Start-Up Secure

CHAPTER FIFTEENBringing It All Together

Make it work.

– Tim Gunn, Project Runway

WE HAVE COVERED A LOT IN THIS BOOK, and while it might not all have stuck, I hope you will use this book as a reference in your journey to a unicorn exit. The topic of cybersecurity can be complex, overwhelming, and even sometimes insulting. I hope this book has broken down barriers for you and either given you that “ah-ha” moment or armed you with the information to ask better informed questions of your fellow founders, investors, customers, and vendors.

Cybersecurity doesn't have to be a mysterious magician in the background preventing doom at every moment of the day. It should be valued and prioritized like all the other needs of your start-up. You will most likely use accounting software early on to keep track of spending, since you will eventually have to file taxes. You don't need to be a CPA to do that and you don't need to be a 10x CISO to build your cybersecurity program.

I started this book by asking you to keep in mind the quote from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People where Stephen Covey states, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” This is a reminder – after going through the topics in this book, each of which has numerous books dedicated to it – to keep it simple. When you are building an MVP you should be building the equivalent cybersecurity program to match your product's needs, your customers' needs, and your start-up's needs.

This book has been amazing ...