The European Startup Show

My guest today is Jonathan Scudder, co-founder and VP of Identity Cloud at ForgeRock, the leading Consumer Identity and Access Management platform for consumers, employees and things. Originally founded in Norway (now headquartered in San Francisco), ForgeRock is a global company with 700 employees, 9 offices, and 1000+ customers including BBC, Geico, BMW, Pearson as well as governments like Norway, Canada, and Belgium, securing billions of identities worldwide. ForgeRock has raised $230 million in venture funding and is planning to go IPO in the near future. In this episode, I talk to Jonathan about the trends in identity and access management and what it means for consumers and businesses as well as his thoughts on going IPO?

Show Notes

Big Picture - Market and Trends
  • [1:11] - What is Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) and how does that differ from traditional identity and access management (IAM)?
  • [4:21] - How did you go from the traditional open-source code of Sun’s IAM to this new consumer identity and access management.  Can you give a quick history of ForgeRock.
  • [6:40] - Can the ForgeRock solution help consumers have more control and visibilities over their identities?
  • [12:00] - What are the top trends you and ForgeRock are seeing in the identity space and how will it impact consumers and businesses?
  • [18:23] - What does the provider landscape of CIAM look like?

Building the company
  • [23:26] - what was your main channel for customer acquisition and growth? In the beginning stages. And then as you grew, has that changed?
  • [26:48] - How has the pandemic impacted your strategy and future plans?
  • [28:55] - Forgerock believes in building a strong internal culture.  How have you done that?
  • [34:20] - Why are you considering going IPO? Why not a strategic exit?  What factors did you consider?
  • [36:42] - What market should you IPO in?
  • [39:10] - Which stage of growth was the hardest - 1=10M, 10-50M, 50-100M?
  • [40:44] - What are your future plans? What will you do with the funds raised from an IPO?

Book recommendation
The Long Earth Series by Terry Pratchett

What is The European Startup Show?

To inspire technology entrepreneurs in Europe with stories and practical strategies from other successful entrepreneurs.

If you are a CEO, founder, or work in sales or marketing, and your company is based in Europe or is looking to expand into Europe, then this podcast is for you.