Athena Security built around AI from day one
Lisa Falzone is president and co-founder of Athena Security, a company that uses AI to improve physical security. The business was started in 2018, and the difference, she says, is that it was built around AI from the beginning rather than bolted on later.
The most useful use of AI so far is research and preparation, not replacing human work. For Athena Security, the customer still cares most about whether the problem is solved better, not whether AI is visible in the product.
What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?
We started Athena Security in 2018 because we thought there was a huge opportunity to use AI to make physical security better. I think what makes us different is that we aren’t a traditional security company trying to add AI after the fact. We built around AI from the beginning and spend a lot of time actually understanding how security teams work day to day.
Since launch, what have been the 1-2 real turning points for your brand: decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability, and what did you learn from them?
Honestly, a lot comes from word of mouth, existing customers, conferences and our sales team. Healthcare is very relationship driven, so one hospital seeing something work well at another hospital is incredibly valuable.
Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now, and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?
Research, 100%. I use AI constantly now to research markets, companies, people I’m meeting with, competitors, etc. I also use it to organize my thoughts and get through things much faster.
I don’t think it’s very good at replacing the human part of work though. Important conversations with customers, employees or investors still need to be human. It can help you prepare, but I wouldn’t outsource the actual relationship to AI.
How are you thinking about search in 2026, across Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What have you changed to stay visible?
Yes. People definitely come into conversations knowing more than they used to. I think ChatGPT and other AI tools are becoming part of how people research companies in the same way Google has been.
What do you do to turn first-time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well?
Just start using it. Don’t spend six months coming up with an AI strategy. Have people actually use the tools and figure out what saves them time. There are probably dozens of small things people in every company are doing manually right now that they won’t be doing manually a year or two from now.
I’d ignore a lot of the hype around needing AI in every single product. Customers don’t care that much about the technology itself. They care if you can solve their problem better. AI is a tool, not the reason someone should buy from you.
Thank you to Lisa Falzone and the team at Athena Security for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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