ideamensch: Interview with the Founder of HyperSphere.ai

Evgen Verzun is inventor, serial entrepreneur, cybersecurity expert and founder of HyperSphere.ai. Evgen has more than fifteen years of experience in professional communications, developing security systems for mission-critical projects in the United States, Europe and Middle East. Areas of Expertise: IT, Software Development, Professional Communication, TETRA, PMR, Telecommunication, Investments, Blockchain, AI, Cryptocurrencies, Startups.

Evgen has been involved in tech innovations for the last 15 years and he is an inventor of patented cyber-secure solutions:
Secure Dynamic Communication Network And Protocol
Methods And Apparatus For HyperSecure Last Mile Communication
Decentralized Cybersecure Privacy Network For Cloud Communication, Computing And Global e-Commerce

Where did the idea for HyperSphere.ai come from?

HyperSphere is a four-dimensional object. It means something that did not exist before, like a new reality, which was not available earlier, but now is a reality. It is true, as HyperSphere platform offers the cyber-secure, decentralized cloud and a range of tools for companies and individuals to thrive financially no matter what is happening with the world’s economics.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I have an agile planning routine: at the beginning of the week I set up goals for the week. Then, every morning I create a list of goals I need to accomplish during the day. My strategy is not to make the long list of things I need to do, but to focus on the most important things and delegate those tasks, which are less on priority scale, to my team.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I have an amazing team, which has been developing cybersecurity solutions with me for more than 10 years. First, we worked on projects dedicated to protecting several communication channels over different networks. Then decided to create a decentralized cyber-secure platform that empower companies of different sizes: from micro to large ones in different areas of the economy: banking, IoT, healthcare.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I am passionate about the idea of decentralization. The truth is that decentralization is not a new idea: it has been nurtured for centuries. For instance, it is interesting that East India Company had the features of the decentralized business, running its factories in remote parts of the world three centuries ago. Just imagine, that there was neither telephone, nor internet. Nowadays, decentralization can take different forms, starting from e-commerce, mobility, healthcare — to government services. And it also gives numerous ways for people to use their self-owned and self-managed personal data.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

There are lots of hardships of being an entrepreneur and it is easy to give up when you focus on obstacles. That’s why I came into conclusion that the most efficient habit is to focus even on small victories during the day – it helps to focus on key goals and stay concentrated on moving into the right direction.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I don’t think it is efficient practice to give advice to our younger selves. It is important to understand that we cannot change the past. When I was younger, I made decisions according to my knowledge and experience level at that time. Of course, it’s obvious that nowadays, my decisions would be different, because we all evolutionize over the years. So, the best advice is to focus on the present and make the most of the current opportunities.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I focus on things that help me to move forward. So, I have a habit of focusing on the side where people agree with me and I am looking for something, some features, similarities that connect me to other people, to be efficient in communication. I meet a lot of potential partners or customers and it is very important to find similarities in order to establish good productive relations.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I recommend doing sports, both solo and in a team, which is a very important addition to achieving goals. It was proved by multiple studies that doing sports has a very beneficial impact on social and business achievements. Largely, this is because of the positive influence that sports have on emotional state, creativity, and maximized problem-solving skills. These benefits of sports impact individual success in many other areas, so it is worth doing over and over again.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

I like using Kaizen, a Japanese productivity philosophy that helps plan anything. Kaizen means “continuous improvement” – it is a mindset that anyone can apply in any situation in business. The idea of constant improvement means constantly evaluating daily activities and processes to make them better in relation to the outcome. It looks complicated at first sight, but in order to implement this mentality into your daily life, it is easy to start with looking for better ways to do your daily routines as well as thinking how the business operations can be improved. As you start thinking about improving your day-to-day work, you will start getting valuable insights into how you spend your time each day. Also, you will get ideas on how to get more focused and engaged with your activities.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

If I could change my path as an entrepreneur, I would not change anything. It is the beauty of life: to make mistakes, fail and be persistent about your goals despite all the failures.

I had a brilliant Idea of the business, I knew what exactly a specific problem can be solved, and how to solve it. It was an epiphany moment, I was sure it was a million dollars business, so I was so afraid to talk about a solution with anyone, even with investors, because it was an elegant but very simple solution, and I was afraid that if I told someone they could do it faster than me. So, I waited until one year after one startup raised 10M to solve the same problem and provide the same solution. And, eventually, become a unicorn. After that I realise, a lot of people are thinking about the same problems at the same period of time, and a lot of them are able to find similar or even the same solution. The winner is not afraid to talk about the problem, and discuss the solution. The winner unites those who want to solve problems and make the world a better place. After this epic fail, I am not afraid to share ideas, discuss decisions, and undertake what I consider worthy, as my contribution to the world, which can improve the people’s lifestyle and ways they do business.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

In fact, I advise you to take any existing idea, which you like, and improve it. YouTube was not the first Video hosting platform as well as Google was not the first search engine, but improvements they made, made them industry standards and leaders You can launch the same idea of the company, which already exists on the market. But think how you can improve it, and make it better than they do, so the customers will choose you.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Recently, I bought a professional microphone to increase the quality of sound, as I started to organize online meetings and multiple conference calls with the remote teams and potential customers. Many businesses were forced to shift their workforce to work remotely and I think we will see this trend to develop in the nearest future, so I decided to embrace the new digital reality and add quality into multiple online interaction with other people all over the globe.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

I use cyber secure StealthTalk messenger for all my confidential calls to save time and ensure all the sensitive information is encrypted. Whenever I go, it is very convenient to always have software, in which you can rely on the questions of cybersecurity and keeping the commercial secrets.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I would recommend “Critique of Pure Reason” by Emmanuel Kant, as it gives the food for the mind. It is very deep and explains the thesis that the world and things that we experience should be distinguished from the things as they are on their own. The author contemplates that humans have direct access to the natural, physical world and experienceable objects. On the other hand, he shows that the human mind is limited by our physical reality and he argues that it is not possible to have the knowledge of things. For instance, the questions about God or free will can never be answered by humans.

What is your favorite quote?

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford

Key Learnings:

• Why decentralization is the biggest trend now
• What to do if you realize you fail
• What to do if you don’t know which business idea you want to develop as entrepreneur
• How to apply Kaizen philosophy into working process
• Encryption of sensitive business talks over the phone