Michael Sutton is a former founding-team executive and CISO at Zscaler who spent a decade building the company from stealth through IPO, giving him rare full-lifecycle operating experience from early startup to multi-billion-dollar public company in cloud security. He co-authored the book "Fuzzing: Brute Force Vulnerability Discovery" and holds multiple cybersecurity patents, making him an unusually technical seed-stage venture investor who focuses on the hacker and hustler founder combination while avoiding teams with two hustlers and no hacker.

• Deep focus on early-stage cybersecurity investments, specifically within niche areas like identity management, managed service providers, and email security. Recently launched Runtime Ventures to target seed-stage cyber opportunities and celebrated the acquisition of portfolio company SplxAI by Zscaler.
• Strong preference for products that offer clear, quantifiable return on investment for customers. Highlighted a pitch from GreyNoise as a deal-sealer because they could prove their tool reduced security alerts by a specific percentage, thereby freeing up analyst time for more important work.
• Passionate about Washington D.C. area sports teams, particularly hockey and football. Frequently comments on the Washington Capitals, sharing personal moments like his son collecting pucks from players during warmups, as well as following the local NFL and XFL teams.
• Appreciation for humility and distinct vision in founders. Praised an entrepreneur behind Rumble Discovery for being one of the most talented yet humble individuals in the security community and commended another team for building a custom, purpose-built solution rather than a generic security product.
• Active involvement in local community philanthropy and education initiatives. Shared efforts regarding a campaign organized by his wife to deliver school supplies and job bags to students in need within Arlington County.