Episode 4
Behind the Scenes of a CIO at a $50 million Startup, with Jahn Karsybaev
Jahn Karsybaev is the CIO at myBasePay - a small startup that raised $60 million in funding and are on their way to closing the year at $50 million in revenue. In today's episode, Assurance IT's co-founder Luigi Tiano asks Jahn about the following topics:
- The difficulty attracting IT talent as a startup & how Jahn works around that
- Defining cyber resilience
- Tips on implementing digital transformation & debunking myths around it
- Jahn's best tip to staying up-to-date with the tech industry (we're stealing this one)
- What keep's Jahn up at night
- What Jahn looks for in a company that potentially acquires myBasePay
Resources:
Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/2wlSQeXbPHQ
Jahn Karsybaev’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahnibek/
myBasePay: https://www.mybasepay.com/
The book about Business experiments Jahn referred to: https://amzn.to/3dyyHN4
Luigi Tiano’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luigitiano/
Assurance IT Website: http://www.assuranceit.ca/
About Jahn Karsybaev:
Jahn Karsybaev is a Technology Executive who has led IT teams for Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a Co-Founder and CIO at myBasePay.
Jahn has co-founded, launched, successfully sold as well as successfully failed several start-ups. He is an Angel Investor and sits on Boards of several tech startups. He loves teaching angel investing, growth hacking & fundraising for startups.
Fund-raising is one of Jahn's strengths and passions. Cumulatively, he has successfully raised close to $70MM for the startups he has launched or advised on.
About 10 Questions to Cyber Resilience:
Twice per month, learn about how IT leaders are strengthening their cyber security practices. Every episode comprises of 10 questions that get you one step closer to cyber resilience. Subscribe to stay up-to-date with hot topics in cyber security.
About Assurance IT:
Assurance IT (www.assuranceit.ca) specializes in data protection and data privacy for the mid-market in Canada, since 2011. The Montreal-based company’s unique approach to helping customers become cyber resilient is called the PPR Methodology which stands for Prepare, Protect and Recover. Based on industry best practices, the PPR Methodology is an easier way to achieve cyber security and compliance objectives.
Transcript
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Luigi Tiano:Jahn, so tell me a
Luigi Tiano:little bit about your startup,
Luigi Tiano:and how the idea came to be.
Luigi Tiano:So tell us about, you know, what
Luigi Tiano:you're doing today so our audience
Luigi Tiano:can learn about what you do.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah,
Jahn Karsybaev:absolutely Luigi and thanks
Jahn Karsybaev:so much for this opportunity
Jahn Karsybaev:to talk to you on the podcast.
Jahn Karsybaev:Essentially MyBasePay, we are
Jahn Karsybaev:an employee of record platform
Jahn Karsybaev:for the staffing and the talent
Jahn Karsybaev:acquisition industry, where we
Jahn Karsybaev:act as a back office provider, the
Jahn Karsybaev:technology platform to be able to
Jahn Karsybaev:efficiently onboard candidates,
Jahn Karsybaev:process the time sheets, one
Jahn Karsybaev:of the biggest advantages,
Jahn Karsybaev:also payroll funding that we
Jahn Karsybaev:provide to the staffing firms.
Jahn Karsybaev:And I can expand on that
Jahn Karsybaev:later as we go along.
Jahn Karsybaev:Essentially we're less
Jahn Karsybaev:than three years old.
Jahn Karsybaev:We've launched earlier this year.
Jahn Karsybaev:We've venture- backed.
Jahn Karsybaev:We've had a massive round preceed
Jahn Karsybaev:that we raised 60 million and we
Jahn Karsybaev:we're on track to process 50
Jahn Karsybaev:million, in revenue so far this
Jahn Karsybaev:year, and it's, you know, most of
Jahn Karsybaev:our clients are here in US, but
Jahn Karsybaev:we're starting to go outside of the
Jahn Karsybaev:market, internationally as well.
Jahn Karsybaev:And yeah, you know, it's
Jahn Karsybaev:been an exciting journey for
Jahn Karsybaev:the past couple of years.
Luigi Tiano:Fantastic.
Luigi Tiano:That's great.
Luigi Tiano:Congratulations.
Luigi Tiano:You know, it's not always
Luigi Tiano:easy, getting funding and
Luigi Tiano:that's amazing for you guys.
Luigi Tiano:And, from what I understand,
Luigi Tiano:you are obviously the CIO there.
Luigi Tiano:Right.
Luigi Tiano:So taking on the CIO position
Luigi Tiano:for, for a startup, especially,
Luigi Tiano:you know, in this industry, can
Luigi Tiano:you maybe talk about some of
Luigi Tiano:those challenges that you face
Luigi Tiano:as a CIO, given the climate,
Luigi Tiano:given the environment today, with
Luigi Tiano:everything that's going on in
Luigi Tiano:the industry and in the world,
Luigi Tiano:talk about, you know, some of
Luigi Tiano:the challenges you may have.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah, absolutely.
Jahn Karsybaev:And it's, you know, it's an ongoing
Jahn Karsybaev:journey and I've been part of, you
Jahn Karsybaev:know, all my life, an entrepreneur
Jahn Karsybaev:I've been in a corporate sector
Jahn Karsybaev:as well as many startups that
Jahn Karsybaev:have launched successfully
Jahn Karsybaev:failed and had that experience
Jahn Karsybaev:of both sides of the equation.
Jahn Karsybaev:Startup, you know, is just
Jahn Karsybaev:something that I truly enjoy
Jahn Karsybaev:the challenge to be able to
Jahn Karsybaev:build something from ground up,
Jahn Karsybaev:that technologies by trade and.
Jahn Karsybaev:To have great co-founders with me
Jahn Karsybaev:that are more business oriented,
Jahn Karsybaev:more sales, more marketing.
Jahn Karsybaev:So we compliment each other from
Jahn Karsybaev:that perspective and taking on
Jahn Karsybaev:the role kind of as a co-founder
Jahn Karsybaev:and the technology lead for a
Jahn Karsybaev:startup as such in this very nichey
Jahn Karsybaev:space was definitely a challenge.
Jahn Karsybaev:And most of the challenges.
Jahn Karsybaev:That I've faced is all around
Jahn Karsybaev:the talent, especially in this
Jahn Karsybaev:highly competitive market these
Jahn Karsybaev:days with just a world shifting
Jahn Karsybaev:to completely virtual environment
Jahn Karsybaev:and hybrid, and being able to
Jahn Karsybaev:attract the top talent and retain,
Jahn Karsybaev:for startups that adds another
Jahn Karsybaev:layer of complexity, because we
Jahn Karsybaev:don't necessarily have that brand
Jahn Karsybaev:that attracts the, you know,
Jahn Karsybaev:the best tech talent, at least
Jahn Karsybaev:so that's been one of the biggest
Jahn Karsybaev:challenges, which it's still a
Jahn Karsybaev:challenge even to this day, to be
Jahn Karsybaev:able to build a world class team.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's something that's at top of my
Jahn Karsybaev:mind as an executive 24 7, whether
Jahn Karsybaev:I'm actively recruiting or not.
