Ryan Heartfield — AI PhD and now founder and CEO of Exalens — jumps into the ring to talk about moving from academia to cybersecurity startupland, and his mission to transform OT security. George K and George A talk to Ryan about: 💡How his vendor pains as an operator now inform his own GTM strategy 🤖 The hype and reality of AI in cybersecurity, and why understanding solution and model limitations is crucial 💼 The challenges and rewards of transitioning from technical roles to founding a start...
May 20, 2024•47 min•Season 2Ep. 41
This is a special episode, recorded live at the Mind Over Cyber Networking Breakfast and Mindfulness Workshop at RSA Conference 2024. George A was called away for CISO things, but I had a chance to sit down with three guests who wanted to share their stories of resilience: challenges to their mental wellbeing and also the strategies and frameworks they use on the regular to navigate those challenges. You are not alone. Our hope in sharing these stories is to help others understand many of your p...
May 17, 2024•26 min
Longtime listener Sarah Breathnach jumps in the hot seat! Sarah shares her unique (and refreshing) perspective on cybersecurity marketing. George K and George A talk to Sarah about: 🌐 The critical balance between being thought-provoking and respectful in content creation 👥 Building an audience and the importance of credibility and authenticity 🔮 How to stand out in the traditional, lead-gen heavy cybersecurity landscape 🤝 The shift towards value-driven content over conventional marketing tac...
May 13, 2024•39 min•Season 2Ep. 40
We’re at RSA in San Fran this week! Things we’re looking forward to: 🧠The Mind Over Cyber Networking Breakfast and Mindfulness Workshop! 🎙️ Sitting down with folks to record "Stories of Resilience", capturing practitioners’ personal experiences with challenges to mental wellbeing. 💪The "Ally Armband" Challenge: How we’re pushing back on sexual harassment at cybersecurity conferences! 🛍️🚀The BKBT Merch Store is now OPEN ! Get the latest Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks swag, including the NO BS...
May 06, 2024•14 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Denis Villeneuve jumps into the ring to share what he's learned working with clients across a storied MSSP career! George K and George A talk to Denis about: 🚀 His journey through tech giants and what drives cybersecurity at a large scale. 🎨 The art of client interaction and managing big transformations in cyber security. 🤝 Building trust and transparency with clients, especially post-incident. 👥 Career advice for rising stars in tech: leveraging personality insights to enhance team dynamics...
Apr 29, 2024•28 min•Season 2Ep. 38
🔊 New episode! Charles Payne occupies the unique position of being both a CISO and a conference organizer. What’s it like in the middle of this weird Venn diagram? George K and George A talk to Charles about: 🎯 The satisfaction and challenges of working with Big 4 consultancies vs. independent contracting 🤝 Building long-term relationships in the B2B sector and the unique approach of the Horizon Summit 🌍 Insights into the value of executive networking and maintaining connections across caree...
Apr 22, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 37
We’ve gained a lot of new listeners in the last two months. Thank you! So, here is a best of episode to catch up on key ideas and conversations you might have missed including: Advice for MSSPs How to remain your authentic self How CISOs can level up their security speak with leadership teams Advice for sales and marketing directly from a CISO How to chase the roles that provide you the most opportunity for growth and how to stand out in a crowded labor market And finally, how to flip the script...
Apr 15, 2024•41 min•Season 2Ep. 36
💥 Amber DeVilbiss jumps behind the mic to drop bombs on her cyber journey and her commitment to making technology accessible through her non-profit, Teach Kids Tech. George K and George A talk to Amber about: 🔍 How her operator background has informed her sales career. 🤝 Addressing and overcoming industry stereotypes around being a woman on the technical side. 🌐 The founding of Teach Kids Tech, and her mission to providing tech education to underserved communities, and why starting young mat...
Apr 08, 2024•55 min•Season 2Ep. 35
✊ The sales revolution will not be televised. Jessica Crytzer, CRO at LimaCharlie, jumps into the ring to give the sales leader perspective on what’s changing in cyber! George K and George A talk to Jessica about: 💥 Her recipe for being bold in sales leadership, and why the models of the past do not work well for startups today. 🎯 Why the CISO is probably not your target, and how to engage buyers effectively. 💡Her advice to aspiring sellers and CRO peers. 🤖 Why she requires so much research ...
Apr 01, 2024•48 min•Season 2Ep. 34
The triumphant return of Kayla Cytron-Thaler! Kayla returns with fresh insights from changes in her career path. In this episode, George K and George talk to her about: 🔄 Embracing change in career paths, highlighting the value of detachment and sometimes taking steps “backward” to leap forward. 🎯 Why she doesn’t want to use AI and why her authentic and personalized outreach strategies work so well. 🛠️ Practical tips for effective sales and business development, emphasizing the human touch ov...
