How to start and grow a cybersecurity consultancy

A cybersecurity industry veteran, Praveen Singh is the co-founder and Chief Information Security Advisor at CyberPWN Technologies, a digital defense consulting firm. In this interview with Help Net Security, he offers insights for anyone interested in building their own cybersecurity consultancy.

They have experience in a variety of cybersecurity roles. What made you decide to co-found a company?

Building or co-founding a company requires a leap into the unknown, but also a lot of strength, dedication, drive and passion.

I have always been interested in the key role people and human behavior play in creating a secure digital world. I co-founded CyberPWN to find a solution to a very worrying problem and to use the skills I’ve learned in cybersecurity. I was able to create a platform capable of accommodating developments in cybersecurity as well as the changes in the market and the threats that come with it. CyberPWN is a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness platform accompanied by a conscious effort to change the way people perceive the problem.

And, to be honest, another driving factor was that the cybersecurity industry is not as affected by negative global economic changes – and if you keep up with the new threats, you will always find work.

What obstacles have you encountered while building and building CyberPWN Technologies?

Every business faces obstacles. Even before founding CyberPWN, I have always seized opportunities and worked hard to be successful. After all, the most amazing things happen when you step out of your comfort zone.

I’ve always been interested in cybersecurity. I often worked 15 hours straight to fix things, but that didn’t stop me from pursuing the entrepreneurial path. While some days I had to work a lot, there were other days I only worked half an hour because I didn’t yet know what my next step should be. In the beginning I struggled to keep up with the unexpected tiredness, but the desire to achieve something was always motivating.

The other obstacles were the financial challenges, the challenges related to hiring a perfect team, and the challenges related to understanding the competition and controlling and managing both existing and new markets.

As a first-time entrepreneur, I now knew everything there was to know about running a cybersecurity company, and it led to costly mistakes that could have been avoided. I also had to deal with many demands on my time and energy. I needed to absorb as much information as possible, particularly about the industry I was entering, the clients I was trying to impress, and the competitors I was facing.

I also had to educate myself in critical areas like finance, marketing and sales by reading business advice sites, attending events, joining business groups and finding mentors. It takes a lot of effort to build a business, so you must be very motivated and energetic. Self-confidence is also a big plus.

What distinguishes CyberPWN technologies?

CyberPWN is a cybersecurity consulting firm. With our extensive cybersecurity experience and consultative approach, we partner with global clients, startups and Fortune 500 companies, supporting them on their cyber transformation journey and helping them achieve strategic business goals.

People, technology and process are three critical aspects of any organization. Rapid changes in technology are forcing companies to think twice before investing. These are strategic investments and cannot be compromised. But often companies struggle with time and resources to conduct proper validation of the technologies they plan to implement. Our experts will help you decide which cybersecurity solutions are best suited to your needs.

We take a vendor-agnostic approach, always providing a fair scorecard centered around your critical business needs, regulatory requirements and risk mitigation strategies. We help them not only to choose the right technology, but also to implement it effectively. Our product SMEs analyze needs, design solutions according to use cases and roll them out for enterprise-wide deployment. Our Technology Solution service covers the entire product implementation life cycle, starting from product selection to product maintenance.

Looking back over the past few years, what entrepreneurial lessons stand out?

Here are some of the lessons I learned:

Celebrate minor milestones. Celebrate each time you achieve one of the goals and you will feel a surge of energy that will overwhelm you and act as a motivating factor to keep going, even if the ultimate result will take years to come.

Prepare for the worst. After the first goals are achieved, entrepreneurs see the whole world through rose-colored glasses and do not prepare for possible setbacks. It’s also good to have a lawyer on speed dial just in case you need a few questions answered or a few problems fixed.

Success doesn’t come overnight It’s a cliché, I know, but young entrepreneurs still fail to understand that great success doesn’t come just a few months after launching their business. Many factors influence what the outcome will be and when the final goal will be reached – the type of business, the industry you are in, the size of the business, the investment capital, etc.

Mistakes must be acknowledged While it’s easier to blame others or the situation you’re in, the truth is often that you had the chance, but you just didn’t play your cards right. The sooner you accept your mistakes, the easier it will be for you to move on and develop a new and improved business plan.

What initiatives are you taking to grow your business? How do you intend to keep the momentum going?

Keeping the momentum in business can be difficult, especially when my team is tired and unmotivated.

I would say in order to keep your business dynamic you need to remember why you started your business in the first place. Chances are you were passionate about your business and helping others.

In order to move my business forward, I always set business goals to work towards. I commit to my goals, take responsibility and set myself firm deadlines. To keep my team’s drive going, I celebrate small and big victories.

A big part of your company’s success is your team. Without my team, CyberPWN wouldn’t be where it is today. So along with celebrating wins, I make sure to show some love as well.

Challenges are all a part of running a business. When I signed up for this whole “start a business” thing, I knew there would be hurdles along the way. But this is how I respond to the challenges that affect the success and dynamism of my company.

What advice would you give to those who dream of starting their own business?

To be successful, an entrepreneur must be resilient. Any “can’t” or “can’t” comment should be taken as a request to prove the speaker wrong.

An entrepreneur must be able to see through the unimportant. Entrepreneurs need not only money but also support in the form of encouragement and advice. I would advise aspiring entrepreneurs to attend meetings in their industry or local community and seek online support through forums and groups.

You will be surprised at how willing others are to help and give free advice. Asking questions, getting confirmations and plausibility checks from colleagues can be invaluable at all stages of your business trip. There will always be someone a little further down the path you take.

Starting a business can be exciting, rewarding, and fun, but it can also be exhausting, unrelenting, and stressful in equal measure. As with any endeavor, a surefire way to minimize the risk of learning the hard way is to seek guidance from those who have already made mistakes and made their own successes despite setbacks.