Jahn Karsybaev:Every single person I talk to
Jahn Karsybaev:is always an opportunity to see,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, is this a person that
Jahn Karsybaev:can potentially join our team?
Jahn Karsybaev:And are we, are we the
Jahn Karsybaev:right fit for them as well?
Jahn Karsybaev:So that's, that's been one of the
Jahn Karsybaev:biggest challenges as the CEO of
Jahn Karsybaev:a startup, but obviously there's
Jahn Karsybaev:a lot of other complexities
Jahn Karsybaev:when it comes to launching the
Jahn Karsybaev:platform fully in the cloud as
Jahn Karsybaev:well in the virtual environments.
Jahn Karsybaev:And I'm excited to talk
Jahn Karsybaev:to you about some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:cybersecurity measures.
Jahn Karsybaev:That's, you know, it's an ongoing
Jahn Karsybaev:threat It's an ongoing risk
Jahn Karsybaev:that we always have to carefully
Jahn Karsybaev:measure and look out for and
Jahn Karsybaev:we invest heavily into that.
Jahn Karsybaev:So that's, you know, definitely
Jahn Karsybaev:another challenge that I
Jahn Karsybaev:would highlight as part of,
Jahn Karsybaev:kind of that journey of a
Jahn Karsybaev:startup.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah, no, I like
Luigi Tiano:what you're saying and, you
Luigi Tiano:actually touched upon a question
Luigi Tiano:that I was gonna come back to
Luigi Tiano:later, so I, I might ask it to
Luigi Tiano:now because it , it's kind of in
Luigi Tiano:line with what you just mentioned.
Luigi Tiano:It staffing and
Luigi Tiano:talent and skill set.
Luigi Tiano:That's obviously a
Luigi Tiano:challenge that we see in
Luigi Tiano:our, in our business here.
Luigi Tiano:We're obviously in the
Luigi Tiano:cybersecurity space, cyber
Luigi Tiano:resilience, and, you know, we
Luigi Tiano:help our customers sometimes
Luigi Tiano:even , find individuals, which
Luigi Tiano:is obviously a huge challenge.
Luigi Tiano:So what's your best advice
Luigi Tiano:for dealing with this
Luigi Tiano:iT staffing shortage.
Luigi Tiano:I mean, you're going
Luigi Tiano:through it right now.
Luigi Tiano:What would you, you
Luigi Tiano:know, give us advice.
Jahn Karsybaev:And
Jahn Karsybaev:talent acquisition for me.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's , it's not the
Jahn Karsybaev:term that I like to use.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's not necessarily you acquire
Jahn Karsybaev:the talent, it's you attract the
Jahn Karsybaev:talent at the end of the day.
Jahn Karsybaev:And it's really also an opportunity
Jahn Karsybaev:for those who may be interested
Jahn Karsybaev:in joining my company in general.
Jahn Karsybaev:. Is this the right environment for
Jahn Karsybaev:them , am I the type of leader that
Jahn Karsybaev:will really help them grow to that
Jahn Karsybaev:next level where they want to be?
Jahn Karsybaev:So it's always the mental model
Jahn Karsybaev:that I have to keep in mind
Jahn Karsybaev:, whenever we go through interviews
Jahn Karsybaev:or whenever we go through some of
Jahn Karsybaev:the head hunting exercises it's
Jahn Karsybaev:really to be able to understand
Jahn Karsybaev:and align our objectives and
Jahn Karsybaev:the, and the priorities for
Jahn Karsybaev:them as a professional and
Jahn Karsybaev:for us as an organization.
Jahn Karsybaev:So that's been working really well.
Jahn Karsybaev:In a sense to have those meaningful
Jahn Karsybaev:conversations with the candidates
Jahn Karsybaev:and say, here's where, who we are.
Jahn Karsybaev:Here's where we go in
Jahn Karsybaev:as an organization.
Jahn Karsybaev:Here's where we want to be.
Jahn Karsybaev:Here's our values.
Jahn Karsybaev:Here's what we're all about
Jahn Karsybaev:and give them an opportunity
Jahn Karsybaev:to also speak from their
Jahn Karsybaev:perspective in terms of.
Jahn Karsybaev:What are some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:things that make them tick?
Jahn Karsybaev:What are some of the things that
Jahn Karsybaev:they would love to accomplish
Jahn Karsybaev:in near term and longer term?
Jahn Karsybaev:And here's how I can, as a leader.
Jahn Karsybaev:Here's how I can help you
Jahn Karsybaev:get to that next level.
Jahn Karsybaev:Obviously, always understanding
Jahn Karsybaev:that you're not gonna be
Jahn Karsybaev:probably with us forever.
Jahn Karsybaev:That's right.
Jahn Karsybaev:That goes into the context of, you
Jahn Karsybaev:know, retaining the top talent.
Jahn Karsybaev:Of course I would love for all
Jahn Karsybaev:of our team members to stick us
Jahn Karsybaev:forever, but that's the reality,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, everyone needs to grow.
Jahn Karsybaev:Everyone needs to move
Jahn Karsybaev:on and realizing that.
Jahn Karsybaev:And in the process, essentially
Jahn Karsybaev:identifying opportunities for your
Jahn Karsybaev:employees, for your coworkers and
Jahn Karsybaev:peers, to be able to capitalize
Jahn Karsybaev:and take on those opportunities,
Jahn Karsybaev:create an environment of, you
Jahn Karsybaev:know, experimentation, innovation.
Jahn Karsybaev:We're really big on
Jahn Karsybaev:that as a culture.
Jahn Karsybaev:One of my favorite books is, by
Jahn Karsybaev:my former professor , at Harvard
Jahn Karsybaev:business school is Stefan Thomke
Jahn Karsybaev:toy's experimentation matters and
Jahn Karsybaev:experimentation works where he
Jahn Karsybaev:talks a lot about the models of
Jahn Karsybaev:fostering, a culture of innovation
Jahn Karsybaev:through experimentation, where
Jahn Karsybaev:everyone is empowered to be
Jahn Karsybaev:able to take on the experiments.
Jahn Karsybaev:To be that mini CEO of their
Jahn Karsybaev:project, of their, you know,
Jahn Karsybaev:initiative that the China launch.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those, I know it's a very
Jahn Karsybaev:loaded answer to your question
Jahn Karsybaev:in the sense our strategies to
Jahn Karsybaev:attract and retain top talent.
Jahn Karsybaev:But those are some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:mental models that really
Jahn Karsybaev:help me succeed kind of in, in
Jahn Karsybaev:that space.
Luigi Tiano:No, what you said
Luigi Tiano:there really resonates, cuz , I
Luigi Tiano:think the fact of being very
Luigi Tiano:transparent with the employee
Luigi Tiano:in front of you or the potential
Luigi Tiano:employee in front of you,
Luigi Tiano:and finding how you can help
Luigi Tiano:that person and articulating.
Luigi Tiano:Has helped me in the past
Luigi Tiano:find or attract talent.
