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Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal- Journey to start Labnol of first-ever professional Technical blogger of India

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The picture of blogging seen today was way different in the past. People took it as a way of expressing thoughts only. Of course, blogs are the best medium to express thoughts but one can also earn good money through blogging. However, in 2000-04, it was not as easy as it is today. In such time, Amit Agarwal decided to use blogging as a way of earning bread and butter. That time, many people crossed his idea to earn money from blogging. But Amit proved them wrong and become the first professional blogger of India to start a technical blog.

Early life of Amit

Amit is raised in a family with having a business background, and he has an engineering background. He was one of the studious children in the family, having command over mathematics. Yet he was not interested in engineering, rather he wanted to join the family business during his teenage. But as he grew, his interest leaned towards technology and he decided to study engineering.

Amit Agarwal
Image Source: Youtube.com

Education

He got selected in IIT-Roorkee and opted for Computer Science engineering. Everything was just the opposite as he decided in his childhood. Still, he managed to be in the toppers list.

Generally, computer science students focus on coding. However, Amit was more interested in software installation. In fact, he has always been curious to know how it works? How the files are modified due to installing new software? Amit always tries to find the answers to all his questions. Today, he is answering such questions of his audience. That time, he would have never thought that his curiosity will help him in the future.

Career

After graduating in 1999, he started working at ADP inc, Hyderabad. He worked on the database for about 5 years. During his job, work is appreciated and he got the chance to lead the team in a very short duration. However, he shifted his focus from the technical field to management. Apparently, a person from the family having a business background couldn’t stop the inner businessman. But he learned many new things during his first and last job. The technical experience turned out useful in his blogging career.

The backstory to become a professional blogger

Amit is from a typical joint family of India. His mother and other ladies of the family wanted him to work at the native place. However, he decided to shift to Hyderabad for Job, though he wanted to stay with family. After spending 5 years in Hyderabad, he finally decided to go back to home town, Agra.

That time, he had very few career options to choose, and most of them are either seasonal or offering less money. For that, he started a blog and started posting his skills, technical knowledge, etc. Initially, his pure intention to start a blog was to get noticed by employers.

Turning point

It is said that everyone has some turning points in life, the same happened in the case of Amit. He casually posted detailed information about the HP printer on his blog. Surprisingly, many viewers read the blog post and asked their doubts. Thereafter, he started posting similar tech-related posts which became popular among the audience. This incident made Amit think to become a professional blogger and he followed his inner voice.

Rise of first professional technical blogger of India

Blogging was not that familiar to Indian people in 2004. At that time, Amit Agarwal decided to choose blogging as a career. In fact, it was a very different environment for bloggers than it is today. No social media, very few online networking tools, and several other challenges were there. However, Amit decided to become a blogger and started Labnol in this period.

When Desipundit picked his content, Amit got the much-needed reach and his audiences raised enormously. It all happened within one year of starting the blog. Also, he tried several other ways to get noticed like he attended many blog camps. With different strategies and quality content, Amit rise as the first professional blogger in India.

About Labnol

It is a technical blog that started in 2004. Amit selected the name as Labnol just because it is unique, unlike his name. He wrote software reviews based on his experience on Labnol blog post. As well, he shares genuine information about technical products based on his experience.

Over the years, Labnol blogs have improved and the audience still loves it. Because Labnol did not shift the focus from consumer software from 11 years. Though the blog becomes world-famous, the information is still genuine and not written for promotional purposes.

 Bottom line

Amit Agarwal has set an example for many entrepreneurs who want to do something new. He proved that if you have a passion for something, you can make a living out of it.

Kulwant-Nagi

Google disabling Kulwant Nagi’s Adsense account was the turning point of his life

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True and potential marketers have a different view of everything around us. They try to find a strong marketing opportunity every time a normal person fails to notice it. But, don’t worry as marketers or bloggers aren’t born with this talent. The biggest example for us is Kulwant Nagi, a successful affiliate marketing expert, and famous inspirational blogger. Kulwant Nagi’s hardworking and motivational life story teaches everyone how to survive in the darkest of time and not give up on yourself.

