From Big Tech to Deep Tech: A Tech Startup Journey with PVML

Data privacy is usually seen as a blocker to insight, not an enabler. In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, that narrative is flipped.

Natalie Binns speaks with Rina Galperin, CTO and co-founder of PVML, about how a real enterprise constraint evolved into a deep-tech startup. Reena shares the shift from big tech to founder life, the importance of narrowing focus, and what it takes to commercialise complex research while selling into regulated markets. The conversation is a direct look at building with intention, aligning early decisions, and navigating the realities of deep-tech growth.

Listen to the Podcast

Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

From big tech to building end to end

PVML began with a problem Rina encountered repeatedly while working at Microsoft: the inability to access even basic product insights without running into privacy and compliance barriers. Simple questions about user behaviour or performance often couldn’t be answered, not because the data didn’t exist, but because extracting it safely wasn’t straightforward.

Over time, that frustration became harder to ignore. Rina reflects on the contrast between academic research, where she had full ownership of outcomes, and enterprise life, where even impactful work exists inside a much larger machine. 

The desire to see a problem through from start to finish, rather than contributing to a small piece of it, ultimately pushed her towards startup life.

Learning to sell the problem, not the technology

In the early days, PVML fell into a common technical founder trap: leading with what the technology could do rather than why anyone should care. The initial pitch focused on multiple use cases and advanced capabilities, assuming that sophistication would speak for itself.

Through repeated feedback and failed assumptions, the team learned that breadth diluted clarity. What customers responded to was not how advanced the algorithms were, but how precisely PVML could solve a single, painful problem. Narrowing the story forced discipline and ultimately made the value far easier to understand and sell.

Finding the real buyer

PVML’s first instinct was to target legal and compliance teams, reasoning that privacy concerns would naturally sit there. While those conversations were positive, they quickly revealed a limitation: these teams influenced decisions but didn’t own them.

Further discussions with security leaders showed similar patterns. Approval power existed, but urgency didn’t. Over time, the team realised that CIOs sat at the centre of data strategy, governance, and transformation, making them both the problem owners and the budget holders. That insight reshaped PVML’s go-to-market approach long before scaling sales efforts.

Building deep tech without building in isolation

Developing PVML’s product required years of research, engineering, and mathematical validation. Differential privacy isn’t just something you implement; it requires formal proof alongside robust infrastructure, making shortcuts impossible.

Despite this, the team avoided building behind closed doors. Customer conversations continued throughout development, and early commercial agreements were secured before the product was fully shipped. The episode highlights the tension deep-tech founders face between necessary patience in building and the need to validate market demand early.

Co-founders, early hires, and trust

Rina speaks candidly about how co-founding with someone she had already worked closely with removed friction during high-pressure moments. Complementary expertise, shared standards, and mutual respect made decision-making faster and more honest.

Early hires were chosen with the same care. Beyond technical ability, the team looked for people confident enough to make foundational decisions and invested enough to carry responsibility. Open disagreement, debate, and trust-based communication became part of PVML’s culture rather than something to be managed around.

Listen to the Podcast

Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Connect with Rina Galperin or learn more about PVML.