Luigi Tiano:Cause I think you said like finding
Luigi Tiano:talent is not the difficult part.
Luigi Tiano:It's how do you attract them
Luigi Tiano:and how do you retain them?
Luigi Tiano:You know?
Luigi Tiano:And the talent that is
Luigi Tiano:actually gonna be a good
Luigi Tiano:fit for your, business.
Luigi Tiano:Sometimes you see something
Luigi Tiano:on paper that may look good.
Luigi Tiano:And then when you bring
Luigi Tiano:them in, you start.
Luigi Tiano:Having that conversation, you
Luigi Tiano:realize that you cannot help them.
Luigi Tiano:And that, that becomes a problem
Luigi Tiano:cuz then you can't retain them.
Luigi Tiano:And so I like that answer.
Luigi Tiano:And also, to your comment about
Luigi Tiano:the book that I'd like to, maybe we
Luigi Tiano:can share that in the comments once
Luigi Tiano:we publish this, but that sounds
Luigi Tiano:like a really interesting book.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:So I'll definitely
Luigi Tiano:ask you for that.
Luigi Tiano:So that's a good answer.
Luigi Tiano:Thank you.
Luigi Tiano:It's really in depth.
Luigi Tiano:It's interesting.
Luigi Tiano:Definitely gonna use that
Luigi Tiano:some of those techniques and
Luigi Tiano:some of those thoughts thought
Luigi Tiano:processes when we're looking
Luigi Tiano:or trying to attract talent.
Luigi Tiano:So I appreciate that.
Luigi Tiano:Let's move on to kind of
Luigi Tiano:the, the next step, which,
Luigi Tiano:or the next topic here, which
Luigi Tiano:is gonna be talking around
Luigi Tiano:security and, cyber resilience.
Luigi Tiano:So cyber resilience is a term
Luigi Tiano:that we're hearing more and
Luigi Tiano:more often in our industry.
Luigi Tiano:When you hear that, term,
Luigi Tiano:what does it mean to you?
Jahn Karsybaev:And that's
Jahn Karsybaev:a, that's a great term.
Jahn Karsybaev:And I love just the overall sound
Jahn Karsybaev:of that, , we are resilient overall
Jahn Karsybaev:from a technology perspective,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, and another layer of
Jahn Karsybaev:complexity from the cybersecurity
Jahn Karsybaev:standpoint, because it's an
Jahn Karsybaev:ongoing threat and , those threats
Jahn Karsybaev:are becoming a lot more complex
Jahn Karsybaev:in nature to be able to detect
Jahn Karsybaev:and react to that, which leads
Jahn Karsybaev:me to the point of reacting.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's essentially, cyber resilience
Jahn Karsybaev:for me, starts with people,
Jahn Karsybaev:with people at the organization.
Jahn Karsybaev:And it's part of that cultural
Jahn Karsybaev:definition in terms of, are
Jahn Karsybaev:we all aligned in terms of
Jahn Karsybaev:the vision as an organization
Jahn Karsybaev:and to be able to essentially
Jahn Karsybaev:proactively identify those
Jahn Karsybaev:potential risks and technology
Jahn Karsybaev:is always gonna be there.
Jahn Karsybaev:Technology will always help
Jahn Karsybaev:identify those potential risks
Jahn Karsybaev:from a software perspective
Jahn Karsybaev:and things like that.
Jahn Karsybaev:But at the end of the day,
Jahn Karsybaev:it's all on the actual users.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's all on the employees and the
Jahn Karsybaev:people who use the system to be
Jahn Karsybaev:able, to have that alignment in
Jahn Karsybaev:the sense that here's some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:things that we don't want to happen
Jahn Karsybaev:to our organization when it comes
Jahn Karsybaev:to potential risks and threats.
Jahn Karsybaev:And identify those procedures,
Jahn Karsybaev:those policies, and being able to
Jahn Karsybaev:have that ongoing training as well.
Jahn Karsybaev:And to show examples of some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:things that are potential threats.
Jahn Karsybaev:To me, those are
Jahn Karsybaev:very important to me.
Jahn Karsybaev:That's kind of the definition of
Jahn Karsybaev:the resilience aspect of that.
Jahn Karsybaev:And it just, it definitely needs
Jahn Karsybaev:to be part of the cultural DNA
Jahn Karsybaev:of the organization because
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, we can implement
Jahn Karsybaev:all the tools in the world.
Jahn Karsybaev:We can implement all of the
Jahn Karsybaev:software in the world that can
Jahn Karsybaev:help us become more resilient from
Jahn Karsybaev:the cybersecurity perspective.
Jahn Karsybaev:But.
Jahn Karsybaev:If the users are not brought
Jahn Karsybaev:in, if your employees are
Jahn Karsybaev:not brought in to the whole
Jahn Karsybaev:aspect of how to use that and,
Jahn Karsybaev:what are the potential risks?
Jahn Karsybaev:I think that just, it
Jahn Karsybaev:creates a lot more room for
Jahn Karsybaev:error from that standpoint.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those are just some of
Jahn Karsybaev:my thoughts when it comes
Jahn Karsybaev:to resilience in the special
Jahn Karsybaev:and the cybersecurity space.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah,
Luigi Tiano:I agree with you.
Luigi Tiano:It has to be a cultural thing.
Luigi Tiano:It has to be a people thing.
Luigi Tiano:We keep hearing, it's a stat that
Luigi Tiano:it may be overused or become a
Luigi Tiano:cliche stat, but, 80 or 90% of the
Luigi Tiano:attacks are due to human error.
Luigi Tiano:Right.
Luigi Tiano:So if you're able
Luigi Tiano:to kind of mitigate.
Luigi Tiano:That large portion of the risk,
Luigi Tiano:then you can have a really
Luigi Tiano:more resilient, or how can I
Luigi Tiano:say this, but you know, more
Luigi Tiano:resilient organization, right?
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:So, yeah, I agree with you
Luigi Tiano:a hundred percent on that.
Luigi Tiano:And, again, sometimes we
Luigi Tiano:overlook the easy stuff.
Luigi Tiano:We really overlook the easy
Luigi Tiano:stuff, which is just educating
Luigi Tiano:the users, getting them familiar
Luigi Tiano:with what an attack could
Luigi Tiano:potentially look like and just
Luigi Tiano:making people more vigilant.
Luigi Tiano:Right.
Luigi Tiano:So definitely on board with that
Luigi Tiano:and that's one of the things it's
Luigi Tiano:in the DNA of the enterprise.
Luigi Tiano:It should be anyway.
Luigi Tiano:And unfortunately, what I'm
Luigi Tiano:seeing on my side is, it becomes
Luigi Tiano:the part of the DNA only after
Luigi Tiano:something really bad happens.
Luigi Tiano:Right, which is
Luigi Tiano:late, which is late.
Luigi Tiano:Right, right.
Luigi Tiano:So okay.
Luigi Tiano:Now I like that answer.
Luigi Tiano:I had a couple of questions.