Who is he?

Today, Kulwant Nagi is the founder of Blogging Cage and the Managing Director of AffloSpark. Throughout all these years after passing engineering in 2010, he has mastered the art of digital marketing and every other aspect of it. A couple of years earlier, he’s daily income summed up to around $500$800. Kulwant believed that living in this era of digitalization you either benefit from it or become its prey.

Kulwant was born in a town called Fatehabad located in Haryana. He didn’t belong to a financially affluent family. But, his dream to go and study abroad made him work hard. After he received his engineering degree from the Institute of Technology and Management, he wanted to appear for GRE and TOEFL. The tuition for his preparation and exam fees didn’t come easily to his family. But, Kulwant got results of his hard work when he scored 1300/1600 in GRE and 99/120 in TOEFL.

But, his dream to go and study abroad shattered into million pieces when he was supposed to show at least a bank balance of Rs. 22 lakhs to receive a U.S. visa. His father didn’t have ample money so he turned to his relatives for help. But, life taught him lessons the harsh way when he realized he was on his own. Kulwant had withdrawn the applications from foreign universities.

Also Read: Search Engine Land, Success Story Of A Publication Company Pioneering In The World Of Search Marketing

How Kulwant entered into the blogging world?

He gave up after trying for another year and failing to arrange sufficient money. Kulwant started working for a company but resigned out of frustration within a year. It is then one of his friends; Ravinder Kumar pushed him to try out blogging and digital marketing. He tried writing an article in his friend’s blog and it received more than 200 comments within a day. This made him realize that he can start his blog and start making money.

Kulwant eventually got deeper into it and turned the course of his life. In 2011, he launched his first blog, KulwantNagi.com, and next year he created BloggingCage.com and invested his time in affiliate marketing. But, this was just the beginning of the 18months struggle.

Survival and motivation

Kulwant earned his first dollar after seven long months whereas most people give up after three or four months when they can’t make money. Earning a little money after seven long months made his passion stronger. He said that, for the first eighteen months of his blogging, he used 2G internet. It is nearly impossible for us to have patience and work with 2G internet. But, he proved that if one has a strong vision nothing is impossible.

He started using Fiverr and made enough money to keep himself motivated. He sold his first blog for $30 only to meet his costs extremely needed for survival. But, eventually, his monthly income started increasing and now he is a successful affiliate marketer earning millions. In 2017, he earned around $9000 just in four days doing email marketing.

Kulwant’s secret mantra of keeping himself motivated is reading tons of inspirational books. He prefers reading biographies of people who have become successful in the entrepreneurial world. 

Also Read: Brian Dean : The Founder of Backlinko, ‘the Future of Modern Day’s SEO’

Kulwant’s advice to people

According to Kulwant, blogging, or in simpler words content writing is on high demand these days. But, the problem with our generation is we are overloaded by information. We cannot set a fixed goal as we keep switching from one opportunity to another. Kulwant says that if we find an interest we should do research and start working on it. Sitting and watching other people achieving success won’t get us to that place automatically. He also says that, once we start working we should work diligently for the first six months without expecting any fruitful outcome. One just needs to find a niche and keep working for it.

Imperva

Imperva- A business venture of Shlomo Kramer who is Godfather of Israeli cybersecurity

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Cybersecurity is becoming the interest of many researchers and top entrepreneurs focusing on this area. In fact, it is important to spread awareness about cybersecurity, and many firms working in this as Imperva do. It is a California based cybersecurity firm working in this field since 2000. However, the firm has been delivering excellent protection to application software and data of several enterprises. Shlomo Kramer, A. Shulman, and Mickey Boodaei set up Imperva to enable security for both data as well as applications.