Mar 25, 2024•36 min•Season 2Ep. 33
🔥 New episode alert! Diving deep into the world of marketing with Clark Barron, the man, the myth, the flamethrower. George K and George A talk to Clark about: 🥷Ronin: Why he created his own Marketing-as-a-Service platform and the gaps it aims to bridge in the tech marketing landscape. 🔍 The moment he realized how disconnected his marketing practice was from cybersecurity buyers 🏭 The marketing profession's identity crisis as a “factory job” 🧨 His advice for marketers looking to make a genu...
Mar 18, 2024•51 min•Season 2Ep. 32
🚀 Launching a ballistic payload of insight at your brainbox! Royce Markose jumps into the ring with over 20 years experience, from auditing mainframes, to Fortune500 enterprise infosec, and now to vCISO. George K and George A talk to Royce about: 🤔 What’s changed for SecOps leaders and how they should approach career growth 🎱 How to break into cyber, and how it’s different today than when he started 🤝 Why networking with vendors is vital for practitioners 🎯 For marketing and sales: What he ...
Mar 11, 2024•46 min•Season 2Ep. 31
This episode is filled with so much gold, we should charge you Big 4 consulting fees just to listen to it! Industry leader Merritt Baer talks about the role of the Field CISO, and how she advises young companies. But in between those topics is so much fire. George K and George A talk to Merritt about: 🤝The value and empathy a Field CISO can bring to customers 💼 How to build the business case for security projects (and what sales folks can learn from that) 🏗️ How building a security culture mi...
Mar 04, 2024•49 min•Season 2Ep. 30
If they try to shut you out of a conference, start your own! That’s what BlackGirlsHack did with SquadCon, creating arguably one of the most inclusive cybersecurity events in the industry. And one with the dopest after-party. Part of the leadership team jumped into the ring: George K and George A talk to BGH about: ✊BlackGirlsHack’s mission and work 🔥The origins story of SquadCon 💅🏾Showing up as your authentic self 💡And their top advice for newcomers and career pivots Get to SquadCon with ou...
Feb 26, 2024•47 min•Season 2Ep. 29
How do you help others speak up on your behalf? This week, the fabulous Tashya Denose joins the show to talk about how she found success in cybersecurity and in rooms where she stands out as a Black woman precisely by embracing her authentic self. After time with the Pentagon and the Secret Service, Tashya has gone to manage security programs at the biggest tech companies, including Google and Meta. George K and George A talk to Tashya about: 🫵 How embracing and being true to her authentic self...
Feb 19, 2024•47 min•Season 2Ep. 28
How do you help others speak up on your behalf? This week, Kenneth Ellington jumps into the ring to talk about how he went from IT to cybersecurity at warp speed, and how he started Ellington Cyber Academy to help others do the same. But Kenneth doesn’t just teach technical skills. He’s talking to students about all the other ways to elevate their careers. George K and George A talk to Kenneth about: 🚀How talking to others about your ambitions is the first step to supercharging your career 🤚Ad...
Feb 12, 2024•29 min•Season 2Ep. 27
What would you do if someone said you couldn’t succeed because no one knew who you were? Shinesa Cambric decided to go full Beast Mode, writing a book, speaking widely, and lifting others. George K and George A talk to Shinesa about: 😳The hypocrisy of tearing others down in cybersecurity 🙌 How she chose to build on a foundation of values rather than chasing a “personal brand” 💥Audience questions! Including, why it’s never too late to define yourself on your own terms. 👊⚡️ Become a Bare Knuck...
Feb 05, 2024•41 min•Season 2Ep. 26
How do MSSPs provide real value instead of slinging snake oil? How can they actually build a better client? Mike Pedrick, veteran consultant and vCISO joins the show! George K and George A get into: 🥊 the vCISO battle: legit help or fluffy title? 🌳 which outreach tactics make Mike want to end someone's family tree! 📝 why a mindset around signed contract at any cost will always erode trust 3️⃣ Mike's top 3 recommendations for any MSSP 👊⚡️ Become a Bare Knuckles an Brass Tacks member for a lit...
Jan 29, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Ross Haleliuk jumps into the ring to talk about his new book, Cyber for Builders,” and the lessons he’s learned from building products and talking with practitioners over the years. George K and George A talk to Ross about: 🛠️ How new founders should approach building security products 🔍 Why security buyers will now demand more transparency, and what that trend means for product and GTM teams 🤝 Why the trust that comes with transparency is critical to growth 💸 When and how to raise money in ...
