Srikant Rachakonda is a dynamic product leader and technology strategist with over 20 years of experience driving innovation in SaaS and B2B products. Specializing in cybersecurity, InsureTech, and compliance solutions, Srikant has a proven track record of scaling products from inception to market leadership.
Currently, the CEO at SMPL-C, developing cutting-edge SaaS solutions for NIST 800-171 and CMMC 2.0 compliance and has led product strategy and development at various Cybersecurity startups, driving innovation in cyber risk assessment and cyber insurance underwriting.
Through his career, Srikant, consistently delivered commercial revenue growth through strategic product development and go-to-market execution and undertook cutting-edge business transformation initiatives like spearheading a $38M data transformation initiative at Asurion, leveraging AWS cloud infrastructure to enhance product offerings. He excels in building and mentoring high-performance Agile teams across distributed environments.
Srikant’s approach combines technical acumen with business savvy, enabling him to translate complex technological concepts into tangible business outcomes. His ENFP personality type makes him a natural change agent, adept at driving organizational transformation and fostering innovation.
With a Master’s degree from the University of South Florida and a track record of success across startups and enterprise organizations, Srikant is ideally suited to drive significant value in high-growth technology ventures.
Connect with SriKant on LinkedIn
Patrick J. D. Taylor is a seasoned venture capital executive, entrepreneur, and leader focused on scaling early-stage technology companies, particularly in the cyber security and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors. At TechOperators Venture Capital in Atlanta, Georgia, he is responsible for identifying and evaluating high-potential software companies for investment. Patrick plays a vital role in providing strategic and operational support to portfolio companies, facilitating their growth, and helping them achieve successful exits.
Before joining TechOperators, Patrick was the co-founder and CEO of Oversight Systems, an innovative AI company focused on detecting waste and fraud in corporate and government expenditures. Under his leadership, the company transitioned from an on-premise software model to a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, positioning Oversight as a leader in its field. The Oversight team served hundreds in the Global 2000, providing critical insights to help large organizations improve financial governance and efficiency. They built strong partnerships with industry leaders, including SAP Concur and American Express. In 2016, Patrick successfully guided the company through its acquisition by Luminate Capital.
Earlier in his career, Patrick was part of the founding management team at Internet Security Systems, where he played a key role in developing product strategy and growing revenue, contributing significantly to the company’s early success in the cybersecurity industry.
Patrick serves on the boards of several commercial and non-profit organizations. He is a board member at SafeGuard Privacy, Integrated Biometrics, and Managr, and previously served on the boards of TugBoat Logic and BasisCode until their successful acquisitions. In the non-profit sector, he is actively involved in the Georgia Tech College of Computing Advisory Board and PowerUp Board.
Patrick holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor Mechanical Engineering with honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn
Interview questions:
Q1: What is CMMC?
Q2: Why is it important?
Q3: How is it different than SOC 2 or FedRamp?
Q4: It’s been many years since it was first announced, is it really going to happen?
Q5: Why did you start SMPL-C?
Q6: What value does SMPL-C provide?
Q7: How are you reaching customers?
Q8: If I’m already SOC2 certified how can SMPL-C help?
Q9: What advice would you give to companies just starting their CMMC journey?
Q10: How do you see the landscape of cybersecurity evolving in the next five years, particularly concerning regulatory standards like CMMC?
Q11: What role do you see SMPL-C playing in the future of cybersecurity and compliance?
SMPL-C is a leading Gen AI SaaS platform dedicated to simplifying the CMMC (and NIST 800-171 Rev2) compliance process by streamlining the adherence to complex cybersecurity regulations for our nation’s defense contractors and security practitioners. To learn more, please visit SMPL-C™.
Recent Blogs: https://smpl-c.com/cmmc-updates-blog/
Edwin Warfield, CEO of citybiz.co, conducts CEO Interviews.
If you’re interested in a citybiz CEO Interview, please contact
Edwin Warfield – edwin.warfield@citybizlist.com
