Knewstart

What Knewstart does

KnewStart Limited is a privately held, founder-operated cybersecurity consultancy headquartered in London, UK, led by Jane Frankland MBE. The company provides brand promotion, board-level advisory, and bespoke training services to cybersecurity vendors seeking credibility with CISOs and to CISOs and security leaders seeking to grow personal and executive influence. The business is structured as a high-touch professional services firm with a small portfolio of branded training programs (IN Demand 10x, Client Attraction 10x, VIP Coaching, The Source membership) distributed through the Kajabi platform, alongside a partner-powered SaaS product called My Cyber Risk (€239.99/year) built with Cyber Monks and Mastercard to deliver cyber risk management tooling to SMEs. Revenue derives from bespoke advisory retainers, paid speaking engagements, training program and membership subscriptions, SaaS subscriptions, book royalties (IN Security, IN Sights, IN Focus Journal & Planner sold via Amazon), and brand ambassador engagements.

The go-to-market motion is consultative and discovery-call-led for advisory work, supplemented by event-driven demand generation through high-profile conference speaking (Black Hat, Kaspersky Next, Infosecurity Europe) and Jane Frankland's LinkedIn platform — where she is ranked the UK's No.1 cybersecurity influencer. KnewStart is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding and operates with no formal headcount beyond Jane Frankland as the principal operator; the company serves a global client base spanning the UK, US, Australia, and beyond. The IN Security Movement, founded in 2017, operates as a parallel philanthropic initiative championed through KnewStart: it has delivered approximately $800,000 in scholarships to 442+ women, and its code of conduct has been adopted by Black Hat and (ISC)², contributing ecosystem-level influence that reinforces the firm's commercial positioning.

Name

Knewstart

Legal name

KnewStart Limited

Website

https://jane-frankland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KnewStart Limited is a London-based, founder-operated cybersecurity consultancy providing brand promotion, advisory, and training services to cybersecurity vendors and CISOs, supplemented by a partner-powered SME cyber risk SaaS portal and Kajabi-distributed training programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Advisory Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAEAG

Cybersecurity & Identity Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Technology & Digital Consulting

SECONDARYEDAOAIAB

Cybersecurity (General)

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/IT, Networking & Cybersecurity Certifications

Keywords

• Cybersecurity advisory services
• Executive personal branding
• CISO leadership coaching
• Cyber risk management
• Professional training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Advisory & Consulting Services: Jane Frankland provides board-level and ExCo advisory, brand promotion, and strategic consulting to cybersecurity brands and vendors. These are bespoke, high-value engagements typically initiated via discovery call and scoped to specific outcomes. Revenue is earned through project-based or retainer agreements.
2. Training & Education Programs: Structured group programs delivered via Kajabi platform, including IN Demand 10x (personal branding for cyber professionals), Client Attraction 10x (business development), and VIP Coaching. Programs are sold as one-time purchases or subscription-style memberships (e.g., The Source membership club).
3. Speaking Engagements: Keynote speaking at cybersecurity conferences and corporate events. Jane offers complimentary keynotes for charitable or mission-aligned events but charges for commercial engagements.
4. My Cyber Risk SaaS Revenue: Annual subscription to the My Cyber Risk portal, priced at €239.99/year standard rate. IN Security Movement funds 25% of the cost for qualifying SMEs, reducing effective price to approximately €180/year for supported organisations.
5. Book Royalties & Published Works: IN Security (bestselling book, Amazon), IN Sights (52 insights for women in cyber), and the IN Focus Journal & Planner generate revenue through book sales via Amazon and volume orders through the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

KnewStart Limited provides cybersecurity advisory, brand promotion, and executive coaching services to cybersecurity vendors and CISOs, helping vendors build trust and engagement with CISO buyers and helping security leaders grow visibility and influence. The firm also delivers structured training programs (IN Demand 10x, Client Attraction 10x, VIP Coaching) and operates a membership community (The Source) for women in cybersecurity, plus the My Cyber Risk SaaS portal for SME cyber risk management. Revenue is generated through bespoke advisory retainers, fixed-price training programs, subscription SaaS fees, speaking engagements, and book royalties.

