In this episode of The Gate 15 Interview, Andy Jabbour welcomes Eric Foster, Chief Operating Officer at Stairwell. Prior startups include Cyderes.com (co-founder under Gary Fish, sold to Apax Partners / merged with Robert Herjavec’s Herjavec Group), RiskIQ.com (sold to Microsoft), MMAjunkie.com (founder, sold to USA Today) and eScout.com (incubation team, sold to PerfectCommerce). Active advisory roles include: Onspring.com, Stairwell.com. Past advisory roles: PhoneFactor (sold to Microsoft). Eric is a recognized domain expert in Information Security, Regulatory Compliance, and CusEricer Success.
In the discussion we address:
Eric’s origin story
His experience as a founder and entrepreneur, and the importance of mentorship
Building high-performance teams and developing corporate culture
Eric’s work from founding CYDERES to his current work with Stairwell
The complex intersection of geopolitical threats and increased conflict in a world that is rapidly accelerating in positive directions in technology
We play Three Questions and talk careers in an alternate universe, flying through space with Elon, Eric’s musical obsessions, and more – including Radiohead and Sleep Token!
A few references mentioned in or relevant to our discussion include:
CYDERES
Stairwell
Learn more about the Stairwell Culture
Google Blog: A new approach to China, January 12, 2010 (in late 2009, Google was the victim of a major cybersecurity attack, code named Operation Aurora)