Luigi Tiano:I'm gonna shift them
Luigi Tiano:around here because you
Luigi Tiano:mentioned cyber resilience.
Luigi Tiano:And now we hear a lot about digital
Luigi Tiano:transformation and it's been a
Luigi Tiano:term that's been obviously been
Luigi Tiano:used for the last decade, right.
Luigi Tiano:Or even the last 20 years, but,
Luigi Tiano:we're in this constant flux.
Luigi Tiano:Right.
Luigi Tiano:So what does digital
Luigi Tiano:transformation mean to you?
Luigi Tiano:Given you're a CIO today in 2022.
Luigi Tiano:What does that mean to.
Jahn Karsybaev:And that's a
Jahn Karsybaev:great question and so relevant
Jahn Karsybaev:to the current times, especially
Jahn Karsybaev:in the current market conditions,
Jahn Karsybaev:with everything that we're
Jahn Karsybaev:dealing with, especially on our
Jahn Karsybaev:technology side, where executives
Jahn Karsybaev:on the business side and the
Jahn Karsybaev:investors and things like that.
Jahn Karsybaev:Everyone wants digital
Jahn Karsybaev:transformation.
Jahn Karsybaev:Everyone wants for that to occur.
Jahn Karsybaev:But.
Jahn Karsybaev:Not to sound like a broken record,
Jahn Karsybaev:but from the standpoint, and that
Jahn Karsybaev:kind of ties to what I've briefly
Jahn Karsybaev:talked about from a resilience
Jahn Karsybaev:standpoint, digital transformation
Jahn Karsybaev:is all about people transformation.
Jahn Karsybaev:It definitely starts with the
Jahn Karsybaev:buy-in at organizations you know,
Jahn Karsybaev:at every level within the company.
Jahn Karsybaev:Because we can implement all of
Jahn Karsybaev:the systems in the world, but if
Jahn Karsybaev:our internal users or external
Jahn Karsybaev:stakeholders, if they're not
Jahn Karsybaev:bought in to why at the end
Jahn Karsybaev:of the day we're doing this,
Jahn Karsybaev:what is the ultimate benefit
Jahn Karsybaev:that we trying to achieve?
Jahn Karsybaev:What is that state of, you know,
Jahn Karsybaev:just overall environment that we
Jahn Karsybaev:are trying to operate in and why
Jahn Karsybaev:are we taking on such initiative
Jahn Karsybaev:To transform ourselves digitally
Jahn Karsybaev:in this specific context.
Jahn Karsybaev:I think that's a lot of, potential
Jahn Karsybaev:room for error where executives
Jahn Karsybaev:fall into that trap, that when it
Jahn Karsybaev:comes to digital transformation,
Jahn Karsybaev:the very first step is to jump
Jahn Karsybaev:into straight, you know, Not
Jahn Karsybaev:analyzing or planning, but
Jahn Karsybaev:into actual building where
Jahn Karsybaev:you want, you know, as a human
Jahn Karsybaev:nature, we want to jump in and
Jahn Karsybaev:try to identify potential, the
Jahn Karsybaev:software or the technology stack
Jahn Karsybaev:that we want to choose, or the
Jahn Karsybaev:implementation partners that we
Jahn Karsybaev:want to work together with, but
Jahn Karsybaev:taking a step back a little bit
Jahn Karsybaev:and really understanding the.
Jahn Karsybaev:Objectives and focus more on
Jahn Karsybaev:the people transformation side.
Jahn Karsybaev:I think to me that's a lot
Jahn Karsybaev:more important than going
Jahn Karsybaev:through the actual quote
Jahn Karsybaev:unquote digital transformation.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those are just some of
Jahn Karsybaev:the thoughts that really tied
Jahn Karsybaev:together from standpoint of
Jahn Karsybaev:successful digital transformations
Jahn Karsybaev:that I've been part of.
Jahn Karsybaev:And those are some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:ingredients that I had
Jahn Karsybaev:seen that really played
Jahn Karsybaev:integral part in that
Luigi Tiano:okay.
Luigi Tiano:Interesting.
Luigi Tiano:So, it's more of a people
Luigi Tiano:transformation versus
Luigi Tiano:digital transformation.
Luigi Tiano:You can't have digital if
Luigi Tiano:the people are not bought in.
Jahn Karsybaev:Exactly.
Jahn Karsybaev:Exactly.
Luigi Tiano:I hear that
Luigi Tiano:very, very interesting.
Luigi Tiano:Okay.
Luigi Tiano:I like that answer so obviously,
Luigi Tiano:given your role and you've done
Luigi Tiano:this several times before, as
Luigi Tiano:you've mentioned, There's obviously
Luigi Tiano:a spark or something that kicks
Luigi Tiano:off a digital transformation
Luigi Tiano:now, who needs to sponsor that.
Luigi Tiano:And I think you've touched a little
Luigi Tiano:bit on it earlier, but what leads
Luigi Tiano:to that digital transformation?
Luigi Tiano:How does the company get started?
Luigi Tiano:Like, there's a lot of
Luigi Tiano:companies that we deal with
Luigi Tiano:who are traditional, you
Luigi Tiano:know, paper, heavy, backend,
Luigi Tiano:heavy process, heavy, what's
Luigi Tiano:that spark that says, yes, we
Luigi Tiano:want to transform digitally.
Luigi Tiano:You know, what does the
Luigi Tiano:company do to get started?
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah,
Jahn Karsybaev:that's a great question.
Jahn Karsybaev:And it ties back to the points
Jahn Karsybaev:I was making around building
Jahn Karsybaev:and fostering the culture
Jahn Karsybaev:of innovation, where you as
Jahn Karsybaev:an executive team, or as an
Jahn Karsybaev:executive, you have to walk the
Jahn Karsybaev:walk where you're not just, you
Jahn Karsybaev:know, drafting, fancy mission
Jahn Karsybaev:statements on the website
Jahn Karsybaev:and talk about all the great
Jahn Karsybaev:values that we're all about.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's more around what are some
Jahn Karsybaev:of the principles that we have
Jahn Karsybaev:to adhere to when it comes to
Jahn Karsybaev:building the culture of innovation
Jahn Karsybaev:at every single level of the
Jahn Karsybaev:company where, you know, when we
Jahn Karsybaev:think of innovation, we always
Jahn Karsybaev:think of something grandiose.
Jahn Karsybaev:We think of something, you
Jahn Karsybaev:know, transformation wise, those
Jahn Karsybaev:usually the synonyms that come
Jahn Karsybaev:to mind, but innovation usually
Jahn Karsybaev:comes in all shapes of form where
Jahn Karsybaev:it could be just a simple, you
Jahn Karsybaev:know, improvement to an internal
Jahn Karsybaev:process, which can definitely be a
Jahn Karsybaev:spark to a potential digital
Jahn Karsybaev:transformation where you
Jahn Karsybaev:identify little areas for
Jahn Karsybaev:improvement and then need
Jahn Karsybaev:to tie together to something
Jahn Karsybaev:that's a lot bigger at stake.
