# Mahmoud Abdelkader

> Mahmoud Abdelkader is the Egyptian-American co-founder of Very Good Security (VGS), a San Francisco-based data security platform that raised $105 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, and Visa. Born near the Suez Canal and raised in Brooklyn, he built high-frequency trading systems at Wachovia, was employee #4 at Milo.com before its $75M eBay acquisition, then co-founded Balanced Payments through Y Combinator (W11) before founding VGS in 2016. VGS pioneered the 'Zero Data' category of data security as a service, serving 700+ customers including Fortune 100 companies. He stepped down as CEO in late 2022 and now invests in fintech companies including Ramp, Vercel, Alloy, Mercury, and Stytch while experimenting with AI.

- **Role:** Co-Founder at VGS (Very Good Security); Angel Investor
- **Organizations:** VGS (Very Good Security), Balanced Payments, Milo.com
- **From:** Ismailia, Egypt
- **Nationality:** Egyptian-American
- **Education:** BSc in Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, High School Diploma, Dulaney High School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Very Good Security (VGS), raising over $105 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, Vertex Ventures, and Visa, Pioneered the 'data security as a service' category with VGS's Zero Data approach, Scaled VGS to 700+ customers including Fortune 100 companies

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Family immigrated from Ismailia, Egypt to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, USA
- **2000** — Family relocated to Maryland; attended Dulaney High School
- **2005-2008** — Graduated University of Maryland with BSc in Computer Engineering; joined Wachovia Securities, building high-frequency trading systems
- **2008-2009** — Experienced the 2008 financial crash firsthand on the trading floor
- **2009** — Joined Milo.com as employee #4 under CEO Jack Abraham; helped grow to ~35 employees
- **2010** — Milo.com acquired by eBay for $75 million
- **2011** — Co-founded Balanced Payments through Y Combinator Winter 2011 batch; served as CTO; raised $3M
- **2015** — Balanced Payments acquired by Stripe
- **2016** — Co-founded Very Good Security (VGS) with Marshall Jones
- **2017** — VGS raised $8.5M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz
- **2019** — VGS raised $35M Series B
- **2020** — VGS raised $60M Series C led by Vertex Ventures US with a16z, Goldman Sachs Growth, Visa; VGS honored on Inc. 5000
- **2022** — Announced stepping down as CEO of VGS after building company to 700+ customers including Fortune 100s
- **2023** — Chuck Yu became VGS CEO; Mahmoud moved to advisory/investor role; began experimenting with AI
- **2023-2026** — Active angel investor in Ramp, Vercel, Alloy, Envoy, Mercury, Stytch and other fintech companies

## Achievements

- Co-founded Very Good Security (VGS), raising over $105 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, Vertex Ventures, and Visa
- Pioneered the 'data security as a service' category with VGS's Zero Data approach
- Scaled VGS to 700+ customers including Fortune 100 companies
- Co-founded Balanced Payments (YC W11), which was acquired by Stripe in 2015
- Was employee #4 at Milo.com, which sold to eBay for $75 million
- Built high-frequency trading systems at Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo)
- VGS named to Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list
- VGS won the SINET 16 Innovator Award
- Active angel investor with portfolio including Ramp, Vercel, Alloy, Mercury, Stytch

## Latest updates

- **2023-04** — Chuck Yu became CEO of VGS, with Mahmoud transitioning to an advisory and investor role
- **2023-01** — Active angel investing with portfolio positions in Ramp, Vercel, Alloy, Envoy, Mercury, and Stytch
- **2022-11** — Published 'Passing the baton of leadership at Very Good Security' on LinkedIn, announcing CEO transition after 7 years
- **2020-12** — VGS closed $60M Series C led by Vertex Ventures US, with participation from a16z, Goldman Sachs Growth, and Visa

## Links

- Website: https://mahmoudimus.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahmoudimus/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mahmoudimus
- GitHub: https://github.com/mahmoudimus

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/mahmoud-abdelkader
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25