Welcome back to the show! Hacker Valley Studio podcast features Host Ron Eddings, as he explores the world of cybersecurity through the eyes of professionals in the industry. We cover everything from inspirational real-life stories in tech, to highlighting influential cybersecurity companies, and we do so in a fun and enthusiastic way. We’re making cybersecurity accessible, creating a whole new form of entertainment: cybertainment.
Episodes
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
Wednesday Apr 21, 2021
In this episode, we welcome Gabriela Ariza, a cybersecurity practitioner, influence, and wealth builder. We talk about her incredible story and how she got into social media influencing. Gabi started her IT journey in web development and then decided to transition to cybersecurity. She now works in protecting and analyzing government infrastructure for state and county governments across the United States. In addition, Gabi has founded a non-profit called HaITian Common Space.
0:00 - Intro
1:04 - In this episode
2:03 - Gabi introduced
5:42 - The story of where Gabi felt the magic for cybersecurity
7:07 – Special segment on CNBC
9:10 – Mindset of earning and saving
12:28 – Influence of parents
14:54 – The launch of Gabi’s nonprofit
15:50 – Superpowers
17:34 – Goals
22:23 – What’s next
23:17 – The impact
24:39 – Thank you
24:52 – Connecting with Gabi
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
Thursday Apr 15, 2021
In this featured episode of Hacker Valley Studio podcast, Ron and Chris are joined by Sarah Groen, founder and CEO of Bell & Bly Travel, a luxury travel advisory firm. Bell & Bly Travel helps executives, entrepreneurs, and their families take a holistic view of their vacation planning, allowing them to save time, enjoy amazing experiences they can't plan on their own, and make lasting memories with loved ones. Sarah is a contributing columnist for the CEOWORLD magazine and is the host for the Luxury Travel insider podcast.
In most of our episodes, we talk about work, the grind, and getting better every single day. In this episode, we talk about something a little different; talking about taking time for yourself and maximizing vacations and time off, time with family, friends, and time for experiences.
Sarah is no stranger to experiences; she has traveled the world and is an expert at planning vacations. We brought her into the studio to talk about getting the most out of our time off.
Her background is varied; she has an extremely random resume. She is from South Texas and lives in Houston. She started in the financial world but wanted to get off the corporate rat race track because she didn’t enjoy what she was doing. She went back to business school, not knowing what she wanted to do, but focused on entrepreneurship.
After school, Sarah went back to Houston and did many things, such as investing in an energy software startup and being an accelerator that she co-founded. She worked at Uber - launching and running UberEats in Houston and Phoenix. Finally, Sarah realized that if she was going to put that much time and effort into a business, she wanted it to be her own and build her own equity. So, she started looking into companies to invest in and buy. She finally began to focus on her passion for travel.
She describes herself as crazy about travel and shares how many countries she has visited and continents - and it’s a lot! She is always thinking about where she is going next. It all started due to her early experience where at 15 she went to Germany for an entire summer. She loves planning travel for families who have kids at that age which is an impetus to loving travel. This love led her to use all her free time for travel.
Sarah loves all her travel experiences for so many reasons. Trips fulfill you in many different ways. Her ability to share what she loves led to her acceptance at Stanford. Travel reminds her that she is so small in the world. There are so many other ways to think and live, that when she travels, she is reminded of that.
As the episode progresses, Sarah describes how travel benefits the mind and health. There is a lot of research that shows how vacations and travel is good for you. People need it! One example is neuroplasticity. If something brand new happens, you will remember it more. This keeps your brain more agile and to be more creative. Travel puts you in a different environment and helps create new neuropathways.
It is a fact that Americans are skipping tons of vacation days; there are millions of vacation days left on the table. As that number goes up, all sorts of things are happening such as anxiety, mental health issues and other things that are symptoms of working too hard.
In order to plan travel for groups, they bring people in and ask multiple questions to get to the bottom of what’s most important about this vacation and why. What helps them relax. This helps discover what is needed most by the travelers. Making the most of the vacations is different for every person. Some want to do everything, and some don’t want to do much at all.