Jahn Karsybaev:And how does that tie to
Jahn Karsybaev:the overall organizational
Jahn Karsybaev:mission for us as a company?
Jahn Karsybaev:So those are just some of
Jahn Karsybaev:the things that really could
Jahn Karsybaev:potentially be a trigger when
Jahn Karsybaev:it comes to creating those
Jahn Karsybaev:opportunities for transformation
Jahn Karsybaev:and really foster that
Jahn Karsybaev:environment for experimentation,
Jahn Karsybaev:continuous innovation.
Jahn Karsybaev:And that really ties together back
Jahn Karsybaev:to just the overall culture as an
Jahn Karsybaev:organization that we continuously
Jahn Karsybaev:transform ourselves, we
Jahn Karsybaev:continuously transform our systems.
Jahn Karsybaev:We continuously
Jahn Karsybaev:transform our processes.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those are the thoughts
Jahn Karsybaev:that I have when it comes to
Jahn Karsybaev:just some of the triggers that
Jahn Karsybaev:can potentially lead to those
Jahn Karsybaev:transformation initiatives.
Luigi Tiano:Good.
Luigi Tiano:Interesting.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:And I see how you, how you
Luigi Tiano:bring it back to the people
Luigi Tiano:and then responsibility factor.
Luigi Tiano:I like that people still need
Luigi Tiano:to, play an important role and
Luigi Tiano:they need to drive the, the
Luigi Tiano:the awareness and they need
Luigi Tiano:to be the champions of change.
Luigi Tiano:So I appreciate that.
Luigi Tiano:And, I see it and hear it often.
Luigi Tiano:So as an IT executive.
Luigi Tiano:Obviously as you are, how
Luigi Tiano:do IT managers, how do IT
Luigi Tiano:executives prepare for the
Luigi Tiano:tech changes that are, we say
Luigi Tiano:around the corner, but they're
Luigi Tiano:constantly around the corner.
Luigi Tiano:So, how do you keep yourself
Luigi Tiano:sharp and how do you, because
Luigi Tiano:what I've seen in the past
Luigi Tiano:is sometimes you go through a
Luigi Tiano:transformation and, the delay of
Luigi Tiano:transformation sometimes ends up
Luigi Tiano:putting you behind
Luigi Tiano:in the next step.
Luigi Tiano:So how do you keep yourself fresh
Luigi Tiano:and how do you feel that you're not
Luigi Tiano:leaving stuff on the table when you
Luigi Tiano:go into this, the tech changes or
Luigi Tiano:transformation that we talk about?
Jahn Karsybaev:I love that
Jahn Karsybaev:question because it's definitely
Jahn Karsybaev:at the top of my mind, you know,
Jahn Karsybaev:all the time as a technology
Jahn Karsybaev:executive, how do I, I either,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, disrupt the industry
Jahn Karsybaev:myself or I'm gonna be disrupted.
Jahn Karsybaev:And it's something at the
Jahn Karsybaev:end of the day that I.
Jahn Karsybaev:At least make a conscious priority
Jahn Karsybaev:to pay a lot of attention to how
Jahn Karsybaev:do we stay ahead of the curve?
Jahn Karsybaev:You know, everyone and everything
Jahn Karsybaev:has an exploration date.
Jahn Karsybaev:And in terms of research and being
Jahn Karsybaev:able to stay ahead of some of
Jahn Karsybaev:the trends that we're observing.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yes, that's important.
Jahn Karsybaev:But for me, the
Jahn Karsybaev:biggest, biggest source.
Jahn Karsybaev:To be able to stay ahead of the
Jahn Karsybaev:curve to really understand what
Jahn Karsybaev:are the things that going on
Jahn Karsybaev:in my industry or going on, at
Jahn Karsybaev:least in my sector is networking
Jahn Karsybaev:and really surrounding myself
Jahn Karsybaev:with individuals that possess
Jahn Karsybaev:different strengths that I'm,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, maybe I'm missing as an
Jahn Karsybaev:executive or they are operating
Jahn Karsybaev:in different environments
Jahn Karsybaev:or the different industries.
Jahn Karsybaev:But still in technology.
Jahn Karsybaev:So I invest heavily into
Jahn Karsybaev:spending a lot of time
Jahn Karsybaev:with peers in my industry.
Jahn Karsybaev:I'm part of a lot of the groups,
Jahn Karsybaev:executive committees, and other C
Jahn Karsybaev:level technology executives, where
Jahn Karsybaev:we spend significant amount of
Jahn Karsybaev:our time sharing some of the best
Jahn Karsybaev:practices, sharing some of the case
Jahn Karsybaev:studies, especially those that are
Jahn Karsybaev:not successful because it's very
Jahn Karsybaev:easy to talk about some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:things that we had accomplished
Jahn Karsybaev:and here's all of the great.
Jahn Karsybaev:Things that we've achieved,
Jahn Karsybaev:but when it comes to failures
Jahn Karsybaev:I don't necessarily view
Jahn Karsybaev:those as failures view those
Jahn Karsybaev:as opportunities to learn.
Jahn Karsybaev:So being able to surround yourself
Jahn Karsybaev:with people like that and create
Jahn Karsybaev:a safe environment, to be able
Jahn Karsybaev:to share those lessons learned
Jahn Karsybaev:to me, that's a great source
Jahn Karsybaev:of information and inspiration
Jahn Karsybaev:to be able to identify those
Jahn Karsybaev:trends, to identify those
Jahn Karsybaev:opportunities, to innovate
Jahn Karsybaev:continuously, transform yourself.
Jahn Karsybaev:And look for
Jahn Karsybaev:opportunities to disrupt
Luigi Tiano:I like what you
Luigi Tiano:said, you're either disrupting
Luigi Tiano:or being disrupted earlier.
Luigi Tiano:I like that.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:So it's good.
Luigi Tiano:And in the words of the famous
Luigi Tiano:entertainer from your neck
Luigi Tiano:of the woods Pitbull, you
Luigi Tiano:never lose, you learn right.
Jahn Karsybaev:Right, right.
Luigi Tiano:So I like that.
Luigi Tiano:hahahahaha yeah.
Luigi Tiano:You know what?
Luigi Tiano:I mean, if you can learn from
Luigi Tiano:a situation where you may not
Luigi Tiano:have succeeded and you know,
Luigi Tiano:take from it and move on.
Luigi Tiano:And I think that's
Luigi Tiano:what life is all about.
Luigi Tiano:So it's about experiences and
Luigi Tiano:making things better the next time.
Luigi Tiano:Around
Jahn Karsybaev:100%.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:You know, having fear
Luigi Tiano:to fail basically.
Luigi Tiano:Again, I'm using cliches here,
Luigi Tiano:but you miss a hundred percent
Luigi Tiano:of the shots you never take.
Luigi Tiano:Right.
Luigi Tiano:So
Jahn Karsybaev:exactly.
Jahn Karsybaev:And that's kind of what we
Jahn Karsybaev:also, I try to instill that
Jahn Karsybaev:as part of our culture, even
Jahn Karsybaev:at the startup levels, because
Jahn Karsybaev:there's no such thing as bad
Jahn Karsybaev:news, it's either great news
Jahn Karsybaev:or the opportunities to learn.
