The JBT3 Story

James Baker had been working for the same company for six years. He had climbed up the corporate ladder, taking on roles with more and more responsibility and being increasingly successful. But despite his career progress, something was missing. He had a vision for the future, something innovative and ambitious that he felt he could only achieve by going it alone.  So in 2012, James took the brave step of leaving his job and starting up his own business: Secusol Solutions. With just a laptop and a dream, he set out to create a security solutions business that could make an impact on the world. His first client, the one he just left at a Value-Added Security Distributor.

Key Takeaways:

• James Baker started Secusol Security Solutions after working for a UK Security VAD for over 6 years
• Secusol was founded to help security startups, and technically led businesses gain market tracktion in home, and abroad markets

tt was mid-2016, and the Safexs brand had experienced success in three consecutive years of production and deployment, sending an impressive 300,000 units to customers around the world + SaaS licenses. But the company knew that any business needs to stay ahead of the curve and respond to the changing needs of their customers. It was time for Safexs to not just stick with the status quo, but look to the future and create something totally new and unprecedented.

The rebranding and redesign of Safexs was given to Secusol to manage and came with a feeling of hopeful anticipation. After months of hard work, planning, hiring, and project managing a dev team , the team was confident that the new product design would revolutionize the industry and set the tone for the years to come. The thought process included crafting the perfect product, marrying cutting edge technology with user-friendly design, and self service support features.

Key Takeaways:

• Successlly deployed 300,000 units of Safexs across the globe.
• Negiotated a 2-year contract to supply the whole of the UK with NHS managed devices
• Co-created in conjunction with outsourced dev team, 6 new data security solutions.
• Created the Safexs Firebolt secure SSD brand
• Increased partner channel from 2 in the Nordics to over 40 across EMEA and the US
• Reduced third-party licensing fees from $4.00 per drive to €1.00 per drive by moving outsourcing from the US to the EU

The winter of 2016 was an exciting time for Secusol. Having successfully established a long-term relationship with the Swedish tech company, the company was now ready to expand its operations further. With the contacts made and lessons learnt, the team was determined to work with other cybersecurity vendors, to further add revenue, and build their client base.

The team started to on-board another cybersecurity vendor, but they soon realized that this particular task was going to be more arduous and challenging than they had initially imagined. With careful planning and preparation they managed to on-board the vendor, and with this came the rapid ingestion of contractors aligned to Secusol, and more vendors followed suit.

The winter of 2016 was undeniably a defining moment in Secusol's history, and it was one that would be remembered for many years to come. Thanks to their hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence, the company had achieved something truly remarkable.

Key Takeaways

• Secsuol onboards 2 new technology vendors, based in Germany, and the USA
• Secusol onboards first contractors in Sales, and marketing
• By the end of 2016, Secusol's revenue was more than it's previous 4 years revenue combined.
• Secusol worked to help tech vendors improve theor existing products, create innovative sales and marketing campaigns, and help to enter new markets. This was super successful for all parties involved.
• Opened central office in Prague, Czech Republic

James had been running his small business for almost a decade, more than long enough to weather the occasional storm. But when the clouds started to gather in 2019, he was beginning to worry that this storm might be too powerful for him to survive. With Brexit looming, his cash flow was slowing drastically. He knew that if he didn't take drastic action soon, he wouldn't make it.

So, reluctantly, he let go of his 12 contractors, and went back working for someone else. It broke his heart to see them leave, knowing that their departures mean't he'd be unable to continue his business. it felt like the end of an era, and the beginning of a new chapter - one he hadn't asked for, but one he now had to face.

For the next 18 months, James kept his eye on the horizon, looking for opportunities to get back into business. Slowly but surely, he built a network of contacts, gained the neccessarly capital, learnt new skills, and was eventually able to start again.

Key Takeaways:

• Brexit and cash flow caused the business to slow right down
• James went back into employment to gain the cash to start again, and rebrand service offerings