Product Advisory
Build the cybersecurity product your buyer can defend.
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15 years as CSO at Silicon Valley Bank (2007–2021), the bank of the innovation economy
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$200B+ in assets defended at enterprise scale
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Design partner to Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, CrowdStrike, FireEye, and Eclypsium
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Author of Cyber War and Peace; board member, Bay Area CSO Council
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Trusted advisor to PE/VC firms, cyber product companies, and enterprise boards
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15 years as CSO at Silicon Valley Bank (2007–2021), the bank of the innovation economy
-
$200B+ in assets defended at enterprise scale
-
Design partner to Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, CrowdStrike, FireEye, and Eclypsium
-
Author of Cyber War and Peace; board member, Bay Area CSO Council
-
Trusted advisor to PE/VC firms, cyber product companies, and enterprise boards
-
15 years as CSO at Silicon Valley Bank (2007–2021), the bank of the innovation economy
-
$200B+ in assets defended at enterprise scale
-
Design partner to Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, CrowdStrike, FireEye, and Eclypsium
-
Author of Cyber War and Peace; board member, Bay Area CSO Council
-
Trusted advisor to PE/VC firms, cyber product companies, and enterprise boards
Product and GTM Work from the Buyer’s Side
Nick helps cybersecurity companies make better product and market decisions using the perspective of the CSO who had to evaluate, trust, buy, and defend those products inside an enterprise.
Positioning and messaging
Category, why-now, ICP, buyer map, problem framing, proof, differentiation, trust, objections, and the competitive story aligned in one working narrative.
Product and roadmap validation
Pressure-test the roadmap from the buyer’s seat: which capabilities solve an urgent problem, which earn trust, and which are likely to create demo applause without adoption.
Design-partner programs
Define the right partner profile, mutual value, learning agenda, success criteria, and executive ask. Selective introductions follow when the fit is credible.
Enterprise go-to-market
Buyer-committee strategy, enterprise readiness, sales enablement, partnerships, and quantified customer value connected to how security decisions are actually made.
Engagement model: A focused project or retained advisory cadence built around the next product, customer, fundraising, or market milestone.
Nick's Working Method
Seven playbooks, built from the buyer’s side.
Nick has developed seven working playbooks used to help cybersecurity product companies build better products and go to market. They turn broad advice into a structured review with proof requirements, common mistakes, and decisions the team can act on.
The positioning playbook alone moves from category and ICP through quantified value, messaging pillars, differentiation, trust architecture, product experience, objections, competitive response, and a final quality check. The applicable playbooks are selected around the milestone, not applied as generic workshop theater.
Choose the decision to pressure-test →How It Works
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Choose the decision to pressure-test
Start with the milestone in front of the company: positioning, a roadmap bet, enterprise pipeline friction, a design-partner program, or the business case buyers keep challenging.
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Work the relevant playbooks
Review the ICP, buyer map, problem framing, proof, differentiation, trust architecture, product experience, objections, and competitive story with the evidence each claim requires.
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Put the answer in front of the market
Turn the work into a clearer product narrative, roadmap priorities, design-partner plan, sales enablement, or value model, then learn from actual buyer conversations.
Who This Is For
Built for cybersecurity product companies and investors who need operator judgment on what to build, how to position it, and how to earn enterprise trust.
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Pre-Seed through Series A Founders
Teams defining a category, ICP, initial design-partner motion, and the proof needed before scaling sales.
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Series B through D Companies
Cybersecurity vendors moving up-market, refining positioning, or deciding which roadmap and partnership bets deserve investment.
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Product and GTM Leaders
Teams that need the product story, sales motion, buyer committee, and enterprise-readiness work to reinforce one another.
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PE and VC Portfolio Teams
Investors and operating partners seeking an experienced cybersecurity buyer perspective on a portfolio company or product thesis.
Leadership You Can Trust
Most advisors diagnose. Operators prescribe.
vCSO.ai is led by Nick Shevelyov, former CSO and CIO of Silicon Valley Bank and author of Cyber War and Peace. Across his operating career he worked with cybersecurity founders and product teams as a buyer, design partner, and advisor.
That experience is the center of Product Advisory: not borrowed SaaS theory, but the judgment of someone who had to decide which security products deserved enterprise trust and budget.
Achievements
- Defended Silicon Valley Bank’s cyber posture for 15 years (2007-2021), through every major crisis from the 2008 financial collapse to SolarWinds.
- Design partner and advisor to category-defining cybersecurity companies including Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, CrowdStrike, FireEye, and Eclypsium.
- Forbes Technology Council member, NASDAQ board director (AuthID), author of Cyber War…and Peace.
- Founder of the CISO Supper Club, convening Bay Area cybersecurity executives twice a year.
Trusted by security leaders
What CISOs, founders, and risk leaders say about working with Nick.
“Nick has been an invaluable partner in elevating Audubon's cybersecurity strategy. His ability to provide clear, level-headed advice has been instrumental during tough moments, and his executive-level communication skills have been particularly effective for the org to plan for right-sized investments in cybersecurity.”
CTO, National Audubon Society
“Nick and team have been amazing partners to Pixee. Their knowledge, relationships, and industry experience have been a core part of our go-to-market strategy and refinement.”
Surag PatelCEO, Pixee
“Nick and team provide a unique value blending cultural enablement and a risk-focused cyber risk management strategy. Their approach helped our team rapidly improve the effectiveness of our cyber risk program with quantifiable results.”
Alexander TraftonSVP Technology Risk and Compliance, G42
FAQ
Questions founders and product leaders ask.
How is this different from general SaaS product or GTM consulting?
The work is specific to cybersecurity products and the enterprise security buying process. Nick brings the perspective of the CSO who evaluated vendors, defended decisions internally, worked with design partners, and saw which products earned trust beyond the demo.
What are the seven product playbooks?
They are working frameworks Nick has used with cybersecurity product companies across positioning, buyers, product validation, roadmap, design partnerships, enterprise trust, and go-to-market execution. The positioning playbook alone covers category, ICP and buyer map, quantified value, proof, differentiation, trust architecture, objections, competitive response, and a quality checklist.
Do you only work with early-stage companies?
No. The work fits pre-product teams, scaling vendors, and sponsor-backed companies. The scope changes with the milestone: finding initial signal, moving up-market, repairing a stalled enterprise motion, or pressure-testing a strategic product bet.
Can you help us find design partners or make introductions?
We can design the program, sharpen the ask, and make selective introductions when there is a credible fit. Introductions are not sold as a guaranteed lead list; the product, stage, and value to the prospective design partner still have to earn the conversation.
Can the work include a quantified customer-value model?
Yes, when the core problem is proving economic value to a buyer. The Value to Customer Calculator is a separate, scoped product that can complement Product Advisory when a defensible value story is the missing sales asset.
Is this a fixed program or an open-ended retainer?
Either can fit. Some engagements focus on one decision or deliverable; others continue through roadmap cycles, design-partner learning, or an enterprise go-to-market push. Scope and cadence are set around the milestone, not a generic hours package.
Which product decision needs a buyer’s judgment?
Share the milestone, the current product story, and where the team is stuck. We will tell you which playbook fits, what the first working session should produce, and whether the Value to Customer Calculator belongs in the scope.
