In this episode, we use cybersecurity as a lens to expose a truth that every leader forgets: the biggest threats to your company are the ones you can’t see—until they take you down.
Scott’s career mirrors the evolution of tech itself—from software stores in the ’80s to early network integration, to building one of the original managed services models before “MSP” was even a phrase. His latest book, Visible Ops for Cybersecurity, reframes the discipline not as an IT function, but as a visibility function: if you can’t see it, you can’t secure it… and if you can’t secure it, you can’t scale it.
We break down why ransomware is now franchised, why even the best companies get breached, why cyber insurance is becoming a false safety net, and why every founder—yes, even a team-of-one startup—needs a security-first mindset.
This isn’t fear-mongering. It’s leadership.
TL;DR
Assume breach. The #1 mistake founders make is believing they’re “too small” to be a target.
Backups are not backups unless they’re encrypted, immutable, and air-gapped.
Cyber insurance is not protection—44% of claims were denied in 2024.
Reinvention is mandatory. Tech evolves, threats evolve, your systems must evolve.
Visibility beats bravado. Most failures come from what leaders think is secure, not what actually is.
Memorable lines
“Security by obscurity died the day ransomware became a franchise.”
“If the best cybersecurity companies get hacked, your only strategy is resilience.”
“Backups aren’t safety—they’re hope, unless they’re air-gapped.”
“Reinvention isn’t optional in tech—it’s the price of staying alive.”
“Make the invisible visible, or the invisible will make the decision for you.”
Key Ideas We Unpack
1. Reinvention as a Survival Skill
Scott turned retail software into network integration, then into managed services, then into cybersecurity leadership.
The pattern:
Visibility → Competence → Reinvention.
Most founders skip the first step and collapse at the third.
2. The Modern Threat Landscape Is Industrialized
Ransomware now has:
franchises
training
support hotlines
experts who “close the deal” when an amateur hacker gets stuck
This is organized crime with a customer-service department.
3. Backups Are the New Lifeboats
Threat actors sit inside systems for 60–365 days before triggering an attack.
If your backups are not:
encrypted
immutable
air-gapped
you don’t have backups—you have illusions.
4. Cyber Insurance Is Becoming a Mirage
44% of claims denied.
Policies are unregulated.
Exclusions keep growing.
Insurance is no longer a plan—it’s paperwork.
5. The Startup Founder Version of Cybersecurity
If you’re a team of one, your mantra is simple:
Be good to your future self.
Design tools, workflows, and systems with a security-first mindset from day one.
The cheapest hack is the one that never becomes possible.
6. Visibility Is a Leadership Habit
You can’t manage what you can’t see.
And almost everything that destroys a business—breaches, failures, slow decay, talent risk—starts in the invisible layer.
Guest
Scott Aldridge — President & CEO of IP Services.
Cybersecurity author, technologist, MSSP leader, and early pioneer of managed services.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-alldridge-1a976/
Website: https://ipservices.com/
Why This Matters
Most founders underestimate risk because they overestimate visibility.
If you want a business that survives the next decade, the job is simple:
Design for resilience.
Assume breach.
Back up reality, not hope.
Reinvent before the market forces you to.
And make the invisible visible—before someone else does.
Call to Action
If this conversation lit something up for you, don’t just let it fade. Come join me inside the Second Life Leader community on Skool. That’s where I share the frameworks, field reports, and real stories of reinvention that don’t make it into the podcast. You’ll connect with other professionals who are actively rebuilding and leading with clarity. The link is in the show notes—step inside and start building your Second Life today.