About the founder of Imperva- Shlomo Kramer

A well-known entrepreneur and tech person, Shlomo Kramer has been working in the field of security for a long time. He belongs to Israel where he recognized as one of the top investors and businessmen in Information Technology. Imperva is one of the companies co-founded by Shlomo. Apart from that, he is a founder of the Checkpoint, Cato networks. These all are deal with cybersecurity. However, he also invested in several startups including Palo Alto Networks, Lacoon Mobile Security, Trusteer, Watchdox, etc.

Achievements of Shlomo

Shlomo is one of the top entrepreneurs of Israel. He helped the nation in the field of cybersecurity. For his work, several authorities and organizations praised him. In 2006, he was on the list of 20 luminaries who changed the network industry. Network World Magazine selected him in this list. As well, SC magazine named him as the CEO of the year in 2008. 7 years back, Shlomo inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame in 2013.

Early Life

Shlomo loves technology more than anything else, which can be seen from activities in his life. During young age, Kramer designed and sold video games. He has been familiar with mainframe and other technologies since then. At the age of 15, he worked at a Tel Aviv shop, he used to sell personal computers in there. Kramer’s passion for technology strengthen when he heard about 17 years old game developer. Thereafter, he never looked back and tried his best to do the best in this field.

Education

He has a master’s degree in computer science. For that, he went to Hebrew University Jerusalem. Also, he has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at Tel Aviv University. While studying, he served in the defense force of Israel. Shlomo worked in cybersecurity and intelligence team, that time, he learned analysis and decryption of data. Being a part of the Israel Defense Force’s intelligence team helped Shlomo to develop as a high-tech entrepreneur.

Early Businesses

Shlomo is recognized as Godfather of Israeli Cybersecurity, and an unstoppable entrepreneur to achieve success with each business venture. However, to reach this point has a long story. It all started in 1993 with the establishment of Checkpoint Software technologies. With this startup, he helped to the introduced first firewall in the global market. Kramer became an international leader in protecting the information on the internet.

The first company gave him huge success, and the market value of the firm raised unbelievably. Knowing the fact that how to invest money, he grabs this opportunity and left the checkpoint and raised money from this deal. Further, he used this money to invest in other businesses as well as to start his own firm.

Investments

Kramer is not only a good entrepreneur but also he is an investor. He has been working in the field of data security and helped several start-ups to explore the businesses. Shlomo is investors in the firms including Insert, SafeBreach, TopSpin Security, Splacer, Alicanto, and many more.

The backstory of Founding Imperva

After leaving the Checkpoint, he set up Imperva with Mickey and Shulman in 2002. It is set up for perimeter defenses like firewalls. However, the focus of the firm shifted toward application and data security software.

Exploring the businesses of Imperva

In 2011, Imperva jumped into the stock market and its initial public offering raised 90 million dollars. As well, the shares of the company gained up to 33% on its first day. Thereafter, the firm acquired a cloud security startup called Skyfence. Kramer always focused on investing in cloud-based security startups. Because of his optimistic views in the data security field. In fact, this acquisition helped Imperva to extend its data security through the cloud. However, Skyfence is sold for 40 million dollars to Forcepoint in 2017.

Imperva introduced a free scanner for detecting infected devices in 2016. Moreover, the firm purchased a data masking company called Camouflage in 2017.

Also Read: Gill Shwed: The Israeli Inventor & the Pioneer of the Cybersecurity

carbon black

Seasoned entrepreneurs Todd Brennan, Allen Hillery, John Hanratty’s Journey to set up Bit9 aka Carbon Black

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A cybersecurity firm set up by trio Todd Brennan, John Hanratty, and Allen Hillery is famous on the international level. It is working in the field of endpoint security to protect the client’s information from security threats. Data security is the main priority in the present world. Cybercrimes are increasing day by day. Any kind of hacking or any malicious attack results in a huge loss for any business. Therefore almost all organizations demand total network and data security. For that, dozens of firms are depending upon Carbon Black. In fact, more than 5000 clients trust Carbon black and secure their business. To detect cyberpunk as well as to prevent future attacks, Carbon black offers it’s best to all kinds of organizations.

