How the First Truly Successful Cyber Security Company Began in a Dorm Room

Paparelli Podcast

Chris Klaus is the founder of Internet Security Systems. Sitting in his dorm room, he put down the sci-fi book that gave him a big idea and started coding. This was the genesis of becoming the first genuinely successful cyber security company of the 1990s.
I loved Chris’ surprise when government labs contacted him looking for his product. They heard about this kid at Georgia Tech who figured out a way to find the security-weak point in any government or business’ computer network.
The most challenging question he had to answer at 19-years old was, “How much does it cost?”
There is so much said these days about finding authentic demand. How to ask potential customers the right questions. Strategies around denying the product to people who seem interested. Sometimes even canceling an existing paying customer’s contract. All this to prove you have authentic demand.
Chris never had to deal with any of this. He built it, and they came. His biggest problem: How do you build a real company?
Step 1: Own the intellectual property
Step 2: Get the right co-founder
Tom Noonan had just the right personality, contacts, and experience.
Together, they blew it up.
The rest is history. Investors and customers beat a path to their door. And so did IBM, who bought ISS for $1.3b. And to think it started in a dorm room.
Join our conversation. It isn’t just about ISS. Chris also spent over two decades and personal millions on what we now know as the Metaverse. Long, long before Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook to Meta. In our conversation, I even told Chris, “Zuck should consult with you.”
Come, join us.