Luigi Tiano:Exactly.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those
Jahn Karsybaev:are just some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:mental models that really
Jahn Karsybaev:help.
Luigi Tiano:Awesome.
Luigi Tiano:I like that.
Luigi Tiano:Gonna switch gears a little bit.
Luigi Tiano:Just talk a little bit more about
Luigi Tiano:security cause obviously that's
Luigi Tiano:probably top of mind for you.
Luigi Tiano:Ransomware attacks are obviously,
Luigi Tiano:continuously on the rise.
Luigi Tiano:It's no secret.
Luigi Tiano:Would you say that that's probably
Luigi Tiano:the most worrisome thing when it
Luigi Tiano:comes to thinking about security?
Luigi Tiano:What keeps you up at night?
Luigi Tiano:Obviously besides everything else
Luigi Tiano:in your job, but when it comes to
Luigi Tiano:security and security perimeter
Luigi Tiano:in your organization, what's the
Luigi Tiano:top of mind for you right now?
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah, 100%.
Jahn Karsybaev:You nailed it on the head with
Jahn Karsybaev:a ransomware attacks and us
Jahn Karsybaev:handling financial information
Jahn Karsybaev:adds another layer of urgency.
Jahn Karsybaev:At least for me, because we
Jahn Karsybaev:handling the payroll information.
Jahn Karsybaev:We basically are in charge.
Jahn Karsybaev:Making sure that people
Jahn Karsybaev:get paid on time.
Jahn Karsybaev:People get paid, accurate
Jahn Karsybaev:amounts and proper taxes are
Jahn Karsybaev:being deducted and all of the
Jahn Karsybaev:compliance aspects of that.
Jahn Karsybaev:So that's at the top of the list.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's absolutely, that's something
Jahn Karsybaev:that keeps all of us at night
Jahn Karsybaev:and with everything that's going
Jahn Karsybaev:on in the world these days with
Jahn Karsybaev:invasion in Ukraine and all of
Jahn Karsybaev:the cyber attacks that we read
Jahn Karsybaev:about in the news on daily basis.
Jahn Karsybaev:Those are some of the things that
Jahn Karsybaev:definitely worry me as a technology
Jahn Karsybaev:lead within my organization.
Jahn Karsybaev:But for me, the most
Jahn Karsybaev:important aspect of that is
Jahn Karsybaev:how do we essentially put
Jahn Karsybaev:ourselves ahead of the curve?
Jahn Karsybaev:We're not so reactive in
Jahn Karsybaev:nature, but more proactive.
Jahn Karsybaev:And to be able to identify weaker
Jahn Karsybaev:areas within our organization,
Jahn Karsybaev:whether that's an area within
Jahn Karsybaev:the code, or it's an area
Jahn Karsybaev:within the actual operations
Jahn Karsybaev:where we need to invest more,
Jahn Karsybaev:whether that's training security
Jahn Karsybaev:patches, or custom updates to
Jahn Karsybaev:the deployments, things like that
Jahn Karsybaev:are always at top of the mind.
Jahn Karsybaev:And we, as a company, as a startup,
Jahn Karsybaev:that's the beauty of a startup
Jahn Karsybaev:where we can move a lot quicker.
Jahn Karsybaev:We can be a lot more nimble, but at
Jahn Karsybaev:the same time, we want to lay the
Jahn Karsybaev:right foundation because when we
Jahn Karsybaev:grow and when we become enterprise
Jahn Karsybaev:level, those things that are gonna
Jahn Karsybaev:matter a lot, because we're not
Jahn Karsybaev:gonna be able to move as quickly
Jahn Karsybaev:as we were when we were a startup.
Jahn Karsybaev:But if we're raise the
Jahn Karsybaev:right foundation in terms of
Jahn Karsybaev:identifying the proper and
Jahn Karsybaev:documentation on policies and
Jahn Karsybaev:procedures and what are some of
Jahn Karsybaev:the things that we need to do.
Jahn Karsybaev:Proactively.
Jahn Karsybaev:That's the keyword that
Jahn Karsybaev:we love to highlight.
Jahn Karsybaev:So that, as you said earlier,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, the cybersecurity
Jahn Karsybaev:becomes the top priority when
Jahn Karsybaev:something actually bad happens.
Jahn Karsybaev:So we definitely realize
Jahn Karsybaev:that we definitely respect
Jahn Karsybaev:that and we try to stay as
Jahn Karsybaev:proactive as possible to,
Jahn Karsybaev:minimize the risk.
Luigi Tiano:Got it.
Luigi Tiano:And I like what you're saying
Luigi Tiano:about being nimble, cuz as a small
Luigi Tiano:organization startup obviously you
Luigi Tiano:wanna be nimble and I like what you
Luigi Tiano:said about building a path to being
Luigi Tiano:enterprise level, but you also
Luigi Tiano:want to have something that scales
Luigi Tiano:early on because once you grow
Luigi Tiano:and you're growing rapidly, if you
Luigi Tiano:don't have a foundation that can
Luigi Tiano:scale you find yourself having to
Luigi Tiano:redo a lot of that work and effort.
Luigi Tiano:And I see sometimes it happens
Luigi Tiano:where scale can happen overnight
Luigi Tiano:in some organizations where they
Luigi Tiano:just blow up and then they have to
Luigi Tiano:rework a lot of the stuff and then
Luigi Tiano:leaves a lot of risk, you know,
Luigi Tiano:there's opens up for risk issues.
Luigi Tiano:And they just have to a
Luigi Tiano:lot of effort duplication.
Luigi Tiano:You're obviously addressing
Luigi Tiano:that early on, which is
Luigi Tiano:great to see in here.
Luigi Tiano:So congrats on that again.
Luigi Tiano:I had another question about
Luigi Tiano:ransomware attacks and this is
Luigi Tiano:more of a bigger question that
Luigi Tiano:may not impact you directly,
Luigi Tiano:but given your expertise, I
Luigi Tiano:wanted to throw it out there.
Luigi Tiano:You said something important
Luigi Tiano:about smaller enterprises being
Luigi Tiano:nimble and can react quicker and
Luigi Tiano:you wanna be proactive, but we
Luigi Tiano:have a lot of organizations in
Luigi Tiano:the US or in Canada here in north
Luigi Tiano:America and across the world
Luigi Tiano:for that matter, that are larger
Luigi Tiano:in nature that don't operate
Luigi Tiano:as quick, or can't be nimble.
Luigi Tiano:As you mentioned, and obviously
Luigi Tiano:they host a lot of critical
Luigi Tiano:infrastructure and these
Luigi Tiano:critical infrastructures, utility
Luigi Tiano:organizations and other businesses.
Luigi Tiano:And I don't wanna be specific cuz
Luigi Tiano:I don't wanna point anyone out,
Luigi Tiano:but there's a lot of critical
Luigi Tiano:infrastructure out there that has
Luigi Tiano:a lot of operational technology.