Product overview

Knewstart is a professional services company operating primarily as a consulting and coaching practice under Jane Frankland's personal brand. The offering consists of advisory and brand promotion services for cybersecurity organisations, training programs (IN Demand 10x, Client Attraction 10x, VIP Coaching) for individuals and executives, the My Cyber Risk SaaS platform for SME cyber risk management, and the IN Security Movement initiative for gender diversity in cybersecurity. Products are largely service-based with one technology-enabled product (My Cyber Risk), supplemented by published books and membership programmes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Promotion Services Cybersecurity brand trust-building and credibility services including thought leadership content, impactful talks, panels, and media opportunities, designed to help cybersecurity brands earn trust, engagement, and credibility with CISOs and IT leaders.
• Advisory Services Board and ExCo advisory services providing guidance on direction and strategy for organisations advancing cybersecurity, delivered by Jane Frankland as a bespoke, high-value engagement.
• CISO Influence Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 442+ women received scholarships totalling approximately $800,000 USD since 2018
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cyber MonkscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Cyber Monks partnered with Jane Frankland and the IN Security Movement to launch the Cyber Marketplace and My Cyber Risk portal. Cyber Monks provides the technology platform and operational infrastructure for delivering cybersecurity tools to SMEs, with Mastercard powering payment processing. The IN Security Movement funds 25% of costs for qualifying organisations, particularly women-led businesses and young entrepreneurs.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Mastercard is a payment technology partner in the Cyber Marketplace co-created with Cyber Monks and Jane Frankland's IN Security Movement. The partnership enables accessible, affordable cyber risk management tools for SMEs, with Mastercard's brand and infrastructure lending credibility to the funded initiative.
• Black HatcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Black Hat is a premier global events provider in information security. Jane Frankland serves on the board of the Black Hat EU Executive Summit and partners with Black Hat annually to deliver IN Security Movement scholarships to women attending Black Hat events. The partnership is central to Jane's mission of increasing women's access to premier cybersecurity conferences and career development opportunities.
• AccentureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Jane Frankland served as Managing Director of Accenture's Applied Cybersecurity Services (ACS) UK division from 2020, where she was responsible for building the ACS team and helping the global cyber and UK tech teams achieve gender parity by 2025. This was an employment relationship rather than a commercial partnership.
• IN Security Movement Book SponsorsminorOthers · 1 January 2017The IN Security book was funded in part via Kickstarter backers and corporate sponsors. Gold sponsors include Bank of America and Fujitsu Services. Silver sponsors include Duo Security and BP. Bronze sponsors include Stott and May, Digital Shadows, NCC Group, and ZoneFox. These sponsors contributed to the IN Security Movement's launch but are not active commercial partners.
• Women4Cyber FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJane Frankland is a Founding Member of Women4Cyber Foundation (pan-European) and serves as a board advisor for Women4Cyber UK. The foundation advances gender diversity in cybersecurity through mentorship, networking, and advocacy. Jane's involvement is both a personal affiliation and a key pillar of the IN Security Movement's mission.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterUp: BetterUp is the leading enterprise executive-coaching and leadership-development platform. Comparable to the executive-presence, leadership, and personal-branding component of KnewStart's training programs, though BetterUp operates at far greater scale and across all professions rather than specialising in cybersecurity.
• ISACA: ISACA is a global professional association for IT audit, cybersecurity, and governance professionals. Comparable as a professional development and certification body serving the same CISO and security-leader buyer profile that KnewStart addresses with its advisory and Influence programs.
• SANS Institute: SANS is the global leader in cybersecurity training and certifications. It is broadly comparable to KnewStart's training programs (IN Demand 10x, Client Attraction 10x) as both organisations deliver instructor-led and digital cybersecurity professional development, though SANS operates at vastly larger scale and on technical content rather than personal-brand coaching.
• Pluralsight: Pluralsight is a large enterprise technology and cybersecurity skills-development platform with individual and team subscriptions. Functionally adjacent to KnewStart's Kajabi-delivered training programs and My Cyber Risk SaaS portal, differing through its much broader technology scope.
• (ISC)²: (ISC)² is the global, non-profit membership body for cybersecurity professionals. It competes in the same 'professional development for cyber leaders' space as KnewStart's CISO-facing offerings and is also the body whose code of conduct Jane Frankland's IN Security Movement has been adopted by — a direct ecosystem overlap.

Direct peers

• Cybrary: Cybrary is an online cybersecurity training and professional development platform. Comparable to KnewStart's Kajabi-delivered training programs in addressing the same individual cyber-professional learner audience and delivering subscription-based continuous development.
• Infosec Institute: Infosec Institute provides cybersecurity training, certifications, and skill development services. It overlaps directly with KnewStart's professional-development and training programs targeted at cybersecurity practitioners and leaders.
• KnowBe4: KnowBe4 is the dominant dedicated security-awareness training platform for organisations and is the closest direct competitor to the My Cyber Risk portal (cyber risk management, awareness, and remediation tooling distributed to SMEs and enterprises).

Emerging players

• Cyber Leadership Institute: Cyber Leadership Institute focuses specifically on cybersecurity leadership training for CISOs and aspiring security executives. Highly comparable to KnewStart's CISO Influence and executive-presence offerings for the same niche audience.
• Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS): WiCyS is a global non-profit community advancing women in cybersecurity through scholarships, mentorship, and conferences — the same mission as KnewStart's IN Security Movement and The Source membership, with overlapping community/advocacy mechanics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/janefrankland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/janefranklandTV
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/janefrankland
• Instagraminstagram.com/janefrankland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Knewstart