Today, FastNetMon protects networks of all sizes from DDoS attacks and serves customers in dozens of countries worldwide. But how did it all begin? This is the story of the company’s early days—not from a technical perspective, but from the journey of building the brand, operations, and community that shaped what FastNetMon is today.
I am Kate, co-founder and CEO of FastNetMon since the very first day the company was set up.(If you’re interested in the technical milestones of our product, you can read more here: Reflecting on 10 Years in Open Source Network Security – FastNetMon).
The Beginning
Pavel and I met in 2012 in a local online chat. We originally were from the same region, but left our home cities shortly after graduation from the universities. Pavel had a very deeply technical mind, while I was more business-focused, but we both shared a passion for technology and what was happening in the industry. Those early conversations quickly grew into a friendship.
During one of the meetings, in 2014, Pavel told me about his open-source project he started to develop in 2013 which later became his hobby and got some interest on GitHub. He told me he had some challenges with that because people wanted more information about the tool, but GitHub didn’t have a lot of capabilities to share it. I suggested building a separate website for this tool that would help to overcome these challenges and add some flexibility and he asked if I could help with that. By then, I had already built strong skills in digital marketing and online strategy through my post-graduation work at one of EMEA’s leading tech companies, and I was excited to contribute.
Finding the Name
One of the first tasks was giving the project a proper name. After brainstorming hundreds of ideas (some of them were just wild) we landed on FastNetMon which means:
- Fast – speed and responsiveness
- Net – network
- Mon – monitoring
It was simple, clear, and reflected the product perfectly.
Building the First Website
The first FastNetMon website launched in 2015. It was very simple—basic visuals, straightforward text with some search engine optimisation for helping users find us faster. Despite its chaotic design, it gave the project visibility beyond GitHub and helped introduce the tool to a wider audience.
As interest grew, users started asking for more advanced features that couldn’t be included in the open-source version. That’s when the idea of FastNetMon Advanced was born. In 2016, we launched a beta, with 65 community members participating in testing, and their feedback shaped the early features of the product. By the end of the year, the first commercial version was available on our website.
Creating the Brand
We knew we needed to build a brand, but with no budget in the beginning, our marketing tools were extremely limited. I chose to focus on content and building a social media presence. It required a lot of time and effort, but it allowed us not only to spread the word about what we were doing but also to share valuable tips and insights on network security. At that time, the industry was still relatively new, and very few companies were openly sharing their expertise. I also created simple visuals for all social posts and websites, so everything was done by hand.
We also needed a logo that would reflect our mission. A friend of mine volunteered to create one for us for free. The result was the name with a light-blue lightning symbol instead of N—simple, striking, and memorable—which quickly became recognised by our customers and remains unchanged to this day.
At the same time, we defined our brand colours: blue for reliability, white for calmness, and salmon for care. Together, they represented how we wanted customers to feel: you can rely on FastNetMon, and you can rest easy knowing your network is under reliable protection. These colours would later become the dominant theme of the redesigned website we launched in 2021.
We began building a community to bring passionate network engineers together in one place. It was never meant to be commercial—and it still isn’t. The goal was simple: to support people in their fight against attacks, create a space where they could share what worked for them, and ask questions to their peers.
Community was in our DNA—it shaped the Advanced edition and has always been at the heart of how we grow.
Bootstrapping the Business
In the first few years, it was just the two of us. Pavel was deep in development and support, while I was juggling everything else—marketing, communications, branding and operations. The list of tasks never seemed to end; in fact, it only kept growing. We worked late nights, weekends, and even holidays, all with zero budget to bring in extra help.
We made the decision not to take outside investment, even if we had a couple of offers. We wanted the freedom to focus on what mattered: our users, our mission, and the product. That path wasn’t easy. Sometimes we wished we could move faster, chase every idea we had. But being bootstrapped forced us to slow down, to plan carefully, to listen closely to our customers and make choices that truly served them.
I still remember the moment we received our very first payment. It was pure joy—the kind of happiness that makes all the sleepless nights worth it. We even saved a screenshot of it as a reminder of that milestone. It was a turning point for us—a moment of validation that what we were building truly mattered.
And through it all, it was the support, trust and feedback of our earliest adopters that kept us going and believed that we were building something that mattered.
A Turning Point
The pandemic changed everything. As the world moved online, cyberattacks exploded. Many businesses needed affordable, effective protection, and they came to us. By that time, our presence online was already established with social media, community,y and website became more visible on searches.
At the same time, DDoS attacks were evolving in both scale and tactics. Our flexibility allowed us to respond quickly, adding new features faster than larger competitors and adapting the product to meet market needs.
As the world gradually returned to in-person events after COVID, we began attending industry events such as RIPE, NANOG, and DDoS Day. Meeting our users face-to-face and hearing firsthand how FastNetMon was helping them was incredibly rewarding.
In 2021, we furthered our commitment to the industry by joining the UK Cyber Security Council and participating in its initiatives.
Growing Beyond Two People
As awareness grew, so did our team. We expanded into new regions like Latin America, North America and Asia, working closely with partners to overcome cultural and language barriers. We brought on new team members in marketing, sales, and content, which allowed us to explore new channels and strategies to reach customers around the world. At the same time, our roles within the company began to shift, moving from hands-on tasks toward more strategic and management responsibilities.
My Personal Journey
For me, FastNetMon has been more than a business. When I joined, it was just an open-source tool on GitHub. Today, it’s a recognised name in network security with customers around the world.
Being a female CEO in a technical industry has not been easy at all, but it has been deeply rewarding. My background is in cyberpsychology and the human factors behind cyberattacks. DDoS is a very technical type of attack, but behind every attack is also intent, motivation, and human behaviour. Bringing that perspective to the company, alongside Pavel’s deep technical expertise, gave us a unique foundation to grow.
Now, my chapter here is coming to a close. It’s time for me to explore new opportunities. But I will always carry pride in what we built together: a company that started from nothing, grew through community, and stayed true to its mission—to provide a versatile DDoS detection tool for organisations of all sizes and help make the internet a safer place.I will always be open for our customers, partners and followers, and if you want to contact me, you can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-fateeva/