The needs are different for everybody! Luxury travel means something different, however. She hesitates to put the word “luxury” in marketing, etc. Generations want different things and luxury means true customization. People don’t want to feel like a number anymore. She is catering toward personalized and customized things.
What does customized mean? How does it get specific? What do people look at? Sarah can do and plan things that are “ungoogleable.” There are so many experiences that can be customized based on interests and passions. These are “behind the scenes” and not amongst the packed tours that one encounters when on typical vacations.
Sarah shares how networking is important in the role as a luxury travel planner. She specializes in clients’ needs and wants, and they plan the world. That can only happen through fantastic networks and partnerships. They have worked with them and keep up with them on a regular basis. They have vetted partners in every corner of the world, and are kept up-to-date and help curate these specific itineraries and ideas. Doesn’t matter if it is art or basketball, they make it happen due to their network.
How people spend their money is personal, but don’t save it for a day you are never going to spend it. If there is something you want to do, make a plan to make it happen. Lay out what you want to achieve in your travel bucket list, and make a plan. Pencil the experiences in that you want to have!
Travel has changed alot since Covid-19. Don’t let it scare you off when you are planning travel. Hotels and airlines and tour operators have adjusted to safety protocols. Safety is different for all people and their wants in regard to the degree of risk they are willing to take. Booking and cancellation policies have flexed greatly. Those dream trips can be planned almost risk-free right now.
When it comes to food, it is trending to having more local cuisine experiences. For instance, going to the market, following a local expert, going to different places and trying different things. It is food combined with stories and history that is the trend.
Sarah is planning our “Think Week”, and we were excited to hear what she had in store for us. She has our interests and general information based on the forms sent to us. The next step is a call to hear what changes from the form and speaking in person. This gives a true vision of what might make sense and then talk about options and possibilities.
Impactful Moments
0:00 - Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio
1:26 - This episode features Sarah Groen
2:25 - Where they met Sarah
2:44 - Sarah’s background is extremely varied
3:19 - Where the entrepreneurship started
3:57 - Decided to start focusing on her passion - travel
4:14 - Why travel? What does it mean to her?
5:19 - Most memorable travel experience?
7:40 - How good travel is for you
10:35 - How people get the most out of time off?
13:04 - What does luxury travel mean for clients?
17:57 - How important is networking in this type of role?
20:23 - What would you say to our listeners who want to dip their toes in luxury travel?
22:08 - How travel has changed due to Covid-19.
25:36 - How food fits into travel
27:58 - What’s in store for our “Think Week”
29:29 - Best ways to stay in or get in touch with Sarah
Links:
Learn more about BelleAndBlyTravel
Luxury Travel Insider Podcast on all platforms
@Sarahgoesglobal on Instagram
Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.
Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.
Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.
Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.
Learn more about our sponsor ByteChek.
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Wednesday Apr 07, 2021
Anne Marie Zettlemoyer is Vice President of Security Engineering and Divisional Security Officer at MasterCard. She’s a mentor to many cybersecurity practitioners and a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University
As far back as elementary school, making sure everyone was treated properly and respected was important for Anne. In college, despite not knowing the first thing about cycling Anne’s determination to do the right thing led her to participate in a 600-mile charity ride to raise money for research towards a vaccine against HIV.
Anne Marie started in Business and holds an MBA in Organizational Behavior and Corporate Strategy, she started on the business side and worked under many titles like Analyst, Controller, Auditor, and Strategist. About 12 or 13 years ago she fell in love with Security because it speaks to her mission of protecting and defending others.
Ron shares about how mentors have helped him learn cybersecurity and asks Anne Marie about when she’s helped others climb the security mountain. Anne Marie recalls being the only woman presenter at a Cybersecurity conference and receiving a certain lack of respect until she demonstrated exactly how much expertise and experience she had. She spoke to some other women in attendance and encouraged them to apply themselves in the same field assuring them that they could also succeed, two years later one of the people she encouraged had become Senior Security Engineer.
