John Stigerwalt

Who you are

Tell us who you are and what you do.

I’m John Stigerwalt, co-founder of White Knight Labs. I’ve spent my career in offensive security, penetration testing, and adversary simulation. My focus has always been simple: find real risk before an attacker does.

What does your company do, and who does it serve?

White Knight Labs is an offensive security company that helps organizations identify weaknesses across applications, infrastructure, cloud environments, and internal operations. We work with enterprise clients, smaller organizations, and anyone who needs serious security testing done right.

How big is the operation today — team size, markets, scope?

Today, White Knight Labs has a team of 45 people. We support clients across enterprise and lower-market organizations in multiple industries. Our work spans penetration testing, red teaming, application security, cloud security, adversary simulation, and specialized offensive security engagements.

How you got here

What were you doing before this, and what made you make the leap?

Before starting White Knight Labs, I worked in offensive security and penetration testing roles. I saw too many companies receiving reports that checked a box but failed to deliver real value. I wanted to build a company focused on depth, realism, and technical quality.

What’s the hardest thing you had to figure out in the first year?

The hardest part in the first year was balancing technical work with the realities of running a business. Building systems, managing growth, hiring the right people, and maintaining quality all hit at once. That was a different kind of pressure than technical work alone.

Was there a moment where the whole thing nearly fell apart? What happened?

There were moments where growth pressure tested the company hard. Early on, client demand moved faster than our internal capacity. We had to make difficult decisions about what work to accept and what to turn away. Protecting the quality of the work mattered more than fast expansion.

What makes you different 

Why does your company win deals — what do clients come to you for that they can’t easily find elsewhere?

White Knight Labs wins deals because of the quality and depth of the team. We operate like the tip of the spear. Clients come to us for high-end offensive security work that requires experience, precision, and discipline. We only hire senior and principal-level engineers. The company operates with the mindset of a military unit. There are very few firms that can perform at the level we expect from our team.

Who do you consider your real competition, and how do you stay ahead of them?

Our competition includes boutique offensive security firms and larger security providers. We stay ahead by staying technical and keeping standards high. We invest heavily in research, training, and real-world operator experience. The industry changes constantly, and teams that stop improving fall behind quickly.

What’s a decision you made that most people in your position wouldn’t have?

One decision I made that many people in my position would not have made was refusing to lower the hiring bar to grow faster. A lot of firms scale by adding junior talent quickly. We chose to build slowly and keep the team highly experienced from the start.

Where you’re going 

What’s the biggest bet you’re making right now?

The biggest bet we are making right now is investing in training and developing the next generation of security talent. We are expanding programs focused on students, junior engineers, and hands-on learning. Strong offensive security talent takes years to build, and the industry needs better training paths.

What does success look like for you in the next three years — concretely?

In the next three years, success means continuing to grow without losing the standard that built the company. I want White Knight Labs to be recognized as one of the strongest offensive security firms in the industry, with a team known for elite technical work and trusted client relationships.

What’s a shift happening in your industry that most people aren’t taking seriously enough yet?

One shift many people still underestimate is how quickly attackers adapt to new technology. AI-assisted attacks, identity abuse, cloud exploitation, and automation are accelerating fast. Many organizations still prepare for threats using outdated assumptions.

The person behind the title 

What drives you — beyond building a successful business?

What drives me is building something that matters. I care deeply about the people on the team, the clients who trust us, and the long-term reputation of the company. I also care about helping develop the next generation of offensive security professionals.

What’s the hardest part of the job that never shows up in press releases?

The hardest part of the job is carrying responsibility for the people around you. Clients trust us with critical security work. Employees trust the company with their careers and livelihoods. That weight never really goes away.

What’s one thing you’d tell someone who wants to be where you are?

I would tell someone to focus on mastering the fundamentals first. Build real technical skill. Stay curious. Put in the work consistently. In this industry, reputation follows performance, and people remember the quality of your work.