The backstory of foundation

Bit9 is the output of the productive idea of three serial entrepreneurs Todd, Allen, and John. They transformed computer network technology and IT security with Carbon Black. It is set up in 2002 as Bit9. During the initial days, the company has to face malicious attacks. Apparently, it then becomes the inspiration to save other firms from such types of attacks. The service is getting more advanced after acquiring the unique start-up Carbon Black in 2014. After that, Bit9 renamed as Carbon Black.

About Carbon Black

It is a Waltham(Massachusetts) based cybersecurity firm that creates cloud-native endpoint security software. This software is especially known for detecting malicious behavior. As well, to revert such attacks and saves important data from getting hacked. Carbon black’s PSC platform is best to analyze unfiltered data of clients for threats. As a matter of fact, PSC stands for Predictive Security Cloud. Currently, 5600+ customers trust Carbon Black. Recently, the firm merged into VMware to flourish its service.

The journey of Carbon Black

Since 2002, the firm has been improving its service and adding the clients to its list. In fact, most of the customers of Carbon Black belongs to Fortune industries. It gets started with the name Bit9. However, the firm acquired a security service firm carbon black and became Carbon Black. The combination of Bit9 and Carbon Black.

That time, it also raised E series funding and continue its exploring strategy. Moreover, it gained Objective Logistics in 2015. Similarly many more small to medium startups in the IT security field are acquired by Carbon Black. Including Visitrend, SecureWorks,  Trustwave, Ernst & Young, Kroll, and Rapid7, etc.

Thereafter, it raised to 152 dollars during its initial public offering. Today, it has top investors like Kleiner, Perkins Accomplice, etc. However, Carbon Black decided to get merged into VMware in 2019.

Glimpse to founders life

All founders of Carbon Black are series entrepreneurs who build several milestones in there early days. The trio of Todd, Allen, and John has built several firms together, including Carbon Black and Ampient. However, most of the firms set up are related to cybersecurity, network, and data security.

Allen Hillery

He has specialization in research and development, and he has been working in this field for a long time. Coming to his education, he holds the doctorate at the University of Wisconsin in Electrical and computer engineering. As well, bachelor’s degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the same university.

Apart from that, he is an expert in information security, scalability testing, large-scale computing, etc. Allen is the co-founder of Bit9 and Ampient. At Bit9, he served as VP and shares a great contribution to build a strong base of it.

Moreover, he also helped in founding the Okena endpoint security company.

Other works of Allen

Rather than setting up the businesses, he wrote a number of patent applications. As said earlier, Allen works in the field of Research. Yet, he continues to redefine parallel computing and IT security with his research.

He also worked to design some of the largest supercomputer clusters in his early career. That time, he was a researcher at Shell E&P research Center.

Todd Brennan

He also helped in building the base of Carbon Black in 2002. Having the spirit and tremendous knowledge of technology, Todd set up several startups and runs it successfully. Presently, he is serving as CEO of Ampient, which he helped to found too. In fact, he also set up Okena with Allen. At bit9, he served as chief technology officer and VP engineering. In 2003, he built novel technology to defend against emerging IT security threats. Todd also active in the research field, also he served at MIT Lincon Lab as a researcher.

Education

Brennan has a Master’s degree in Electrical and computer engineering from the University of Wisconsin. From the same university, he earned a Ph.D. However, he attended Cornell University to graduate in electrical engineering.

Awards and recognition of Todd

InfoWorld honored him and include his name in the list of Top 25 CTO in 2006. As well, he is an awardee of several collegiate teaching awards. Also, he is an author of dozens of patents and research papers.