Luigi Tiano:Embedded in its day to day.
Luigi Tiano:And now it's bleeding into
Luigi Tiano:the IT and that becomes a huge
Luigi Tiano:target for ransomware attacks.
Luigi Tiano:Do you have any
Luigi Tiano:thoughts about that?
Luigi Tiano:Is that something that you think
Luigi Tiano:about in your day to day or what
Luigi Tiano:have you done in the past that
Luigi Tiano:kind of mitigate some of that?
Luigi Tiano:Just your thoughts on ransomware
Luigi Tiano:attacks specifically on
Luigi Tiano:critical infrastructure.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah,
Jahn Karsybaev:100%.
Jahn Karsybaev:Early in my career, when I spent
Jahn Karsybaev:my time in enterprise, especially
Jahn Karsybaev:in the corporate sector, I
Jahn Karsybaev:definitely saw how complex that
Jahn Karsybaev:is, especially when you have so
Jahn Karsybaev:many different systems integrated
Jahn Karsybaev:which definitely opens up a lot
Jahn Karsybaev:more opportunity for risk because
Jahn Karsybaev:compatibility becomes the number
Jahn Karsybaev:one priority at that stage in
Jahn Karsybaev:terms of being able to integrate,
Jahn Karsybaev:especially if you're growing
Jahn Karsybaev:through acquisitions and mergers
Jahn Karsybaev:and things like that, you have to
Jahn Karsybaev:take into account the opportunities
Jahn Karsybaev:to be able to effectively
Jahn Karsybaev:integrate external systems with
Jahn Karsybaev:something that's already in place.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those things become
Jahn Karsybaev:of utmost importance.
Jahn Karsybaev:And as an organization, The
Jahn Karsybaev:technology is no longer a service
Jahn Karsybaev:provider within the organization.
Jahn Karsybaev:Technology is a strategic partner.
Jahn Karsybaev:So the C level executives in
Jahn Karsybaev:technology, whether you CTO
Jahn Karsybaev:SVP of technology or CIO it's
Jahn Karsybaev:definitely, you have a seat
Jahn Karsybaev:at the table as part of the
Jahn Karsybaev:strategy to be able to in
Jahn Karsybaev:identify investment opportunities.
Jahn Karsybaev:To put not only the financial
Jahn Karsybaev:in the budget, but also the
Jahn Karsybaev:resources to partner with human
Jahn Karsybaev:resources or just the overall
Jahn Karsybaev:operations and create that
Jahn Karsybaev:sense of urgency early on.
Jahn Karsybaev:So that.
Jahn Karsybaev:As you and I kind of had this
Jahn Karsybaev:vibe of the overall conversation
Jahn Karsybaev:to be essentially very proactive
Jahn Karsybaev:and focus also on the people
Jahn Karsybaev:aspect of the cybersecurity.
Jahn Karsybaev:It's oftentimes overlooked
Jahn Karsybaev:because it's very easy to point
Jahn Karsybaev:out and say, this is the flaw
Jahn Karsybaev:in the security patch or the
Jahn Karsybaev:code that you had deployed.
Jahn Karsybaev:But.
Jahn Karsybaev:End of the day, there's a lot, a
Jahn Karsybaev:lot more complex problems at the
Jahn Karsybaev:root cause of that, where I've
Jahn Karsybaev:seen an enterprise of companies
Jahn Karsybaev:over various size, typically
Jahn Karsybaev:that involves some type of user
Jahn Karsybaev:behavior where the non proper
Jahn Karsybaev:training has been executed or non
Jahn Karsybaev:proper policies and checks in the
Jahn Karsybaev:process have been implemented.
Jahn Karsybaev:So those are just some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:things and thoughts that I have
Jahn Karsybaev:in my head when it comes to just
Jahn Karsybaev:the overall ransomware attacks,
Jahn Karsybaev:how to prevent at organizations of
Jahn Karsybaev:various size.
Luigi Tiano:Like that
Luigi Tiano:answer, Jahn, I'm gonna
Luigi Tiano:go back and replay it.
Luigi Tiano:Cuz you said a lot of
Luigi Tiano:good stuff in there.
Luigi Tiano:appreciate that, John.
Luigi Tiano:Very good answer.
Luigi Tiano:Okay.
Luigi Tiano:I actually have one more question
Luigi Tiano:which is more of a philosophical
Luigi Tiano:or a hypothetical question.
Luigi Tiano:Maybe you can answer, maybe you
Luigi Tiano:can't but you know, obviously
Luigi Tiano:you're happy where you are.
Luigi Tiano:I don't wanna, I don't wanna
Luigi Tiano:say anything, but if you
Luigi Tiano:ended up getting acquired
Luigi Tiano:for a gazillion dollars or
Luigi Tiano:something really good happened.
Luigi Tiano:And now you had to keep
Luigi Tiano:the same role, but you were
Luigi Tiano:gonna transplant yourself
Luigi Tiano:into a new company as a CIO.
Luigi Tiano:What would you look for in that
Luigi Tiano:company for you to go there?
Luigi Tiano:What's important for you as a CIO
Luigi Tiano:outside of where you are today?
Jahn Karsybaev:That's an easy
Jahn Karsybaev:answer for me because I spend a
Jahn Karsybaev:lot of time thinking about that.
Jahn Karsybaev:And at the end of the day, it's
Jahn Karsybaev:really to be in a position to help
Jahn Karsybaev:others because I've had a lot of
Jahn Karsybaev:people that helped me along the
Jahn Karsybaev:journey and continuously they do.
Jahn Karsybaev:I have a lot of mentors that
Jahn Karsybaev:have a lot of people that kind
Jahn Karsybaev:of created that springboard
Jahn Karsybaev:for me to be able to go to the
Jahn Karsybaev:next level where I want to be.
Jahn Karsybaev:So really at this stage of my
Jahn Karsybaev:career, it's really to be able to.
Jahn Karsybaev:Pay, you know paid back at the end
Jahn Karsybaev:of the day to some of the people
Jahn Karsybaev:that are coming up the ranks.
Jahn Karsybaev:So trying to get, maybe break
Jahn Karsybaev:into technology in general.
Jahn Karsybaev:We definitely need a lot more
Jahn Karsybaev:diversity in technology, whether
Jahn Karsybaev:that's gender racial or whatever
Jahn Karsybaev:the other orientation is.
Luigi Tiano:I agree.
Jahn Karsybaev:I think we
Jahn Karsybaev:definitely need a lot of that.
Jahn Karsybaev:So as a technology executive,
Jahn Karsybaev:having been on different sides
Jahn Karsybaev:of the equation for me, if I was
Jahn Karsybaev:to take on another opportunity
Jahn Karsybaev:is an environment where I can
Jahn Karsybaev:be as effective and value, add
Jahn Karsybaev:as possible to be able to help
Jahn Karsybaev:others to get to that next,
Jahn Karsybaev:to grow as an individual, to
Jahn Karsybaev:grow as a professional, when
Jahn Karsybaev:it comes to technology space.
