Jan 23, 2020
Do you have ideas that you think would make a great start-up business, or are you already in the early stages but still unsure of how to go about it? Today’s guest, Brian Gill, will give you a few pointers on how you can set yourself up for success.
Brian is the founder and CEO of Gillware Inc., and for the past 15 years, his company has helped over 100,000 consumers and companies in resolving data-related disasters. For the last 3 years, Gillware has been primarily focused on assisting companies with their out of network breach and ransomware incidents.
In this episode, Brian shares his expertise on positioning yourself for growth, ransomware, and how businesses can avoid getting hacked. He also gives out his company’s Ransomware Stress Test, which benefits mid-sized businesses. The test walks them through a free questionnaire about the state of their IT and gives out a score and remediation tips.
You don’t want to start something that anybody else can do. – Brian Gill
Outline of This Episode
- [03:10] What start-up entrepreneurs should do to position themselves for growth
- [04:56] The process of narrowing ideas in choosing for an angel investment
- [08:31] The common theme for the start-ups that became successful
- [22:07] Why entrepreneurs should be aware of ransomware
- [28:53] How not to get hacked as explained by Brian
How to position yourself for growth
As a seasoned tech CEO and board member that has co-founded 5 successful companies since 2004, Brian is experienced with early-stage fundraising, digital marketing, leading software teams, and project leadership.
His advice for start-up entrepreneurs is to bootstrap as far as they can. This is to make sure that they have a large valuation and should take more money than they think they will need.
You should not get stuck on a fundraising cycle. There should be a minimum of six months for a fundraiser to have any effect.
The angel investing community
Angel investors are typically individuals who have spare cash available and are looking for a higher rate of return than would be given by more traditional investments.
In choosing which business to invest in, the community gathers during a pitch and decides if that idea is worth investing in. When at least 2/3 of the group think that the idea is good, then it is worth investing.
What is Ransomware and how can it be avoided?
Ransomware is an emerging form of malware that locks the user out of their files or their device, then demands an anonymous online payment to restore access. It is growing exponentially and is becoming at least a $6 billion problem for businesses and regular people alike.
To avoid getting hacked, one’s user authentication should be complex, and you should never use the same password for everything online.
Password vaults like Last Pass are helpful and become the first defense against ransomware. Brian also suggests using U2F, which uses two-factor authentication.
Resources & People Mentioned
- Brian Gill’s Website - https://www.gillware.com/
- Brian on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-gill-68997a38/
- Take the Ransomware Stress Test - https://rst.gillware.com/
Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Connect With James and Dean
James P. Friel:
- CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/
- Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/
- Site: www.jamespfriel.com
- Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/
- Interested in being a guest on the show?
Dean Holland:
- Blog: www.DeanHolland.com
- FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ
- Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
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