What do you know about face masks? Chances are, you know a lot. We all do. What most of us don’t know is face masks present a real problem for medical professionals trying to communicate with people, particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing. When Aaron Hsu and his cofounders launched ClearMask in 2017, it was the result of cofounder Allys…

And now, for something completely different. This week, Mike and Mike join Kyle McNulty on the Security Ventures Podcast. The Mikes had a wide-ranging conversation with Kyle about the challenges of raising capital as a cyber startup, how cyber venture fundraising differs from other verticals at the angel and seed stage, and what entrepreneurs shoul…

What do you know about your employer-provided benefits? Chances are, not much. That's because benefits packages are complex and making an informed decision is challenging for employees. It's also a problem for insurance companies trying to underwrite policies, as well as employers seeking to give their employees the best option for themselves and t…

What do you know about pivoting a tech company in the midst of a global pandemic? Unfortunately, if you're an entrepreneur, you know a whole lot about this very thing. For Alex Bisignano and his team at Phosphorous, 2020 started off strong. They had a growing business delivering next-generation sequencing (NGS) genetics testing products. And then C…

What do you know about Data Care? Our guest on the podcast today is Cyndi Gula, Co-Founder of Gula Tech Adventures and former VP of Operations and Co-Founder of Tenable Security. She’s also at the vanguard of a movement to change cybersecurity—everything from how we think about who “belongs” in the industry to the name itself. Cyndi started her car…

What do you know about what keeps a Chief Information Security Officer up at night? Yanek Korff spent his career in cybersecurity as an engineer and business leader helping enterprises manage cybersecurity threats. It wasn't until he left FireEye and was considering his next move (in between playing a lot of XBox) that he and a former colleague wer…

What do you know about cryptography? For decades, researchers and data scientists in the federal government and commercial enterprises have invested millions to crack the code on homomorphic encryption—that is, how to keep data secure while it's in use. Our guest on the podcast today spent the first part of her career at the National Security Agenc…

What do you know about launching, scaling, and exiting a cybersecurity startup? Our guest today needs no introduction. Ron Gula is the Former CEO and Co-Founder of Tenable, a global cybersecurity company headquartered in Columbia, MD. Ron and his wife Cyndi launched Tenable in 2002 and saw it through to a successful IPO in 2018. Over that time, Ron…

What do you know about data discovery? Organizations large and small struggle to manage and make use of their data. Whereas most organizations understand their structured data assets, unstructured data poses a security risk for those companies that don't manage and secure it. It's also a potential treasure trove of insights that most companies aren…

What do you know about launching a non-profit technology venture? Our guest on the podcast today is Samier Mansur, CEO and Founder of No Limit Generation, a Washington DC based non-profit that equips refugee aid-workers with trauma informed mental health and wellness tools developed by world renowned experts. While working to support on the ground …

What do you know about device fingerprinting? When Chandler Givens and his co-founder launched TrackOff, the market for protecting privacy on the internet was taking off in a big way. As Chandler learned quickly, there's nothing like learning to surf in rough seas. Chandler talks about TrackOff's humble beginnings and subsequent growth, their punk-…

What do you know about aquaculture? Or machine vision? How about drug design? Custom materials? It's a lot of ground to cover. Thankfully, our guest on the podcast this week is the perfect trail guide. Ken Malone is the Co-Founder of Early Charm Ventures, a Baltimore-based venture studio that turns science into business. Ken spent most of his caree…

What do you know about third party vendor risk assessment? Our guest on the pod today is Ishan Girdhar, CEO and Founder of Privva. Privva is an Arlington-based provider of third-party risk assessment tools for enterprises. Ishan shares his story of jumping into the world of entrepreneurship after pitching the idea for Privva in meetings with C-Suit…

What do you know about managing school district budgets? This week, the Mikes speak with Jess Gartner, CEO and Founder of Allovue. Allovue is a Baltimore-based Ed-Fintech company that helps school districts allocate resources and manage their budgets to ensure equitable access to education resources for all students. Jess started her career as a te…

What do you know about communicating with an incarcerated loved one? For millions of Americans, this problem is all too familiar. And it’s a problem our guest on the podcast today experienced firsthand. Marcus Bullock is the CEO and Founder of Flikshop, a company that helps people communicate and maintain connections with their incarcerated friends…

What do you know about cybersecurity in healthcare? You’ve probably heard news reports about the surge in cybersecurity incidents across the healthcare industry throughout 2020. The reality is that developing and maintaining a robust cybersecurity and risk management program is a challenge for any organization. For healthcare companies in particula…

What do you know about our nation’s critical infrastructure? Enough to concern you? Us too. That’s why we called up Colin Dunn, CEO of Fend Technologies, who reminded us just how scared we should be--and what his startup is doing to try to help us all sleep easier at night. Colin is an engineer by training, and he spent the early part of his career…

What do you know about remote work? Yep. Us too. We all know pretty much everything there is to know about remote work. Nothing more to learn here. But here's another question: What do you know about being a military spouse? Our guest on the podcast today is Liza Rodewald, CEO of Instant Teams. Liza is a military spouse who moved frequently with he…

What do you know about charitable giving? About 80% of all charitable donations in the US come from individuals, which in 2019 was over $300 billion. However, most charitable giving is ad hoc and many people struggle to effectively manage their donations. For corporations and banks seeking to incentivize charitable giving with donor-match programs,…

What do you know about veterinary medicine? It’s alright—neither did we before we spoke with Mark Olcott, CEO of Vitus Vet. Turns out it takes a vet to understand there are challenges to running a veterinary practice beyond caring for sick animals. In an industry that still relies on fax machines to send medical records, veterinary practice owners …

What do you know about drug diversion? Our guest today is Nick Culbertson, CEO and Co-Founder of Protenus, a Baltimore-based healthcare technology company. Nick was in medical school and doing research at Johns Hopkins University when he and his eventual Co-Founder realized that hospitals have a big problem managing risk and maintaining compliance-…

What do you know about cloud computing environment visualization? For episode three, we spoke with startup warriors Craig Stevenson, CEO, and Jessica Crytzer, Chief Revenue Officer of HyperQube Technologies. HyperQube is a platform that makes visualizing entire cloud networks as simple as clicking a button—but how the team got there wasn’t so simpl…

What do you know about the challenges of raising debt capital to finance the growth of a mid-market company? In this episode, we spoke with Matt Bjonerud, CEO of Cerebro Capital, a Baltimore-based fintech startup. Matt spent the early part of his career in corporate banking with PNC, where he learned about the challenges mid-market companies face r…

What do you know about software hardening? For our first episode, we sat down with Joe Saunders, CEO of RunSafe Security, a cybersecurity company based in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Joe is the Founder and CEO of RunSafe, and he built his career in tech as part of the Management Team at TARGUSinfo, where he helped grow the company to over $100M in rev…

Welcome to Extreme Uncertainty, a podcast about entrepreneurship. In this teaser episode, we give thanks to our early adopters, and explain why we're making this podcast.