Why I Built This Business

 A Conversation That Hit Home

If you’d asked me a few years ago what “success” looked like in cyber security, I probably would’ve given you some nonsense about billable hours, packed calendars, or climbing the ranks in a consultancy.

But a moment at Black Hat London this year changed that for me. Well, not changed, but confirmed what I already knew deep down.

I was standing there, surrounded by people talking about new threats, new tools, new ways of solving the same old problems, and it suddenly clicked how different my life feels now compared to when I worked in big consultancies. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was doing the job the way it was supposed to be done.

And that feeling summed up my whole year.

Why I Needed to Build Something Different

When I worked in consultancy, something always felt off. It was fast-paced, very technical, and full-on, which I guess comes with the role sometimes. But it was also transactional.

Too often it felt like we were there to squeeze value out of clients, not actually help them. I’m not saying everyone worked that way, but the culture was hard to ignore. Businesses would come to us stressed, overwhelmed, or confused about the risks they were dealing with, and instead of meeting them where they were, we’d hit them with jargon, frameworks, and a statement of work big enough to make their eyes water.

It never sat right with me. Most of the people I met weren’t clueless, they were just pulled in a hundred directions and didn’t have the time, resources, or headspace to untangle their security needs. I didn’t want to be part of an industry that punished that.

So starting Cyber Pip wasn’t about “being my own boss” or chasing some big payday. It began to ensure that cyber security was done properly; human-first, straightforward, and built around supporting the people who actually need it.

Freedom to Do the Job the Right Way

Standing at Black Hat, I realised the biggest shift this year was the space I’ve created to be present in the industry again. Instead of running from meeting to meeting, I was actually talking to founders, learning from the community, developing my own skills, and having real conversations about real problems.

That’s the part of the job I love most. It’s also the hardest part: listening properly, understanding what’s going on beneath the surface, and explaining solutions in a way that makes sense, without making anyone feel daft for asking.

Running my own business means I get to spend more time on things that matter:

• Speaking to founders in their own language
  
  

• Cutting through the noise instead of adding to it
  
  

• Finding solutions that are reasonable, not revenue-sized
  
  

• Choosing clients based on fit, not pressure from above

That freedom is why I built Cyber Pip. It gives me space to slow down, listen properly, and actually help people, not rush them. 

What 2025 Taught Me About Founders

Most founders want to do the right thing, they just need someone who won’t overwhelm them in the process.

They don’t need a 40-page risk assessment immediately. But they do need clarity. Someone who can sit down, ask the right questions, and help them build a practical, realistic path forward, without treating them like a walking liability.

That’s the gap I’m here to fill. And hearing founders say, “That actually makes sense now”, means more to me than landing the biggest client ever could.

How This Shapes What I’m Building in 2026

2026 is going to be about helping founders in an even more intentional way.

1. More time spent where it matters: face-to-face with founders

I’m doubling down on the part of the job I care about most: having proper conversations, understanding grey areas, and giving advice that’s actually useful.

2. A clearer, simpler way of explaining cyber risk

I’m developing more guidance, more frameworks, and more plain-English explanations that founders can take away and use, without needing a computer science degree to understand them.

3. Helping early-stage teams avoid the biggest, costliest mistakes

Most security breaches come down to simple human error or small misconfigurations, not huge technical failures. If I can help founders avoid that 80% of risk early, it changes everything for them.

4. Staying hands-on in the community

Being at conferences, meeting people, and keeping my skills sharp actually makes me better at my job. It means the advice I give comes from a place of real-world understanding, not theories buried in a folder somewhere.

The Heart of It All

This year confirmed that cyber security doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or built to scare people into buying something. It can be simple and done in a way that actually supports the small businesses, rather than ignoring them in favour of bigger budgets.

I’m here to help real people protect the businesses they’ve poured everything into, and to do it in a way that feels respectful, clear, and genuinely useful.

That’s what 2026 will be about. More listening, more clarity, more conversations that actually help founders move forward. I can’t wait!