1Kosmos: Next-Gen Cybersecurity Solution
Interview with Hemen Vimadalal, Founder and CEO of 1Kosmos
Hemen Vimadalal is an entrepreneur at heart with a strong passion for building products that solve real problems with a focus on cybersecurity. As founder and CEO of 1Kosmos, he leads a team disrupting the digital identity proofing and authentication space. He is also an active investor in startups in areas driving digital transformation and cybersecurity. Prior to founding 1Kosmos, Hemen was the founder and CEO of Simeio Solutions, where he spent over 10 years. He remains an advisor for companies like Securonix, Saviynt, BrinQa, Blue Lava etc. who are also in the cybersecurity industry.
1Kosmos is the world’s only cybersecurity solution that combines digital identity proofing with advanced biometric and passwordless authentication. The company provides individuals with secure digital identity controls, and organizations with powerful tools to defend against identity fraud with a streamlined user experience. The company fills a hole in the market with its one-of-a-kind solution that ensures a user is who they say they are at all times.
Dan: Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. To start, I am sure our readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What is your background?
It all started with moving to the U.S. to fulfill my “American Dream.” This included part-time jobs as a server on Syracuse University’s campus, a dishwasher at the University of Southern California, a network engineer at an internet adtech startup — all while studying for my engineering classes. Those jobs pushed me through my education and afforded me the opportunity to pass on a well-respected Ph.D. program.
I took a chance by starting a company with colleagues that we hoped would transform an industry. After a couple of challenging years — learning on the job and multiple pivots — we signed a few Fortune 50 customers who helped shape the product and bring our vision to life.
Fast forward 18 years, I went from an engineering graduate to an entrepreneur with successful businesses and a continued passion and vision for the future of identity. Despite having a healthy career in the cybersecurity industry, I still questioned who’s on the other side of a digital connection. I was asking myself, “How do I identify who someone is, and how do I let them interact with all of my services, while also ensuring that their personal information is in their control?” This curiosity led to the birth of 1Kosmos.
Dan: Tell us about your business. What do you do and what is your startup’s origin story?
I have been working in this space for over 18+ years and noticed the fundamental issue with managing identities has been the question of knowing who is on the other side of a digital connection. We wanted to change the way identities were managed. Around 2017, bitcoin and blockchain came into the picture. While the blockchain network was initially used for cryptocurrency, it also provides a decentralized foundation for other technologies, inherently increasing privacy and security. This, in combination with the rise of biometric proofing through phones, gave us the tools we needed to move our solution forward. We saw an opportunity to leverage these new technologies to intercept traditional ID management–tools like multi-factor authentication–and build a platform that is extremely secure.
My co-founders and I realized the notion of knowing who is on the other side of a digital connection was disjointed and weak. We leveraged decades of experience coming from successful cybersecurity ventures to develop BlockID. We just exited stealth mode with the announcement of our Series A funding in February 2021. We’re currently working with organizations like Verizon and Hitachi to secure their customers’ identities.
Through partnerships like Alestra and Fischer Identity, we’ll be able to make our solutions more accessible to individuals and organizations across the world.
Dan: What’s unique about your company? What are the key differentiators between you and other players?
Organizations often rely on single sign-on systems (SSOs) and/or multi-factor authentication (MFA), but reliance on those is relying on “hope” that attackers won’t know how to get around them. The vulnerabilities around SSO’s and MFA’s have shown a strong need for biometrics and identity proofing to ensure the safest authentication protocol possible.
Our solution, BlockID, is the only solution that combines indisputable digital identity proofing with advanced biometrics and passwordless authentication while storing user data encrypted in a private blockchain.
A huge disadvantage for the other players is they already built an identity management program where privacy comes after the fact. Trying to build privacy into an existing system is nearly impossible. 1Kosmos has the advantage of designing an entire platform from the ground up with privacy as the main component. Almost everyone has a mobile device with a camera making three-factor authentication a reality. To create a secure connection, you need to prove something you know (security questions), something you have (a smartphone), and something you are (your biometrics). We accomplish these three things with BlockID.
Dan: Take us through a day in your life. What does the typical day look like?
My life prior to the pandemic and now are rarely alike, but here are some of the highlights of my day. I start my mornings early with a quick global news scan but mainly focus on sports. I then go on my three-mile run ending with my daily Starbucks order of a peach green tea lemonade. I return home and enjoy breakfast with my four-year-old daughter as she tells me her plan of attack for the day. This takes me to around 8:30 AM when I sit down to check emails and prioritize the day. I jump into weekly 1x1 meetings with different team members to collect feedback and establish action items. Between Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and Webex, I navigate through meetings with clients and the product teams. I then prioritize family time around 6 PM when we do a variety of activities depending on the day including cycling, ice skating, rollerblading, and more. After some dinner, I catch up on sports highlights before ending my day by reflecting on areas to focus on and improve.
Dan: What are some of the key steps you have taken to grow your business?
Our advisory board has been a key asset, as they have provided their knowledge and expertise throughout 1Kosmos’ history. We work closely with world-class advisors and investors to create a paradigm shift by bringing decentralized identity and passwordless authentication to workforces and customers. Our strategic advisors have reputable backgrounds working at organizations like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the NSA. We continue to use our advisory board to grow 1Kosmos to its full potential and make a difference in cybersecurity.
Dan: What has been the most challenging part of growing your company?
Cyber attacks are a part of our everyday lives, but instead of increasing protection, the public has become fatigued by the constant attacks and media cycle that follows. Consumers and businesses alike are relying on hope that the security measures they have in place will work. In fact, 56% of Americans have never checked to see if they have been affected by a data breach and 81% of data breaches are caused by poor password management. This complacency towards cybersecurity poses a challenge for 1Kosmos, as the need must be recognized to be solved. There needs to be a significant amount of education on our part to show organizations and individuals that they should be concerned about the security of their digital logins and we have a solution.
Dan: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
My best tips are to stay focused on your goals, mission, products, and staff. Write down what you hope to accomplish with your company and what you need to do to reach your goals. Hype up your staff to keep them motivated to achieve success. When you stay focused on the big picture, success will follow.
Make sure that you add value to the market — are you fixing a problem no one else has solved? Enhancing your customers’ lives with what you have to offer? There are many cybersecurity companies, but we found a gap in the market and created a solution to fill it.
If you find that something is landing with stakeholders, expand on that idea. Don’t ignore when something sticks in the market — use it to your advantage and build campaigns around it.
Be customer-obsessed. Listen and learn from them, know their pain points and how you can help solve them. Everything we do is for our customers.
These four points have allowed 1Kosmos to grow as a company, and I hold my team to these standards and practice them myself every day.
Dan: If you could go back in time to the day you founded your company, what advice would you give yourself?
Invest in a team that shares your vision. When everyone is aligned on company goals, the journey is not only easier but more enjoyable. It is critical to your success that your team is passionate about the work and ready to take on the challenge to transform your industry.
This is a tall order, but Rome was not built in a day. It’s a cliche, but a true statement — there are no shortcuts when building a successful team or business.
Dan: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Your identity is the most unique part of you. Why not use that to keep you and your information safe and secure?
To learn more about 1Kosmos, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.