Chris asks about what it means to her to be able to show up with others now and whether she had someone like that for her own journey. Anne Marie shares about having to fight for everything herself. She expands that talent, grit, and many things are distributed throughout humanity but opportunity isn’t equally distributed. Anne Marie believes that those with the capability to find those who simply need an opportunity and lift them up have a certain responsibility to do so. That they can lift up those who will also lift up others. Ron asks Anne Marie about what it takes to make a great leader and supporter today. Anne Marie speaks a bit about leading from quiet influence and measures success more by effectiveness. The conversation shifts to how trust is needed when working to communicate risk and security decisions depending on who you’re working with as not everyone will share the same perspectives and backgrounds. Chris asks Anne Marie for a piece of advice for someone who may need someone to show up and protect them and she urges us to try new things, learn new things, expand our own possibilities. Anne Marie speaks about how showing up and trying to reach out can be enough to open new doors.
1:01 — Welcome back to the Hacker Valley Studio our guest this episode is Anne Marie Zettlemoyer.
2:43 — Anne’s amazing fluency in business and how she fell in love with security.
4:37 — The call Anne feels to respect others and make sure they’re respected.
6:48 — The causes to fight for even without complete preparation for the journey ahead.
8:58 — The extremes of a ride to do the right thing, and a helping hand to get you up a mountain.
11:30 — How you can never know the power of showing up for yourself.
13:30 — The power of showing up for others and being the only woman there.
15:34 — Two years after being the only woman cybersecurity presenter at a conference
19:04 — Anne shares about having to fight for everything herself.
20:30 — The responsibility for those that have the heart to find and uplift others.
22:00 — The conversation moves to topics about networking and great leadership.
24:00 — Why having a sense of humility is necessary for a leader and building a network.
25:30 — Learning to not re-invent the wheel.
27:20 — Creating a rounded perspective to build comprehensive solutions.
28:50 — Why you need trust from the folks you’re trying to protect.
31:00 — Advice for someone listening that needs someone to protect or stand up for them.
32:45 — Trying new things one step at a time can be enough.
Links
You can find Anne Marie Zettlemoyer on her Linkedin or her Twitter
Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.
Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.
Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.
Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.
Learn more about our sponsor AttackIQ and enroll in The AttackIQ Academy!
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Saam Motamedi is a General Partner at Greylock, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Saam has always found joy in finding individuals with the ideas and perspectives needed to become leaders and seeing them grow. As a student, Saam built student led organizations and nurtured the talent in his peers so they could grow as leaders. Saam started his professional journey on the product side of the industry working for a startup company, BladeIQ. The organization was an early adopter of machine learning and made innovations in the Customer Relationship Management solution market. The company was later acquired by Salesforce and their technology was integrated into the Salesforce CRM solutions.
Saam shares that he enjoys helping entrepreneurs go from technical insight to an initial product. His superpower is leveraging his insight into how products and software solutions fit into the larger economic ecosystem. Saam also has success with helping companies continue to develop their products while bring new offerings using planned strategy. Ron asks Saam how he sorts through companies that are focused on artificial intelligence or machine learning in order to find great opportunities and people. Saam elaborates that he is focused less on the theoretical applications of these tools and more on how they are used to solve problems for customers. Saam provides perspective on the value of end user input in improving the quality of machine learning itself.
Chris asks Saam about advice about product market fit and how to ensure the company has the right timing. Saam shares that timing varies across customer segments. It is important to not only understand what customers want but be able to see what customers should want or what they’re going to want. The conversation touches upon how COVID-19 has shifted the venture capital landscape. Saam tells us that the amount of interesting ideas and products has actually increased, and that entrepreneurs need to understand what their own story is and how it is even more relevant today than perhaps two years ago. Ron asks Saam about the most exciting technology to him today. Saam remains enthusiastic about machine learning technology helping better decisions being made as well as automation helping free up time and more of the workforce to focus on higher valued tasks. Saam lets us know that it’s never too early to talk to Greylock and that some of the most impactful investments have been based on an idea and an understanding of the market the entrepreneur was aiming to disrupt.
0:00 — Intro
01:21 — Welcome Back to Hacker Valley today in the Studio, Saam Motamedi.
04:30 — Saam’s superpowers: understanding products, markets and people.
06:30 — Saam’s experience with the product innovation side
08:13 — Network building and finding talent
10:28 — Seeing the entrepreneur in people even before they see it in themselves
12:37 — Investing in solutions to important problems and not the technology they’re using.