Jan 22, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Maril Vernon is a force of nature. Last year alone she won hacker of the year, keynoted a DefCon village, and also won the SANS DMA for podcast of the year, and there's no sign of her slowing down. George K and George A talk to Maril about: ⚡️ Making the career transition from operator to business leader. ⚙️ The ONE thing she looks for in new tooling. 🔮 And what the very near future holds for her side projects... 👊⚡️ You can now support the show for less than a cup of coffee, or join our membe...
Jan 15, 2024•44 min
What if cyber sellers built such strong relationships that they could refer prospects to one another? Carlos Guerrero and Maria Graham jump into the ring to talk about a new way to sell. George K and George A get into: 🤝 How the long game of building trust has helped pipeline generation and deal velocity. Could it be the mythic "flywheel" of every CRO's dreams? ⚖️ How Carlos and Maria balance relationship building mixed with traditional cold outreach. 🎨 The art of closing a deal! 🥅 How seller...
Jan 08, 2024•52 min•Season 2Ep. 22
It's 2024! We're excited to be on this journey with you, and can't wait to bring you some incredible conversations with some badass guests this year. Hope your New Year's is rightfully a time for celebration, reflection, and optimism. We're back to our regular program, starting January 8th! ✅ Subscribe to Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks, wherever you get your podcasts! 👆Follow the show's LinkedIn page for regular updates and high-test doses of snark....
Jan 01, 2024•2 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Stop listening to this and go hang out with your friends and family! We're hard at work behind the scenes, and will return to our regular programming on January 8th. But in the meantime, thank you for listening and for supporting the pod. That is your gift to us, and we appreciate it!
Dec 25, 2023•1 min•Season 2Ep. 20
2023 is winding down. George K and George A are busy behind the scenes for next year. Today is a reflective episode, featuring a collection of critical insights from a few guests over the past few months: Jason Carrico on sales process Mike Privette on the cybersecurity market in the larger macroeconomic picture Chris Lieu on his approach to outreach Dani Woolf on operationalizing customer research Subscribe today, wherever you get your podcasts!...
Dec 18, 2023•40 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Today we have a special episode. George K and George A interview an anonymous cybersecurity professional about her experiences with sexual harassment. To protect her identity, we’ve changed her voice, and the image accompanying this episode uses a portrait rendered in Midjourney. Warning: This episode contains descriptions of repeated verbal and physical harassment that listeners may find distressing.
Dec 11, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 18
How do you stand out in a crowded cybersecurity market? Pete Johnson, CMO at Cranium.ai, jumps into the ring to talk about creativity and building relationships with practitioners. George K and George A talk to Pete about: 💡What today’s leaders can learn from Gen Z 🌯 Burrito marketing! And the lessons from spontaneity… 📢 The value of “narrow-casting” vs broadcasting when it comes to cyber messaging 🤝 How and why leaders to need lifting others as they go ✅ Subscribe to Bare Knuckles and Brass...
Dec 04, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 17
🥳 Episode 51! Dani Woolf jumps into the ring to talk about getting to know your customers! Market research is one thing, but how can you use customer research data to drive results? George K and George A jump in head first. In this episode: 📊 The cost of novelty vs consistency 💡 The differences in What, Now What, and So What in decision making 🧭 Forces at work in a changing cyber landscape: market maturity, outreach fatigue, and Google cracking down on bulk email sends 💪 How to operationali...
Nov 27, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 16
🙌 Today is World Children’s Day! We’re thrilled to bring you a series of interviews with the children of cybersecurity friends and colleagues, ages 9, 11, 14, 17, and 23. From curious to career-bound, George K and George A cover a lot of ground. In this episode: 🎩 Staying safe from “Black Hat” hackers! 🤖 Will the future be made of helpful or harmful robots? 🔐 Protecting your personal data and staying safe on social. 🎓 What excites a current student about a career in cyber! The kids are alri...
Nov 20, 2023•31 min•Season 2Ep. 15
In September, we joined forces with our friends at The Cyber Ranch Podcast and Simply Solving Cyber to issue the #CyberCommunityChallenge! We challenged: Vendors to adapt their campaigns for Cybersecurity Awareness Month to give back to the practitioner community. Practitioners to spread the cyber mission outside the walls of their organizations. We saw a lot of posts, and we're excited to announced the winners!...
Nov 13, 2023•22 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Globetrotting SDR Chris Lieu jumps into the ring! He’s got a storied background and he’s new to cyber, so George K and George A wanted to find out: 🤔The role curiosity has played in his career so far 🤙How he establishes connections with prospects 😳Why he’s turned DOWN meetings ⏳ And how to value CISOs’ time We also bring back the Sales Gauntlet! 🐉🔥 ✅ Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!...
Nov 06, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 13
