vCSO.ai

What vCSO.ai does

vCSO.ai (legal entity Secoyascent LLC) is a founder-led cybersecurity advisory firm headquartered in Los Gatos, California. It sells fractional CSO advisory, M&A due diligence, and product GTM advisory to enterprise buyers, growth-stage companies, PE/VC sponsors, and cybersecurity product vendors. The firm was founded by Nick Shevelyov, who served as Chief Security Officer of Silicon Valley Bank from 2007 to 2021 defending $200B+ in assets, and now sits on the board of AuthID (NASDAQ).

The firm's delivery is anchored by two proprietary software platforms. Theodolite is a FAIR-based cyber risk quantification platform that combines cloud security posture management (CSPM), data security posture management (DSPM), sensitive data discovery across AWS/Azure/GCP, ingestion of Nessus and OpenVAS scan output, and Monte Carlo simulation to translate findings into annualized loss expectancy and 95th-percentile Value at Risk in dollars. The vTC Calculator is a custom Monte Carlo-modeled ROI calculator co-built with Hubbard Decision Research, used to quantify cybersecurity product value for enterprise buyers in defensible dollar terms and to export board-ready PDF reports.

The business model combines subscription retainers (fractional CSO at $10K-$30K/month per disclosed pricing benchmarks), professional services engagements (VTC Calculator builds starting at $40K with quarterly refreshes, M&A diligence with 5-day initial reviews, post-LOI deep diligence, and 100-day post-close integration roadmaps), and product advisory for cybersecurity companies. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales through 30-minute scoping calls, thought leadership content (blog, monthly newsletter, book 'Cyber War and Peace', Forbes Technology Council), the CISO Supper Club community, and warm introductions through a Fortune 500 CSO and PE/VC referral network. The team is small and fractional, led by the founder with a named Technical Strategist.

Name

vCSO.ai

Legal name

Secoyascent LLC DBA vCSO.ai

Website

https://vcso.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

vCSO.ai is a founder-led cybersecurity advisory firm offering fractional CSO retainers, M&A due diligence, and product GTM advisory to enterprises, PE/VC sponsors, and cybersecurity vendors, accelerated by its Theodolite risk-quantification platform and vTC Calculator built with Hubbard Decision Research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Advisory Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Platforms (HDAAAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Model Risk Management & AI Governance (validation, monitoring, explainability) (FSAGAFAL), AI Observability, Monitoring & Evaluation Platforms (Drift, Quality, Safety) (HDAEANAF), Responsible AI, Security & Privacy Platforms (Safety, Guardrails, PII) (HDAEANAG), Audit, Explainability & Accountability Tooling (traceability, reporting) (HDAAAKAL)

Keywords

• Fractional CISO services
• Cyber risk quantification
• Cloud security posture management
• Cybersecurity M&A due diligence
• Security product advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fractional CSO / Strategic Oversight Advisory: Ongoing advisory retainer for fractional CSO leadership covering board reporting, program oversight, and incident readiness. Delivered at reduced hours (typically 15-25 hours/month) at a monthly retainer rate.
2. VTC Calculator Build Engagements: Custom VTC calculator builds for cybersecurity product companies - 6-8 week engagements with quarterly refreshes. Built with Hubbard Decision Research methodology.
3. M&A Due Diligence Engagements: Pre-close cybersecurity due diligence for PE/VC sponsors, corporate acquirers, and investment banks. Includes 5-day initial reviews and post-LOI deep diligence with quantified loss and cost estimates.
4. Product Advisory Services: GTM and positioning advisory for cybersecurity product companies including ICP validation, competitive intelligence, and warm introductions through Fortune 500 CSO and PE/VC network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

vCSO.ai is a cybersecurity advisory firm that delivers operator-led fractional CISO engagements and three advisory practices — Strategic Oversight (fractional CSO leadership), Product Advisory (GTM and positioning for cybersecurity product companies), and M&A Due Diligence (pre-close cyber diligence for PE/VC sponsors). The advisory work is accelerated by two proprietary software platforms: Theodolite, a FAIR-based CSPM/DSPM and cyber risk quantification platform, and the vTC Calculator, a Monte Carlo-modeled ROI tool built with Hubbard Decision Research.

Product overview

vCSO.ai is a cybersecurity advisory firm operating under legal entity Secoyascent LLC, offering operator-led fractional CISO services and proprietary software platforms. The portfolio consists of Theodolite (a cloud security posture, data discovery, and FAIR-based cyber risk quantification platform) and the vTC Calculator (a custom Monte Carlo–modeled ROI calculator for cybersecurity products, built with Hubbard Decision Research). These software products are paired with three advisory service practices — Strategic Oversight (fractional CSO leadership), Product Advisory (GTM and positioning for cyber product companies), and M&A Due Diligence (pre-close cyber diligence for deal teams) — all of which are accelerated by Theodolite. The overall offering is operator-led: Nick Shevelyov, former CSO of Silicon Valley Bank (2007–2021), is the primary advisor behind every engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Theodolite: AI-powered cloud security posture management (CSPM), data security posture management (DSPM), and FAIR-based cyber risk quantification platform. Compresses posture review, risk quantification, and competitive intelligence into a single dashboard.
• vTC Calculator

