PITCH & PEOPLE Folge 38: Secfix
After her studies, Fabiola Munguia actually wanted a secure job in a large corporation. Today, she leads Secfix, one of Europe’s fastest-growing cybersecurity startups. In the Pitch & People videocast, the founder talks about her journey from El Salvador to Munich, a crucial strategic pivot, and why founders shouldn’t fall in love with their first idea.
The plan was actually different. After studying in Germany, Fabiola Munguia worked for Siemens and BMW. A classic corporate career seemed like the obvious path, especially since she had witnessed firsthand how demanding entrepreneurship can be: both of her parents are founders themselves in El Salvador.
Today, Munguia is looking at a different reality. Her startup Secfix employs around 30 employees, serves customers in 15 countries, and recently completed a Series A funding round of ten million euros.
Yet the decision to found a company was anything but obvious, as she explains in the Pitch & People videocast:
“My parents are also founders and I’ve seen all stages of a company. It wasn’t a romantic reality. That’s why I thought: maybe I’ll do a corporate job first. Something secure, a good salary – and later I can think about whether I want to start something.”
From university project to startup
Together with her co-founder Gregory Emelianov, Munguia worked on projects and thesis work during her studies at the Technical University of Munich.
However, the first business idea had little to do with the company today. The team initially focused on ethical hacking and helped companies identify security gaps.
But during the first months, it became clear that the model didn’t offer the desired scalability. A realization that can be painful for many founders.
“We really had to look each other in the eye and ask: is this actually something that will scale? I had the feeling that if we continued with this idea, it wouldn’t work. Then we had to decide over a weekend whether we would do something different.”
The decision favored a new approach: instead of offering individual security services, the team wanted to help companies systematically automate compliance and cybersecurity processes. The foundation for Secfix was laid.
Customers paid before the product was finished
The strategy shift proved to be a bullseye. While the first product generated initial revenue, potential customers responded much more enthusiastically to the new solution.
Secfix helps companies implement security standards like ISO 27001 and prepare for corresponding audits. The platform integrates with existing systems, analyzes the current security status, and automatically creates roadmaps for necessary measures.
The demand surprised even the founding team.
“Since we did that, we’ve pitched it to a few customers. They immediately all said: yes, I need that. And they paid even though we didn’t even have the platform yet.”
Especially in times of increasing regulation and growing cyber risks, companies are increasingly facing requirements from major customers that require corresponding certifications.
The lesson behind the success
For Munguia, the most important insight from her entrepreneurial journey so far is not in fundraising or company growth. Rather, the key was being willing to question one’s own assumptions.
Many founders identify too strongly with their original idea. This is exactly what can be dangerous.
“You shouldn’t fall in love with the idea. First, you have to understand what customers actually need. And if that has to change, then it will change. Maybe the platform won’t be the platform I’ll be using in two years.”
This openness paid off. Today, Secfix helps companies significantly speed up complex compliance processes. Instead of manually implementing certification projects over many months, customers can reduce the path to certification to just a few weeks in some cases.
Fabiola Munguia came to Germany to study and originally wanted to pursue a classic corporate career. However, together with her co-founders, she developed Secfix, a platform for automated security compliance. Today, she leads the company as CEO, manages a team of more than 30 employees, and is driving the startup’s expansion across Europe. In 2024, Forbes named her one of the “30 Under 30 Europe” in technology.
Ten million euros for the next growth phase
With the latest funding round, the startup is now entering the next stage of development. After the team demonstrated product-market fit and recurring revenue, the fresh capital is primarily intended for sales and expansion. The focus is on Europe. Secfix is already active in 15 countries, and the company plans to further expand its market position in the future.
For Munguia, this closes a circle: the founder who actually preferred a secure corporate job has become the CEO of an international growth company.
