Privacy-first corporate MCP gateway. Product pivot — Steve builds, Andy’s side markets.
Connek is a privacy-first corporate Model Context Protocol (MCP) gateway — a Composio-style connector layer for agent platforms where the organisation owns the secrets, not a third-party connector SaaS.
Regulated mid-to-large buyers keep repeating the same objection: handing API keys and OAuth to a hosted catalog is a compliance non-starter. That pain is real. It is not yet proven paid demand. Honest posture: warm → probe.
October wedge: six VenMCP marketing connectors (Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, Google Ads, Meta Ads, DataForSEO, Google Tag Manager) — depth, not catalog race — plus Keycloak / OpenID Connect (OIDC), bring-your-own (BYO) OAuth, audit, Australian residency / virtual private cloud (VPC) path.
Pivot: Connek is the product the team works on — not Ven Agency delivery packaging. Steve owns build. Andy’s side owns marketing and planning. Probe success = calls, problem statements, letters of intent (LOIs) / paid pilots — not vanity launches.
VenMCP already runs real connectors, portal, Keycloak/OIDC patterns, and Australian endpoints. Keeping that only as “agency delivery” traps the product thesis inside client work. Andy’s 12 September 2026 brief: Connek is the product — Steve builds, Andy’s side markets.
Agent platforms need connectors. Hosted catalogs win breadth. Regulated buyers (finance, healthcare, government, compliance-bound software-as-a-service) often refuse the trade: credentials leave the network. They want self-host or VPC, org identity provider (IdP), BYO OAuth, vaults, audit, allowlists, residency, and a data processing agreement (DPA).
Uncertainty: Public posts ≠ purchase orders. No fabricated metrics. No claim of paid demand we have not earned.
Honesty gate: If October tokens still sit on Ven-managed infra, say: managed AU residency, encrypted at rest, no multi-tenant key pooling. Customer KMS / VPC vault = post-pilot roadmap. Never overclaim custody.
For platform and security leaders at regulated mid-to-large organisations who need agent connectors without handing keys to a third-party SaaS, Connek is an org-owned MCP gateway that ships a deep marketing connector pack behind the customer’s IdP, BYO OAuth, audit, and Australian residency / VPC path. Unlike Composio, Claude managed MCP catalogs, and thin DIY gateways, Connek sells custody and connector quality in one wedge.
October USP #1 lock: Today’s VenMCP still stores Google refresh tokens on our side (encrypted). Lead with managed Australian hosting until Steve confirms a customer-held vault ships.
| USP | Vs Composio | Vs Claude managed MCP | Vs DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honest custody (managed AU default) | They win managed catalog; many still hear third-party custody | Convenient inside vendor trust boundary; we sell a clearer perimeter story | DIY can match custody; we productise managed AU for pilots |
| AU + VPC path | Residency often enterprise custom | Follows AI vendor cloud story | Self-host anywhere; we offer managed AU first |
| Audit + allowlists | Enterprise tiers; mid-market catalog-first | Vendor-platform governance | You build logging/RBAC; we aim pilot-ready export |
| Six-connector depth | They win 1,000+ toolkits — we don’t claim that | Coverage chase; our wedge is marketing stack | DIY starts empty; we ship a pack |
| Design-partner commercial | Self-serve + enterprise call | Platform upsell | No sales kit; we sell a time-boxed pilot |
We will not claim: beating Composio on connector count; paid demand; SOC 2 / BAA / air-gap in October; Reddit/HN = pipeline.
| Lens | Definition |
|---|---|
| Primary | Platform / AI platform eng lead + Security/IT (CISO-adjacent) at mid–large regulated orgs |
| Verticals | Finance, healthcare, government, compliance-bound SaaS |
| Trigger | Rolling out agents; stuck on credential custody, residency, or IdP |
| Criteria | Self-host/VPC; org IdP (OIDC/Keycloak); vault; audit; allowlists; DPA; AU residency |
| Secondary | Teams that already rejected Composio/Zapier MCP on custody/residency |
Channels: Warm Ven network + LinkedIn primary. Hacker News for themes. Reddit tertiary only — not primary validation.
| Objection | Handler |
|---|---|
| Composio has SSO/SCIM | Table stakes. Ask where tokens live and if AU/VPC is standard. Offer architecture interview. |
| Need 50 connectors | Pre-qualify for marketing wedge + paid custom later. Else not an Oct partner. |
| Just another gateway? | Commodity without depth + honest custody. Demo VenMCP + residency. |
| Claude MCP is enough | Fine inside that vendor’s boundary. We exist for org-owned OAuth/audit outside one AI vendor. |
| We’ll self-host OSS | Valid. We sell time-to-pilot: IdP, vault story, six connectors, audit, DPA outline. |
| Where do tokens live? | Answer only from architecture truth doc. Never invent customer KMS. |
| What’s the price? | No public list. Internal only: discuss A$5–15k POC or A$2–5k/mo pilot (1–3 months). |
Tone: plain British English. Calm. Specific. No hype. Expand jargon once.
Window: ~12 Sep → 31 Oct 2026 (Melbourne). Soft public launch optional. Prefer thin commercial wrapper + 1–2 design partners.
| # | Channel | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm Ven network + LinkedIn | 15–20 shortlist → interviews → pilot/LOI |
| 2 | Competitive teardown (buyer mode) | Composio/Arcade enterprise demos; custody gaps |
| 3 | Hacker News | Themes only — not pipeline |
| 4 | Tertiary noise filter |
Roles: Andy = decisions + marketing/planning. Steve = build. James = warm intros when unlocked. Charlie/agents = drafts only — no spend/publish.
Not metrics: HN upvotes, Reddit karma, Product Hunt, vanity traffic, launch blog without commercial signal.
Do not kill solely because Reddit or Hacker News is quiet.