Products and services

• Theodolite Cloud security posture, data discovery, and cyber risk quantification platform that unifies CSPM, DSPM, sensitive data discovery, and FAIR-based risk quantification. Scans AWS, Azure, and GCP environments; ingests Nessus/OpenVAS output; and produces board-ready summaries, technical audit reports, and deal-room packets with Annualized Loss Expectancy and 95th-percentile Value at Risk in dollars.
• vTC Calculator (Value to Customer Calculator) Custom Monte Carlo-modeled ROI calculator for cybersecurity products, built on Hubbard Decision Research's calibrated estimation methodology. Quantifies product value to enterprise buyers in defensible dollars (NPV, ROI multiple) and exports board-ready branded PDF reports. Target buyers include CFOs, CISOs, and enterprise procurement teams evaluating cybersecurity products.
• Strategic Oversight Fractional CSO advisory service for growth-stage, PE/VC portfolio, and pre-exit companies. Includes board reporting, program oversight, incident response planning, and tabletop exercises; delivered at a reduced monthly retainer (typically 15-25 hours/month).
• Product Advisory GTM and positioning advisory for cybersecurity product companies. Includes ICP validation, competitive intelligence, warm CISO introductions through a Fortune 500 network, roadmap pressure-testing, and cybersecurity sales training.
• M&A Due Diligence

Quantifiable outcome

• $200B+ assets defended at enterprise scale during SVB tenure
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Hubbard Decision Research (HDR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHDR, led by Doug Hubbard (author of 'How to Measure Anything in Cybersecurity Risk'), co-builds the VTC Calculator with vCSO.ai. HDR provides calibrated estimation methodology and Monte Carlo modeling expertise while vCSO.ai contributes buyer-perspective insights. The partnership produces custom ROI calculators for cybersecurity product companies.
• Palo Alto NetworksflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner relationship. Nick Shevelyov's firm was a design partner to Palo Alto Networks during his SVB tenure and maintains ongoing advisory relationship.
• ZscalerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner relationship with Zscaler for product feedback and validation during SVB tenure.
• CrowdStrikeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner relationship with CrowdStrike for product feedback and validation.
• FireEyecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner relationship with FireEye (now Mandiant) for product feedback and validation.
• EclypsiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner relationship with Eclypsium for product feedback and validation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Axio: Axio is a FAIR-based cyber risk quantification software company used by CISOs and insurers for financial loss modeling. It overlaps directly with Theodolite on the FAIR methodology and board-ready risk reporting, though Axio is more software-pure and less advisory-led than vCSO.ai.
• Kudelski Security: Kudelski Security provides fractional CISO and cyber advisory services to enterprises, including strategic security leadership and M&A support. It is a direct peer in the fractional CISO market with comparable service offerings but broader global delivery than vCSO.ai.
• Safe Security: Safe Security provides a FAIR-based cyber risk quantification platform (SAFE One) that produces ALE and VaR for CISOs and boards. It is the closest direct peer to vCSO.ai's Theodolite on the software side, using the same FAIR/Monte Carlo methodology and targeting similar enterprise CISO buyers, but at venture scale.
• RiskLens: RiskLens is a pioneer in FAIR-based cyber risk quantification software and training, serving CISOs and risk officers. It is a direct peer in the FAIR quantification category and historically co-developed the FAIR standard, making it a comparable technology peer to vCSO.ai's Theodolite.

Emerging players

• Bitsight: Bitsight provides external cyber risk ratings and risk quantification used in M&A diligence and enterprise vendor risk management. It is an emerging competitor to vCSO.ai's M&A due diligence practice, with broader enterprise customer reach but less operator-led advisory depth.
• Balbix: Balbix provides risk-based vulnerability management and cyber risk quantification for enterprises. It overlaps with vCSO.ai's risk-based vulnerability management features in Theodolite but focuses on continuous enterprise software rather than advisory-led delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Optiv Security: Optiv is a large cybersecurity solutions integrator offering advisory, managed security, and risk quantification services. It competes with vCSO.ai across advisory and risk quantification but at much larger scale and with broader vendor partnerships.
• Coalfire: Coalfire delivers cybersecurity advisory, compliance, and M&A due diligence services to enterprises and PE/VC sponsors. It competes with vCSO.ai's M&A Due Diligence practice at greater scale and with deeper GRC compliance bench depth.
• Deloitte Cyber: Deloitte's Cyber Risk Services practice offers fractional CISO, M&A cyber diligence, and board-level risk advisory at global scale. It is a broad incumbent competitor to vCSO.ai's advisory practices, with significantly more resources but less operator-led differentiation.
• Mandiant (Google Cloud): Mandiant offers cyber M&A due diligence, incident response, and fractional CISO advisory as part of a broad Google Cloud security portfolio. It competes with vCSO.ai on enterprise security advisory and M&A diligence but at a vastly larger scale and with global delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nick-shevelyov-consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 vCSO.ai