14:17 — Creating a learning engine that actually learns over time
15:55 — Advice on having the right team and the right idea at the right time.
18:37 — Timing requires predicting what customers are going to want
20:09 — How the pandemic has shifted the entrepreneurial and VC landscapes
23:05 — Customer interactions and brand ambassadors shifting to digital channels
25:00 — Crawl before you walk before you run: how to grow a company
27:04 — Getting the right attention, standing out in a digital sales landscape
29:00 — Showing off your product and continuing to grow without high touch interactions
31:34 — Saam shares how security is more relevant than ever
33:10 — If you’ve got an idea and imagination it’s never too early to start talking to Greylock.
35:32 — Understanding your own story to build your own company.
If you want to stay up to date with what’s going on with Saam you can follow him on twitter Saam Motamedi (@saammotamedi) or find him on linkedin Saam Motamedi - General Partner - Greylock Partners. Check out Greylock Partners to find out more about this venture capital firm and read their blog to learn more about what they’re doing.
Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.
Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.
Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.
Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.
Learn more about our sponsor ByteChek.
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Ashish Rajan is a Cloud Security leader, podcaster, investor and fashion expert. He’s the Melbourne chapter leader of the OWASP Foundation and the Head of Security & Compliance. Ashish makes full use of his expertise and shares his knowledge as founder of a Cloud Security academy as well as in his weekly Coffee with Ashish which streams on Twitch, linkedin and YouTube.
Ashish shares that while doing his weekly cloud security livestreams from the streets of Melbourne he became a recognizable person. Dressing with the intention of presenting something different to people Ashish began changing the way people look at him as a cybersecurity person. Ron asks Ashish about people understanding his value and how that can be conveyed through being confident with self image and comfortable in your own skin. Ashish speaks about the difference that presenting a new image of a security expert makes in his own career, that sometimes folks in the industry don’t necessarily communicate enough with people who don’t already have that knowledge base and so there can be a gap.
The conversation moves to how Ashish’s interests overlap and have grown throughout his cybersecurity practice and professional growth, he began meeting people more into sales over coffee in order to make more connections with other forward thinking professionals. Ashish’s mindset is that goals have to evolve especially when you’re able to meet them ahead of schedule, he applies this successfully to his Coffee with Ashish weekly show. Chris asks Ashish about his innovative mindset and a time he’s had to overcome an obstacle. His journey overcoming that is inspiring, after being let go from a job Ashish still believed there was reason to invest in the ideas and company. From there he began putting his time and energy into the cloud security academy and cloud security podcast using the motivation gained after that setback put in front of him as motivation to teach others how to fish in the cyber ocean. Ron and Chris talk with Ashish about legacy and Ashish shares that planting seeds will be the legacy he hopes for. Ashish hopes that making significant impact on other people’s lives in a positive way will become his. Ashish shares that finding mentors aligned with the goals that you have, starting on your goals will pay dividends.
Impactful Moments
0:00 — Intro
2:05 — Welcome to Hacker Valley Studio with Ashish.
4:15 — Origin story of a Tinkerer and mastering the cheat codes.
6:10 — Trying new things and trying to innovate them creatively.
7:45 — Unintentionally stumbling into the fashion world.
9:00 — Transforming into an extroverted Security person.
10:33 — Diversifying Cybersecurity with fashion and putting yourself out there.
12:40 — Being comfortable in your own skin after putting yourself out there.
13:33 — Following in the footsteps of your parents.
16:00 — Discovering more than just security and learning how to sell.
18:00 — The organic origins of Coffee with Ashish.
20:00 — Overcoming obstacles and teaching others to fish.
22:10 — Making the right investments in helping other people.
24:10 — Ashish leveling up constantly and what’s next.
26:20 — Ashish’s advice for stepping into your own personal strength.
28:00 — The very online future and making your own media hub.
Links:
Connect with Ashish on LinkedIn and check out his podcast Coffee with Ashish.
Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio.
Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon.
Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter.
Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter.
If your experience with compliance has sucked, check out our friends at ByteChek and see what they can do for you.