SoSafe
SoSafe sells cybersecurity training software that uses behavioral science to help companies reduce human-related security risks. The Cologne-based company has 502 employees and raised $73M in a Series B round in January 2022.
The growth story
SoSafe grew from 159 to 502 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $73M along the way, most recently a Series B in January 2022.
About
SoSafe provides cybersecurity awareness training that focuses on changing employee behavior rather than just completing courses. Its software helps IT teams reduce security risks by continuously training staff to recognize threats like phishing attacks.
The company has grown rapidly since its 2018 founding, reaching over 500 employees. Its $73M Series B funding round in 2022 included investors like Highland Europe and Global Founders Capital, suggesting strong market traction for its behavioral approach to cybersecurity training.
Founders and leadership
Sales is SoSafe's largest department with 86 employees, indicating a strong focus on customer acquisition. The company's median tenure of 1 year suggests a relatively young workforce with high turnover.
The SoSafe org chart
Niklas Hellemann (Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder) leads 60 mapped leaders with 9 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Sales 105 (-41% YoY), Engineering 94 (+3% YoY), Customer Success and Support 56 (-2% YoY), Information Technology 40 (-15% YoY), Marketing 30 (-21% YoY), Business Development 24 (-8% YoY).
Talent flow
SoSafe hires heavily from German tech companies like Staffbase and Contentful. Its alumni frequently move to cybersecurity startups, with octonomy being the top destination.
Most common previous employers of SoSafe staff: Staffbase (8), Contentful (7), Meta (6), OutSystems (6), Personio (5), Celonis (5). Former SoSafe employees most often moved to octonomy (20), DeepL (4), Zendesk (3), Zepo Intelligence (3), KnowBe4 (3), FareHarbor (2).
Alumni worth knowing
The SoSafe mafia
SoSafe alumni have founded 17 companies, most notably octonomy which employs 109 people. Other startups include RAKETENSTART and Airstride, showing entrepreneurial activity among former employees.
18Markus Hanslik, was Head of Data Engineering (Interim) until 2024Oliver Trabert, was Interim CTO until 2023Madeleine Heuts, was Privacy Consultant until 2020Max Edwards, was Channel Partner Manager UK&I until 2023Sascha Grkovic, was Digital - Sales Development Representative until 2023Lilith Brockhaus, was Product Manager until 2021
Simon Culliton, was Sales Director, UK & Ireland until 2025
Kasimir Friederich, was Business Development until 2018
Michelle Pfannschmidt, was Digital Account Executive until 2023
Peter Heuvelman, was Senior Partnerships Manager - International Markets until 2023
Ricardo Pina, was Senior Talent Acquisition Manager until 2023
Ricardo Araujo, was Customer Experience Programs until 2024
Andrew Rose, was Chief Security Officer until 2025
Joseph Tremonti, was Customer Success Manager | SaaS | Benelux, Nordics & UKI markets until 2026
Martin Schürmann, was Head of Agility until 2022
Tom Redikop, was Digital Sales Development Representative until 2022
Felix Fichtl, was CFO until 2025
Robert Schlesiger, was Head of Sales Public Sector until 2025Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 68% direct, 20% search, 1% social, 1% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at SoSafe: Project Management (169), Microsoft Office (143), Teamwork (141), Communication (132), English (124), Software as a Service (SaaS) (111), Sales (102), Microsoft Excel (101).
Where the team actually sits
SoSafe people are concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (66), Berlin, Germany (31), Germany (19), Cologne Bonn Region (18). 4 offices on record.
Search footprint
SoSafe attracts about 4,498 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $31K a month if bought through ads. It gained 635 ranking keywords and lost 686 in the last period.
Frequently asked
SoSafe has 502 employees as of September 2026.
SoSafe has raised $73M in total, most recently a Series B round in January 2022.
SoSafe was founded in 2018 by Niklas Hellemann, Felix Schürholz, Lukas Schaefer.
Niklas Hellemann (Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder) sits at the top of SoSafe's reporting structure, with 9 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current SoSafe staff are Staffbase (8 people), Contentful (7 people), Meta (6 people).
Former SoSafe employees most often move to octonomy (20), DeepL (4), Zendesk (3).
At least 17 companies have a founder who previously worked at SoSafe, including octonomy, RAKETENSTART, Airstride.
SoSafe attracts about 4,498 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $31K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among SoSafe staff are Project Management, Microsoft Office, Teamwork, Communication, English.
SoSafe staff are concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (66), Berlin, Germany (31), Germany (19).
SoSafe has about 105 people in Sales, down 41% over the past year, as of September 2026.
SoSafe has about 94 people in Engineering, up 3% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 296 current and 327 former SoSafe profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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