Yellowsoft

Yellowsoft taxi services- How it enabled taxi dispatch solution of next generation

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Nowadays, booking taxies online is preferred by users, and a number of taxi drivers on the online platform are increasing day by day. There are many services are available for this purpose. Similarly, the Yellowsoft taxi service is innovative and the smartest way of doing the business of taxies. It does not only provide the private hire services but also known for smartest, automated, and cost-efficient white-label solutions to its several clients. Yellowsoft also provides ride-hailing, shuttle software, corporate and rental software services for the taxi as well as car companies.

The reason behind providing such vast services is born out of the experience of the founders in this field. Most of the co-founders of Yellowsoft are from a background that deals with delivering taxi dispatch solution. While working on this they realized those solutions have some limits. Those solutions are not enough to fulfill all the requirements of clients. With this idea, they decided to start their firm which will be based on deep research and the ultimate solution for taxi dispatch. Hence, they started Yellowsoft in 2017.

Also Read: The Smart Taxi : India’s Premium Cab Service; ‘Travel in Style’

What is the Yellowsoft taxi service?

When it comes to taxi booking and dispatch solutions, Yellowsoft comes into mind. Because the firm enabled advanced solutions with its next-generation approach. Also, its area of service is wide that covers several clients from several regions on the earth. Since its foundation, the film explores the service and continue its excellence. Obviously, the credit goes to the team and people involved in Yellowsoft. It showed to the world that with the team of diverse skillset, high performance can be achieved in a short duration. The firm is set up in 2017 and just in 3 years it boom like nothing. Yellowsoft has been achieving unprecedented growth by comprehensively solving the business challenges of its clients.

How Yellowsoft’s business grew so fast?

Generally, the quality of service determines the growth rate of any business. Yellowsoft has been delivering the best service since it’s formation. The use of technologies like a sleek online portal, integrated map, and automatic dispatching added value to its service. Also, many user-friendly features allowed Yellowsoft to rule in its field.

Best features of Yellowsoft taxi service apps

Mobile and web applications are integral parts of Yellowsoft. This app connects admin, dispatchers, drivers, and the user. So that communication can be maintained between all of them.

As said earlier, Yellowsoft is user friendly and one can experience it through its app. It allows users to see the expected time of travel, how far the destination, and total fare. Also, users have the freedom to pay for service in cash or through an online payment. Moreover, users’ security is considered at the top. Users can directly inform emergencies through the app itself. No need to contact customer care if they face such problems.

Additionally, Yellowsoft enabled the service which is also driver-friendly. Drivers are free to choose a trip they want without any higher authority pressure. Most importantly, it is simple to operate on both customer and driver side. Yellowsoft is also planning to add more features to make it a perfect app for the next generation.

Personalities of Yellowsoft

Mushahid Khatri- Yellowsoft’s CEO

He is the present Cheif executive officer of the firm. However, he is from a computer background and studied at KSKV Kachchh University in India.

Mushahid has great experience in android development. Earlier, he worked at Peerbits as an Android team leader. Later on, he worked at Yellowsoft and reach to the post of CEO with his dedication. Yellowsoft’s strategy and policies are now under Mushahid’s guidance.

Shahid Mansuri- Yellowsoft’s co-founder

He helped in the establishment of Yellowsoft as well as Peerbits. Shahid is an expert in Android development and has experience in a taxi dispatch solution. The contribution of Shahid is appreciable, he is one of the founders that research for creating best Yellowsoft’s taxi dispatch product.

Education

He has a master’s degree in computer applications and information technology. For that, he attended Gujrat University from 2002-06. However, he went to KS School of Business Management for M.SC (CA&IT)Computer Application & Information Technology.

Bottom Line

Yellowsoft enables the best taxi dispatch solution with the touch of an innovative approach. Remarkably, the firm showed it’s power in a few years of its establishment. The expertise team, best strategies, and innovative approach are key points of the success of Yellowsoft. Presently, it is dominating the field of taxi dispatch service with its miscellaneous business skills.

