About TrustStory
As a vCISO and security-fluent copywriter (CISSP), I help B2B SaaS & AI companies secure European enterprise customers by making compliance a differentiator. Not a bottleneck.
I recently evaluated two SaaS solutions for a digitalization department.
Both could automate the same process.
Both had similar features.
But only one got the contract.
SaaS solution 1 laid it all out: detailed security measures, transparent communication about vulnerabilities, practical customer guidance, and direct security contacts you could actually reach.
SaaS solution 2 gave us marketing fluff: "Security is our top priority. We encrypt like banks."
The winner?
SaaS solution 1. Obviously.
Enterprise customers don't buy features. They buy trust.
And trust isn't built with buzzwords and badges.
You've built something better than the market leaders.
Your demo kills.
Your metrics prove ROI.
But enterprise deals keep slipping away to established competitors with inferior solutions.
Sound familiar?
Many enterprise buyers value their internal reputation and career security over innovation.
If they purchase from a well-known vendor and the project fails, it's easy to blame the vendor. Everyone understands.
But if someone takes a chance on an unknown vendor—even one with a superior solution—and the project fails?
Their reputation and career are on the line.
Colleagues will ask: "Why didn't you choose the safe option everyone else uses?"
You may have SOC2 and ISO 27001 certifications on your website. 10 years ago, this was an USP. But now most B2B software companies have them.
They prove compliance, not trust and security.
Enterprise buyers (or at least their CISO or DPO) want to understand:
- How you actually handle customer data?
- What happens when things go wrong?
- Has an experienced penetration tester subjected the solution to a real web application pentest and source code review? Or just a pseudo pentest, which was actually a vulnerability scan or network pentest?
- Is your software enterprise ready (SSO, Audit logs, roles,…)?
- Are you aware that your security and compliance certificate was not a goal in itself, but rather the beginning of a journey of continuous improvement?
- Is there someone I can talk to on my level about my concerns and who understands my language?
Most B2B SaaS and AI vendors do not have answers on their website and also not via their support or sales agents. Mostly just a certification declared as „gold standard of information security“ (but every CISO knows: It’s not, because there is no „perfect security“) or a dry TrustCenter with lots of buzzwords with green dots behind that stay green all year round.
So the big deals go elsewhere.
If you are from the US, this is another important aspect:
Many brilliant US SaaS and AI companies with superior technology hit a wall when they try to win European enterprise customers.
The problem isn't their product. It's how they talk about compliance.
American companies are used to different standards. They'll say things like "We're HIPAA compliant" or "We follow SOC2 standards" to European prospects who are thinking: "What about the AI Act or ISO 27001?“ „How did you document your GDPR measures?“
The result? European enterprises default to big brands like Microsoft and SAP or local vendors—not because they're better, but because they speak their compliance language fluently.
I've spent over 20 years on both sides of this issue.
8+ years conducting security audits for Fortune 500s, BIG4 firms, and mid-market companies. I've seen exactly what enterprise buyers actually care about (hint: it's not only your certifications).
13+ years as a startup investor - with companies like Jobrad (exit), Userlike (exit), HERO Software, Ameria, Gini, … I understand the resource constraints, the pressure to ship fast and attract investors and enterprise customers.
CISSP certified and battle-tested as an Information Security Officer for software companies. I've guided multiple vendors through enterprise deals and successful exits.
I know what enterprises demand AND what startups and scaleups can realistically deliver.
What I do for those who are tired of losing enterprise deals:
Together, we systematically research the requirements and desires of your ICP and their CISOs and DPOs. We identify every trust and security touchpoint that builds (or destroys) enterprise trust.
You get:
✓ A trust-building security & privacy page & messaging - that demonstrates that you really understand the security & privacy concerns of European enterprises (instead of just listing certifications and buzzwords with green dots behind)
✓ A practical security roadmap prioritizing the measures that matter most to enterprise buyers (not just: Reach this certificate…)
✓ We train your team to be ready to speak with enterprise CISOs, or we can help you find the right security hire or freelancer
Enterprise customers want to buy from you.
Your solution is better.
Your team is hungrier.
Your support is more responsive.
But they need to trust you first.
Security isn't about perfect protection (impossible).
It's about demonstrating competence, transparency, and accountability.
Get that right, and those prolonged sales cycles become competitive advantages.
See privacy and security as opportunities to differentiate.
Those "safe choice" competitors become vulnerable to a startup or ScaleUp that actually knows how to earn enterprise trust.
Every courageous small and mid-sized SaaS and AI B2B company should win deals with security-conscious enterprises.
No more being overlooked. No more growth stunted by buyer security fears.
Why this matters beyond your bottom line:
When only the "safe choices" get enterprise deals, we don't just hurt individual startups—we create a dangerous monoculture.
The hidden costs of "playing it safe" for the economy and enterprises:
- Innovation dies when breakthrough solutions can't reach the markets that need them
- Security actually gets worse when everyone depends on the same handful of vendors
- Capital concentrates unfairly in the hands of incumbents, not innovators
- Enterprises miss out on the agility and customer focus that only hungry startups provide
I've seen this cycle repeat for over two decades.
Brilliant small companies with superior solutions get shut out of enterprise deals because buyers fear the unknown.
Meanwhile, established players grow complacent, innovation slows, and entire industries become dangerously dependent on a few massive vendors.
My mission: To eliminate privacy & security as a barrier for innovative small and mid-sized companies competing against entrenched players.
My vision: A thriving ecosystem where the best solutions win—regardless of company size—creating stronger security through diversity, faster innovation through competition, and fairer distribution of opportunity.
If you would like Enterprise companies to perceive you as a trustworthy partner in this area, please feel free to write to me at thomas@truststory.net
Your Thomas Fauser, Founder of TrustStory
