Meet David Rougely of Pantera Security

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Rougely.

David, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story? Where to begin? I’m not one for a lot of words. Let’s see picture this. The year is 2003 and the Super Bowl is coming to Houston in the early part of 2004. At 25 years old I had been living in Houston, Texas for seven years with no formal post secondary education and somehow I have become an IT guy with his own small business, a business partner, and one employee doing fairly well for three years.
There was a meeting to be had by the city of Houston concerning acquisition of services and products with anyone wanting to do business with the NFL and the city to facilitate this huge event. This meeting explained how to submit contract bids and requirements businesses had to meet in order to submit those bids. I took this meeting seriously but failed miserably in obtaining any IT contracts for my company. It appeared I was doomed from the start. The biggest lesson that I learned from that experience was that I lacked personal credentials that carried weight and my professional network was weak. I blamed this on my education which in turn fueled a quest for knowledge in a way that, initially, I didn’t think that I could achieve. I dissolved my stake in the business at that time knowing that I would come back later bigger, better, and stronger. I would go on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Prairie View A&M University and a Master of Engineering degree in Engineering Management from University of Colorado – Boulder with an emphasis on Operations and Entrepreneurship.

This quest for knowledge laid an educational foundation for me which opened many doors. Doors such as doing research in nuclear materials detection for the U.S. Department of Energy and working with cybersecurity applied to controls systems within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the many opportunities that revealed themselves to give back to my community with confidence in the areas of math tutoring, engineering competitions, school talks, and educational field trips.

Having been on the described journey above and working in some pretty cool places, there was always a desire to go back into business for myself. I gave myself an internal deadline that I’d only stay on that journey for ten years and then proceed back to my entrepreneurial endeavors. Let’s just say that I have a few entrepreneurial traits. Two of these traits are self-belief and vision. I strongly feel that one must set a vision and then believe that they can accomplish that vision. This is why in 2018, I launched Pantera Security.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The answer to this question is a resounding NO. I haven’t met an entrepreneur or small business owner yet who has had a smooth road and I don’t believe I will be the first. Some of the struggles along the way that comes to mind are that of discipline, marketing, and work-life balance.

In running a business, discipline is a must. Especially when dealing with matters of cybersecurity as Pantera is. Sure one can have vision as I’ve mentioned before but at its core, it will be discipline coupled with self-starting that will carry you through. I have to be disciplined enough to stick with schedules and meet milestones. There are times when I don’t want to do things or go to meetings but if I don’t go then I’m not moving the business forward nor attempting to reach it’s goals. Being disciplined holds me accountable to doing what I say I’m going to do when I say I’m going to do it.

Nowadays, everything is about marketing. Direct marketing, social media marketing, network marketing, insert [x] marketing. The need for my business to market my services is crucial for one reason and one reason only. To develop customer relationships while providing value. I haven’t been the greatest at this and perhaps I may even need a little help but things are starting to work in Pantera’s favor. I’ve been attending a lot of networking events and rolling out an online marketing campaign.
Basically getting Pantera’s name out there and educating folks on the cybersecurity services provided so that awareness can be increased and cyber hygiene can be improved. Its working. We’re starting to see calls, even for services we don’t provide.

The last struggle I’ll touch on is work-life balance. This is more of a personal struggle per se than a business struggle. I’m the type of guy that likes to keep focus on tasks with his head down and grind it out. I’m all about the hustle every day all day. This doesn’t work well when you have to balance between self-care and family. I have recognized that when dealing with problems its good to unplug and come back to them refreshed. This usually helps me 95% of the time however, I don’t do it as much as I probably should.

Please tell us about Pantera Security.
Pantera Security is a service company, and through the use of its cybersecurity service offerings, small- to mid-sized businesses can stay compliant with consumer data regulations and protect their digital assets. We offer cybersecurity posture assessment, mitigation, managed security services, secure electronic data disposal, and safe electronic recycling. To put it another way, Pantera Security is an ally to small- to mid-sized businesses in the hidden arena of cyber warfare.

Many small- to mid-sized businesses are unaware that following good consistent cyber hygiene practices apply to them when they are often the most vulnerable. It is Pantera Security’s goal to help these businesses not become the next headline or viral news article of yet another compromising situation.
Pantera strives to keep the hackers out, client data safe, while giving businesses peace of mind to focus on their core functions. Pantera specializes in cybersecurity posture assessments and managed security. The cybersecurity posture assessments let businesses know where they stand in regards to being exposed and vulnerable. It also informs on how to mitigate the potential problems by putting a bonafide cybersecurity policy in place. Managed security offerings allows Pantera to take the burden of managing the determined cybersecurity policy away from business stakeholders. Affordable managed security offerings allow Pantera to monitor client networks, send alerts due to suspicious activity, and create reports for compliance measures such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, SOX, or HIPAA.

Working through Pantera Security, creating cybersecurity awareness and educating folks is what I’m most proud of. When I have the opportunity to share case studies or explain hacking techniques to potential clients who have no idea of how they’re actually affected brings me joy. No one wants their information compromised and/or stolen then sold on the Dark Web. What sets Pantera apart is the ability to listen to the needs of potential clients. I’m not just trying to sell you Pantera’s services. I’m trying to tailor Pantera’s services to your needs. Some would call this Customer Intimacy. Simply put, I listen and then intentionally build relationships from personal interaction. I enjoy determining the best course of actions for the business so that core business functions are not hindered but digital assets are still safe.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This question is easy and hindsight is always 20/20. From time to time I suffer from paralysis by analysis. If I had to do it over I would have started sooner.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.panterasecurity.com
• Phone: 303-218-3981
• Email: cto@panterasecurity.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PantSec/
• Twitter: @PanteraSec

Image Credit:
Joshua Lewin Photography
@JoshuaLewin

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