KnowBe4

Stu Sjouwerman’s KnowBe4, a platform that spread awareness on IT security among many organizations

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The needs of people change with time and hence born the new business. Further, technology evolutions challenge businesses to stand out with the changing world. Born entrepreneurs knew this fact very well as Stu Sjouwerman does. He started the unique platform which is the need of the present era. It is known as KnowBe4 best recognized as the largest security awareness training library on the earth. The firm helps other organizations to help their users for security awareness training.

As of now, KnowBe4 is the ultimate way to handle the current problems of social engineering. Other than that, KnowBe4 set an example of a great working place. For that, it received several international level awards. Yet, it is in the category of top working places in the world.

What is KnowBe4? 

It is the biggest platform for simulated Phishing and security awareness training all over the world. KnowBe4 is a milestone that introduced the solution for unsolved problems of social engineering. Today, many leading firms approach to the KnowBe4 for its world-class service. The idea behind setting up KnowBe4 was to scale for busy IT pros. As well, designing the platform for social engineering which is reliable, affordable, and user friendly.

Founder in Limelight- Stu Sjouwerman

CEO and founder of KnowBe4, Mr. S. Sjouwerman is well known for enabling world-class platforms for security and simulated Phishing training. He is a born entrepreneur who set up a series of enterprises with his excellent knowledge of the IT industry. As well, he is expertise in data security and working in this field for 30 plus years. Earlier, he helped to set up Sunbelt software. It is a leading and award-winning anti-malware software company.

Other works of Sjouwerman

Apart from being a data expert, he is also a writer of four popular books. He tried to explain threats of cybercrime, the importance of data security with those books. Also, he showed another data security-related aspect through the pen and paper. His few books are considered to be useful for newly entered people in this field. Recently he wrote a book Cyberheist- The Biggest Financial Threat Facing American Businesses.

Stu also worked as chief editor for wserver news. It is an email newsletter dealing with security issues in the IT system. As well, he continues his writing passion with Cyberheist news. A famous e-zine for IT security news.

The backstory of founding KnowBe4

While working in the field of data security, Stu realized that security is neglected by any organization. Lots of organizations don’t take it seriously at all. It may be due to unawareness about IT security or the cost of the service of data security at that time. Thus, he decided to start the platform that is affordable as well as efficient to solve the cybercrime-related problems. As a result, KnowBe4 was established. The sole purpose of Know Be4 is to create security awareness among the organizations.

In the present situation, more than 24000 organizations from different industries rely on KnowBe4. Because it enables first-line defense for cybercrime and related issues.

Why it is unique?

The purpose behind setting up the Knowbe4 was truly relevant to the changing situations in IT security. As a result, a unique platform is shaped that offers a one-stop solution for thousands of problems related to social engineering. Also, it comes with many categories and for training on simulated phishing. One can find phishing templets available in more than 20 languages. Additionally, it comes with unique features like advanced reporting, a program for automated security awareness, virtual risk officers, and many more. This platform is also affordable for small to big size organizations.

KnowBe4 is also one of the companies that promote women empowerment. Today, more than 50 percent of the staff of the firm consists of female employees.

Role of the firm in innovation

The firm itself is an example of an innovative idea. It always evolved its policies as per changing situations and innovation. KnowBe4 holds many patents on its name. Includes, Bot Detection, patents on the methods, etc.

Achievements

Recently the firm honored by Tampa Bay Business Journal Top Corporate Counsel. It also received the Cyber Defense Infosec Award for its contribution to training on security and simulated phishing. KnowBe4 becomes one of the best workplaces in 2020.

As well, the top workplace by Tampa Bay Times.

Bottom Line

Why IT security is important? How to save users from being the victims of cybercrime? The answers to all such questions are given by KnowBe4 with a proper solution. Also, using different methods and tactics, and continuous innovations in this field, KnowBe4 is doing an excellent job on an international level. In fact, it is a great example of an initiative that started to spread awareness about digital security among the firm. That is the need of the present and future world.