Holly Keener is a communications specialist turned people expert who has helped multiple startups build and maintain a strong, human-centered company culture while navigating the challenges of scaling at speed.
What drew you to HR?
My master’s degree is in corporate and professional communication, and I actually started out in marketing communications, which is where I always thought I wanted to work. But when I got there, I didn’t feel like I was fulfilling my potential. I wanted more.
While working in event marketing for a tech company, I started picking up office management and HR tasks. From there, I took classes for an HR certification, joined the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and started to build my career. In my first role as an “HR department of one,” we acquired four companies within one year, so it was really a baptism by fire. I had to learn very quickly how to bring companies and people into the fold. Andesite is my fourth time joining a startup as a department of one for up to 100 employees, and I’m excited to build the program up here, too.
How does your experience align with Andesite and the world of cybersecurity?
Andesite is the earliest-stage startup I’ve worked for, so having experience at other, more mature organizations is helpful. While we’re just getting our engine started in sales, we’re more developed in other ways. We already have some sophisticated programs in place like a Management Advisory Group, a rotating group of employees who make recommendations to senior leadership, which is unique.
The HR story in cybersecurity is very different from other areas of the tech world. It’s not just a longer sales cycle, it’s also the speed of change. AI is evolving so quickly, it’s hard to keep up. Working in the government space is new to me, too, and I’m enjoying the learning curve. What feels familiar here is that we’re building something from the ground up. I love the startup vibe. Every day is different, and everything is fast-moving.
At Andesite, everyone takes a lot of pride in what we do, and we’re not putting unreasonable demands on our people, which is unusual for a startup. Across the board, we hire experts in every field and give them a lot of autonomy and ownership, not just over their days, but also over what we’re pushing forward, and what we bring to the table. That approach creates a unique atmosphere.
How would you characterize Andesite’s culture?
Andesite’s culture comes from a genuinely unique leadership team. Our founders aren’t typical “tech founder” types. Each has a far-reaching, storied background, and that DNA shows up in how we operate. We’re hardworking and driven, but also unusually transparent, even about the hard stuff. We’re remote-first across 20+ states, which means culture here isn’t about in-office events and perks, it’s about trust, autonomy, and people showing up because they believe in the mission. And the mission itself matters. We’re not just building software, we’re working to make a real dent in the cybersecurity space that affects real people and organizations. That combination — serious mission, unconventional leaders, real trust in people — is what makes it feel different.
What is your philosophy regarding the use of AI?
A lot of companies are using AI optimization and productivity to justify significant workforce reduction and layoffs. At Andesite, we believe in using AI to augment human work. My personal philosophy is very aligned with this — that we should absolutely be using the technology, but always with human oversight.
Personally, I see AI as incredibly powerful and useful, but still needing to be managed and have people involved. AI can pretend to be human, but it doesn’t always get it right. Even for myself, I use AI for various projects and it significantly speeds up the process. I worked on a career-leveling framework project, for example, that would have taken a year to complete without AI. By using AI, we were able to collapse that to a couple of months. But it also made a lot of mistakes, and we needed people to apply logic and correct those mistakes before we got it right. So, you definitely have to have those guardrails in place. As with any change, we have to be careful with AI. It’s a powerful tool, but it’s not a replacement for judgment — that’s on us.
Why do you think some organizations are rushing to replace people with AI?
A lot of it comes down to costs. Inflation is up, everything is more expensive, and we’re all trying to keep up with our competitors. But, I think some companies are being too quick to cut roles without really thinking about the long-term effects. Replacing people with AI impacts the entire organization — culture, hiring, and training, not just your bottom line.
At Andesite, we’re looking at how we can use AI to increase efficiencies across the organization in terms of processes, tools, and more. We’re always looking for new ways to utilize AI to push other areas of the business forward. Even in HR, we use it to help with a lot of big projects, to get the tone right in various communications, and so on. Every department has to find the best use cases. It’s important to embrace it and support adoption across the team, meeting people where they are. Because we’re an AI company ourselves, our team is naturally curious about the technology, but we still invest in sharing best practices so people know not just how to use AI, but how to use it well.
What do you think is the best way for startups to embrace both AI and the people that work for them?
One thing we can do is have open conversations around AI with our people. In the past, I’ve held “ideas fests” where we invite people to brainstorm and present innovative ideas to address challenges the business is facing, and I could see an AI use case ideas fest being really impactful. If you make it a competition or hold challenges, it can be a fun way to build camaraderie and collaboration across functional groups while also using AI to push the business forward.
I also believe it’s important to teach people not just how to use AI more, but how to use it better. Some people treat it like a vending machine — one prompt in, one answer out — and that can lead to sloppy work. Getting real value means going several layers deep with your questions, iterating until you actually land on what you need, whether that’s a final answer or a finished product. You can’t just plug in one prompt then copy and paste the answer. You always need to bring human judgment and EQ into the equation to help the machine iterate until you get there.
What uniquely positions Andesite to tackle cyber defense in a new way?
From my seat in the organization, I’d say it’s our collective past combined with where we are as a company today. Our leadership team has such varied and notable experience, and that diversity creates a wealth of knowledge and perspectives to guide us forward as a company. But beyond the people, our size is an advantage too. We’re small and young enough to stay nimble. We can adapt quickly, test new approaches, and fail fast without the weight of legacy systems or bureaucracy slowing us down. It’s a rare mix of the wisdom of people who’ve seen it all, paired with people at every level who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get it done.
What’s been most interesting or surprising to you in this role?
Andesite’s leadership takes a very different approach to running the company than many startups, in my experience. There’s a top-down trust here that I really appreciate. The senior leaders give people autonomy in decision-making, allowing them to go do what they’re capable of. That’s also possible because we’re often hiring mid-to-late-stage career professionals, rather than recent grads, so management doesn’t have to be as hands-on.
There’s always room for growth, of course, but we’re not teaching people how to work, we’re trusting people who already know how. For myself, I appreciate the autonomy. Andesite lets me enjoy a real balance between living my life and doing my best work, without the expectation of being glued to Slack, no unwritten rule that you’re on nights and weekends, which can be pretty standard at startups.
Tell us a little bit about life outside of Andesite.
Outside of Andesite, most of my time is spent with my 2-year-old son. I’m a single mom, which comes with its own pressures as both the sole breadwinner and sole parent. Fortunately, I have an incredible support system, so he gets plenty of family time. Beyond mom life, I love cooking, and I’m part of a local book club with women ranging from their 30s to 70s+, which I love — great books, good food, and even better conversation. Since moving to Florida a few years ago, I’ve really been enjoying the outdoor living here.