1.     Describe five businesses or non-profits that have been created in my field.

Cybersecurity is a field that is innovating and growing at a rapid pace.  Because of the rapid change in technology there have been many businesses created that address cybersecurity concerns.  For example, Amazon Web Service (AWS) has many services today, but it was created as a cloud computing platform that allows companies to outsource server creation and maintenance to Amazons skilled technicians.  Cyber Security Service Providers (CSSP) provide many services to secure networks, data, and systems.  Software called Security Information and Event Management (SIEM’s) allows organizations to organize all the security metrics, logging, and auditing they perform on their networks and create a coherent view of potential threats.  Google offers a service to authenticate users to websites called Google Authenticator based on OAuth technology.  And lastly security researchers discovered significant vulnerabilities in the WPA Wi-Fi protocol leading to the rapid creation of WPA2 and then WPA 3.

2.     What is your overall perspective on the entrepreneurship experience?

The entrepreneurship experience is in my eyes a journey more than a destination.  An entrepreneur has a set of personality traits and systems that if he or she follows them will refine their product or service to the point of being successful.  The entrepreneurship experience is filled with obstacles and challenges, and what identifies an entrepreneur is their ability to accept and overcome those obstacles.  Entrepreneurs used careful study of markets and refine their product or services while maintain a view on the enterprise as a whole.  I have new respect for people who can work in so many fields and positions simultaneously and develop their idea into something valuable.

3.     How did the entrepreneurship prepare or not prepare you to be a competitive candidate for vacant positions?

I believe the entrepreneurship class prepared me to be a competitive candidate in showing me more of the business side of cybersecurity.  We have been exposed to some of the choices and decisions that entrepreneurs and leadership must make and how they would directly influence our work as cybersecurity specialists.  I believe I can now better understand organizations as a whole and communicate with different members of those organizations.    

4.     What suggestions do you have to improve the experience?

If I could make any suggestions, I would highlight cybersecurity entrepreneurs who have been successful and share their backstories or their unique styles of conducting business. While entrepreneurship lessons and theory are broadly applicable to many industries, it still requires unique calculations in each of them.  Sharing the lessons cybersecurity entrepreneurs have gained working in the industry I think would be invaluable to students looking to pursue a startup of their own.   If nothing else, creating a network of students and local business leaders that are cybersecurity entrepreneurs would be a fantastic improvement to the experience.

5.     What’s next for you?

What is next for me is I intend to graduate Old Dominion University in Summer 2023 with my bachelors of Cybersecurity, to gain my Comp Tia Security + Certification and begin my career.  I hope to continue learning and completing personal projects as well as online learning, and to become a strong junior cybersecurity analyst at one of many of the great firms we have in Virginia.  I would also love to search out and potentially join cybersecurity entrepreneurs who are working on innovative compelling solutions to modern problems.  My hope is to be a strong defender of the computer systems that we all rely on and do a small part in helping create peace and prosperity for all people.