgh-based data security software company, is striking a chord with customers and investors alike. Recent reports indicate a $5 million Series B funding round from Draper Triangle and other investors.
BitArmor began working with Innovation Works, the Ben Franklin Technology Partner (BFTP) of Southwestern PA, in February 2005. Support included $300,000 in investment and assistance in developing strategies for sales, financing product positioning and strategies to attract and retain top talent. The evolution from BFTP funding to a venture capital round of financing illustrates the progression of funding for successful early-stage companies. BFTP funding bridges the gap between the self-financing of the entrepreneur and the institutional funding that comes with market traction and growth.
“BFTP helped us take an early-stage prototype to a beta program with early customers,” says Patrick McGregor, founder and CEO of BitArmor. “As we started to grow, they kept us focused on reaching milestones and continually creating value so we would be more attractive to investors.”
Bit Armor reports that sales were up 200 percent over 2007, and its team grew by 43 percent in 2008. The company is expanding internationally and has added new customers in health care, education and the federal government.
With the prevalence of mobile computing, more and more sensitive data is leaving the safety of the data center or the workplace and being transmitted to and stored on any number of wired and wireless devices. These devices are frustratingly easy to be stolen or lost. BitArmor technology protects the sensitive information on any of these devices, regardless of where the data is stored.
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