Luigi Tiano:Amazing answer, Jahn.
Luigi Tiano:Lucky organization to
Luigi Tiano:have Jahn inside there
Luigi Tiano:or lead that's for sure.
Luigi Tiano:Hahahaha
Jahn Karsybaev:too
Jahn Karsybaev:kind Luigi easy.
Jahn Karsybaev:You're too kind.
Luigi Tiano:No, well, listen,
Luigi Tiano:I mean, it's obvious that you're
Luigi Tiano:people first and you know what?
Luigi Tiano:You can't have an organization
Luigi Tiano:without good people.
Luigi Tiano:So that's important.
Luigi Tiano:I like how you you've methodically
Luigi Tiano:thought out what you're doing
Luigi Tiano:and what you're gonna be doing.
Luigi Tiano:So, which is great.
Luigi Tiano:That's important
Luigi Tiano:as a leader, right?
Luigi Tiano:Cause you have so many things
Luigi Tiano:going on that you wanna be able
Luigi Tiano:to prioritize, compartmentalize
Luigi Tiano:certain things and then
Luigi Tiano:kind of execute them right.
Luigi Tiano:With the right team.
Luigi Tiano:So, which is great.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yep.
Luigi Tiano:Jahn I don't have
Luigi Tiano:any more questions for you
Luigi Tiano:specifically, cuz you've given
Luigi Tiano:me a lot to chew on, frankly.
Luigi Tiano:I'm gonna replay some
Luigi Tiano:of those answers cuz I
Luigi Tiano:wanna learn from them.
Luigi Tiano:Do you have any questions for me?
Jahn Karsybaev:Well, obviously,
Jahn Karsybaev:you know, you being a thought
Jahn Karsybaev:leader in cybersecurity space
Jahn Karsybaev:just want to get your 2 cents
Jahn Karsybaev:on some of the trends that
Jahn Karsybaev:really excite you these days.
Jahn Karsybaev:What are some of the
Jahn Karsybaev:things that you personally
Jahn Karsybaev:very passionate about?
Luigi Tiano:Yeah.
Luigi Tiano:Well, that's actually
Luigi Tiano:a good question.
Luigi Tiano:So for myself and my colleagues,
Luigi Tiano:it's really data protection
Luigi Tiano:and protection from the onset
Luigi Tiano:of how the data's handled
Luigi Tiano:within the organization and the
Luigi Tiano:privacy that goes along with
Luigi Tiano:it because data right now means
Luigi Tiano:a lot and it's very valuable.
Luigi Tiano:And I think we've taken it
Luigi Tiano:for granted in terms of what
Luigi Tiano:it can do for organization
Luigi Tiano:how we can help them evolve,
Luigi Tiano:become better how to use it.
Luigi Tiano:In an analytical situation
Luigi Tiano:to solve problems.
Luigi Tiano:So there's that aspect of the data.
Luigi Tiano:There's the aspect of
Luigi Tiano:the privacy of the data.
Luigi Tiano:So when you're working with
Luigi Tiano:clients with suppliers, you
Luigi Tiano:wanna make sure that you're
Luigi Tiano:hosting and housing that data
Luigi Tiano:and manipulating that data in a
Luigi Tiano:way that doesn't get compromised.
Luigi Tiano:Cuz I think that's very important.
Luigi Tiano:We deal with a lot of cyber
Luigi Tiano:insurance conversations or
Luigi Tiano:situations and the data management.
Luigi Tiano:Conversation or data management
Luigi Tiano:topic comes to play often.
Luigi Tiano:So you wanna make sure that you're
Luigi Tiano:highly vigilant when it comes to
Luigi Tiano:manipulating data, whether it's in
Luigi Tiano:a small form, large form structured
Luigi Tiano:or unstructured you wanna make sure
Luigi Tiano:that you're handling with the white
Luigi Tiano:glove and I can't state that enough
Luigi Tiano:as being an important aspect of it.
Luigi Tiano:So again, data protection, data
Luigi Tiano:privacy for me is top of mind.
Luigi Tiano:And it's all part of the whole
Luigi Tiano:protecting enterprise because
Luigi Tiano:ultimately the data is probably
Luigi Tiano:the most valuable thing outside
Luigi Tiano:of your people, of course, you
Luigi Tiano:know, within the enterprise.
Luigi Tiano:So that sets for me has become
Luigi Tiano:top of mind and it's become
Luigi Tiano:top of mind the last couple of
Luigi Tiano:years, but now it resonates more
Luigi Tiano:when you're talking to clients
Luigi Tiano:and customers and suppliers.
Luigi Tiano:So that's my 2 cents.
Luigi Tiano:And if I can save anyone, to
Luigi Tiano:your point earlier, if there's
Luigi Tiano:anybody in IT who's looking to
Luigi Tiano:get into the game or get into IT
Luigi Tiano:I think that's an area where we're
Luigi Tiano:gonna need more talent for sure.
Luigi Tiano:A lot more talent in that space.
Jahn Karsybaev:Yeah.
Jahn Karsybaev:We have absolutely.
Jahn Karsybaev:And that's probably one of the
Jahn Karsybaev:areas that probably has negative
Jahn Karsybaev:unemployment when it comes to
Jahn Karsybaev:cybersecurity and data management,
Jahn Karsybaev:I think you nailed it on the head.
Luigi Tiano:Yeah,
Luigi Tiano:Well, Jahn, I promised that we
Luigi Tiano:were gonna make this efficient
Luigi Tiano:and fun and I think we've
Luigi Tiano:achieved both those objectives.
Luigi Tiano:So I thank you very much
Luigi Tiano:for taking the time today.
Luigi Tiano:We're definitely gonna, you
Luigi Tiano:know, enjoy putting this up on
Luigi Tiano:the podcast for all our viewers
Luigi Tiano:and listeners I hope to stay
Luigi Tiano:in touch great individual.
Luigi Tiano:When I'm in the 3 0 5 or in the
Luigi Tiano:south Florida area, I give you a
Luigi Tiano:call, grab a coffee or something.
Jahn Karsybaev:Absolutely
Jahn Karsybaev:Luigi and I really
Jahn Karsybaev:appreciate the opportunity.
Jahn Karsybaev:I'm definitely gonna stay
Jahn Karsybaev:in touch and looking forward
Jahn Karsybaev:to our next conversation.
Luigi Tiano:All right, Jahn.
Luigi Tiano:Thank you very much.
Luigi Tiano:Have yourself a good afternoon.
Jahn Karsybaev:Thanks so much.
Jahn Karsybaev:Take care.
Luigi Tiano:Okay.
Luigi Tiano:Bye.
Luigi Tiano:Bye.
Intro:Thank you for listening to
Intro:10 Questions to Cyber Resilience
Intro:brought to you by Assurance IT.
Intro:Assurance IT is in the
Intro:cybersecurity space, specializing
Intro:in data protection and compliance
Intro:since 2011, they primarily help
Intro:mid-sized enterprises in Canada.
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Intro:about protecting your data,
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