When Julie Trias and Elizabeth Nammour found themselves grappling with the complexities of data sprawl at Airbnb, their journey took an entrepreneurial turn. Their work in the data team exposed them to the myriad challenges of keeping data secure across various sources, a frustration compounded by the lack of effective data protection tools. Drawing from their experience, Trias and Nammour decided to create the solution they were searching for, leading to the birth of their startup, Teleskope. On a notable Tuesday, Teleskope revealed a $5 million seed investment, sparking interest and optimism in the data protection sector.
The founders shared with TechCrunch their initial struggles and the gap they aimed to fill with Teleskope. “We tested a bunch of different tools to help us understand, protect, delete and redact data at Airbnb, but what we came to realize is that there wasn’t that tool that could help developers do this automatically,” explained Trias. The existing data classification tools were flawed, marked by false positives and scalability issues, failing to transition from detection to the crucial step of remediation — whether that involves redacting, isolating, or taking other actions on the data. Teleskope is designed to seamlessly connect with varied data sources, automatically pinpoint sensitive information, and offer options to isolate or delete as necessary.
Teleskope’s services have found resonance among data teams, attracting data governance engineers and others looking to cleanse their datasets for various purposes, from compliance to model training preparation. The software is built on a robust foundation of models tailored to different data types, from natural language to structured formats and even sensitive data embedded in code or logs.
Yet, Trias and Nammour’s path wasn’t without its hurdles, especially given the learning curve associated with venture capital and the inherent challenges faced by female founding teams in securing investments. “I think the hardest part was that when we first started making VC calls, we had no idea how to go about it. We didn’t even know what a design partner was. We were pre-product, pre anything, and we didn’t know all the VC lingo. And so we were very unprepared when we first took our first meetings with VCs,” Trias recounted. Over time, they fine-tuned their pitch and connected with investors who believed in their vision.
The successful seed funding round was spearheaded by Primary Venture Partners, complemented by contributions from Lerer Hippeau, Plug and Play Ventures, and Essence VC, which had previously led the pre-seed round. This financial endorsement marks a significant leap forward for Teleskope, not just in terms of capital but also in validation of Trias and Nammour’s vision to innovate within the realm of data protection.
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