u/MaterialThin2547

I'll keep this short.

I'm 25, based in India, SDR for almost 2 years at a NASDAQ-listed SaaS company. I cover the Middle East market, C-suite outreach, sold against Braze and Salesforce. I know how to prospect, I know how to build pipeline, I know how to get a no from a CMO politely.

I want to move into cybersecurity sales. Specifically CrowdStrike or Palo Alto Networks. SDR or AE, I don't care about the title as much as I care about getting in the door at a company that actually means something in this space.

Both companies have India offices. CrowdStrike has Pune and Bangalore. Palo Alto has Bangalore. So it's not impossible from where I'm sitting.

But here's what I actually want to know from people who've done it or hired for it:

1. How did you get in?

Was it a referral, a cold LinkedIn message, a recruiter, or just applying on the website like everyone else? What actually worked?

2. Is the SDR role at these companies worth it or is it a grind with no real AE path?

I've heard mixed things. Some people say CrowdStrike promotes fast if you perform. Others say you're stuck doing outbound forever. What's the reality?

3. What do they actually look for in someone coming from a non-cyber background?

I don't have a security cert. I know what EDR, XDR and Zero Trust mean but I'm not a technical guy. Is that a dealbreaker or do they care more about sales fundamentals?

4. Is cold outreach to the hiring manager directly a good idea or does it annoy them?

I've been doing this at other companies and getting responses. Wondering if it works differently at bigger orgs.

5. Anything you wish you knew before joining either company?

Culture, quota attainment, realistic OTE, management quality — anything honest would help.

Not here for motivation or a pep talk. Just want real answers from people who've actually been inside these companies or hired for them.

If you work there or have hired there — drop whatever you're comfortable sharing. Even a DM is fine

Throwaway because some of these companies are ones I'm actively reaching out to.

Quick background — I'm 25, based in India, currently an SDR at a MarTech SaaS company covering the Middle East market. Close to 2 years of enterprise C-suite outreach, sold against Braze and Salesforce, US company experience. Before this I did US market lead gen at another SaaS startup.

I want to move into cybersecurity sales. Either Senior SDR with a fast track to AE, or directly AE at an early stage startup. I only want US market — night shift from India is fine, I genuinely don't mind it.

Here's what I've been doing the last few days:

— Cold WhatsApp to hiring managers and SDR leaders at target companies (India and US based both)

— Actively messaging VPs and Directors at few companies I'm targeting — would love feedback on whether this list makes sense or if I'm missing anyone obvious:

Big companies:

CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, SentinelOne, Cloudflare, Fortinet, Cisco, Rapid7, Darktrace, Check Point

Funded startups:

Cyera, Chainguard, Axonius, Abnormal Security, Claroty, Armis, Vanta, Island, Hunters.ai, Orca Security, Pentera, Torq, Cymulate, Saviynt

My questions for anyone who's been through this:

1-Is cold WhatsApp to US based VPs actually insane or does it sometimes work? Mixed results so far but a few have replied.

2-For someone with 2 years SDR experience, is going for AE directly at an early stage startup realistic or am I setting myself up to fail?

3-Any companies on my list I should deprioritise? Any I'm missing that are actually great for someone trying to break in from a non-cyber background?

How important is a cert like Security+ actually — I keep seeing conflicting opinions. Some people say hiring managers don't care at all at the SDR/AE level.

Anyone made this transition from SaaS SDR to cybersecurity sales — what actually moved the needle for you?

Not looking for motivation, looking for honest takes. What am I missing or doing wrong?