Sponsorship Opportunities
Five ways to sponsor CISO.POKER — from anchoring the prize pool to owning the room, the production, the hospitality, or the community that fills the seats.
How Sponsorship Works
Anchor, production, hospitality, prize, or community. Each has its own contribution model and benefits. Some are exclusive; most allow one sponsor per slot.
On the felt, in the chip stack, on the card decks, on the prize envelope, at the bar — wherever it makes sense for your category. No banner stands. Physical items are custom manufactured at CISO Gear.
Prize contributors get 60 seconds at the ceremony. Production and hospitality sponsors are credited when the thing they funded is introduced. One honest sentence, in front of a room that's paying attention.
We don't badge-scan attendees. We don't build lead lists for sponsors. The room trusts the environment because of this — which is why the conversations you have here are worth more than a list of emails you'd never get responses from anyway.
Anchor Sponsor
One venture capital firm. First right of refusal. Your entire portfolio under one roof.
The anchor VC position is exclusive and non-recurring. Once contracted, the firm holds first right of refusal for all future CISO.POKER flagship events before any new solicitation opens.
One sponsorship umbrella covers all participating portfolio companies. Each contributing company gets their own prize slot and 60-second ceremony moment.
Firm name and brand leads all event communications, signage, and post-event coverage as the presenting sponsor.
Seats at the tournament tables for portfolio founders — playing alongside CISOs, not pitching to them.
Firms that bring 15–20 verified CISOs qualify for a community anchor credit — your name on the room you helped fill.
Production Sponsor
Your brand is physically present at every table, in every hand, for the entire night.
Physical items (card guards, trophy, chips) are manufactured in-house at CISO Gear — our 3D print farm. Custom geometry and branding available. View gear page →
Branded playing cards used at every table for the entire tournament. Every player handles your deck for three hours.
One denomination of the chip stack carries your logo. Photographed, remembered, and occasionally pocketed as a souvenir.
Per-player card guards custom printed by CISO Gear with your logo. Players use them all night — and most take them home.
Your brand on the championship piece. Custom printed by CISO Gear, presented at the winner moment. It ends up on a CISO's desk.
Logo placement on the felt at designated tables. Present in every hand photo and video clip from the event.
Fund the event documentation — highlight reel, final table coverage, winner moment. Your brand opens and closes the video.
Hospitality Sponsor
Own the room. Own the night. The venue and everything in it can carry your name.
Buy out the event space. 'The Stack at [Your Brand] — presented by CISO.POKER.' The room is yours.
Private VIP suite adjacent to the tournament floor for executive conversations, media, and final-table watching.
Negotiate and fund a block of rooms at the venue hotel for attendees. Your name on every room key envelope.
Sponsor the open bar, the break food, or both. The night runs on what you provide. Every attendee notices.
Prize Sponsor
The prize is the whole point. Every category of it can carry a sponsor.
Contribute 1 year of enterprise product access to the grand prize pool. 60-second ceremony moment, logo on all prize materials. Standard product contribution: 500+ user tier.
Mid-tournament format: players who get knocked out draw a mystery envelope. Sponsor the bounty pool with product credits, hardware, experiences, or cash equivalents.
Every player receives a bag at registration. Sponsor the bag itself, or contribute an item. Product companies, hardware vendors, and lifestyle brands welcome.
Sponsor the 2nd and 3rd place prizes independently of the main Stack contribution. Smaller commitment, still named at the ceremony.
Community Partner
The most valuable thing you can contribute isn't money. It's the right people.
If you place CISOs and can bring 10–20 verified security executives to the event, we want to talk. Your name goes on the cohort you help fill.
BSides organizers, DEF CON villages, security community groups — if your community overlaps with ours, co-hosting an underground tier makes sense.
Security podcasts, newsletters, and media properties that can amplify the event to the right audience. Coverage traded for access.
ISACA, ISC², ISSA, or similar — if your membership includes working CISOs, a formal partnership gets your members into the room.
HSC 2026 — Sponsorship Status
The anchor VC position is under contract for HSC 2026. All other categories are
open for the inaugural event.
The event is Wednesday August 5, 2026, Las Vegas, during DEF CON / Black Hat week.
75–100 CISOs. Three hours. One prize. First-time sponsorships establish first right
of refusal for all future CISO.POKER events.
Sponsorship Availability — HSC 2026
Want to host your own event?
Hosting a CISO.POKER event in your city or at your conference is a separate track from sponsoring an existing one. We handle production, you bring the room.
Sponsor Application
Select your category and describe what you'd contribute. We respond within two business days. If you're a VC applying on behalf of a portfolio, or an executive search firm with CISOs to bring — note that in the form.
Prefer email? events@ciso.poker
First right of refusal
Companies that sponsor any category at HSC 2026 receive first right of refusal for the same category at the next CISO.POKER event before solicitation opens publicly.
Future event interest
Not ready to commit to HSC 2026 but want to be in the loop for future events? Select "Future Events" or "Open" as your scope — we'll reach out when the next event is announced.
Host a CISO.POKER Event
Tell us the basics — we respond within 3 business days. Full details on the host page →
Inquiry received.
We'll follow up within 3 business days. Check your email for a confirmation.
View full host page →