When Denise Hayman was evaluating joining Cyphort (her seventh security startup) around a year ago, she said she had her doubts about a security startup that dove so early into a channel go-to-market.

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Hayman said. “I had doubts.”

However, Hayman, now vice president of worldwide sales and channels at Cyphort, said the company’s channel-first focus has proven to have very strong traction and it's looking to accelerate that growth in 2016.

“[Our investments in the channel are a] really big deal for us,” Hayman said. “I think our channel partners feel that and that is one of the things that really makes us different. We’re a great partner and they know that we’re hungry and will work with them as closely as possible.”

Cyphort jumped into the market a year and a half ago with its advanced threat-detection solution, which differentiates itself by using both traditional technology, such as sandboxes and signatures, as well as behavioral analytics and machine learning to detect APTs.

Since joining the company in February, Hayman said she has added to the company’s channel program, which was already in place, bringing in a new training platform and certifications and levels. She said she has also invested in growing the company’s channel-dedicated staff from one to three employees.

Hayman said she has been careful to choose areas of investment that make sense. That's especially true around recruitment, she said, as Cyphort is being careful to not oversaturate regions with partners.

“[The channel] has been an element of how the company has been built from the beginning … I’m being really careful with how and where I accelerate,” Hayman said.

That approach also includes not changing its policy around guaranteed margins for partners, Hayman said, which currently stand at more than 20 percent for registered deals.

“This is a small thing, but it’s a big thing,” Hayman said. “There’s a trust level that’s been created.”

Those investments have driven strong channel growth for Cyphort in 2015, Hayman said. Most notably, the startup has tripled its number of partners in North America to 50 over the past year. She said the company will likely double that amount in 2016, targeting MSSPs, security-focused solution providers and regional players.

Going into next year, Hayman said the startup will be looking to funnel particular investment into its market strategy, an area the company has yet to invest in. She said Cyphort will also be looking to invest further in its Security Threat Analysis Report program, sales enablement and recruiting partners in regions where there is less coverage.

“We’re investing in a lot of these areas to continue momentum,” Hayman said. “I think, for us, it’s all about enablement for next year.”