6 years ago, I almost lost my job because I knew NOTHING about data protection.
CTOs and founders were asking me what to do about their data regarding data protection.
But I had no clue.
I was just working with the data.
Suddenly, I needed to understand the regulations regulating the data.
But curiosity got the better of me. I studied, took exams, got certified, and went back to school.
I started doing data protection along with data analysis, management, and marketing.
Know what I learned hurt founders the most?
That data protection can’t be an afterthought:
→ If you want investors to fund your product.
→ If you are hoping to exit with $$$.
→ If you want to prevent compliance conflicts.
Here’s the reality:
At some point, investors, customers, and other stakeholders will ask for EVERYTHING.
Those data maps you have been avoiding doing - they want them.
The SaaS you’ve been working on for years without consideration for X-by-design won’t make them happy.
Policies and notices that you never adjusted from those templates just won’t fly.
Not being clear about your role in processing personal data is a major red flag.
It matters to get it right from the start.
Think about how to build privacy and data protection into your solution BEFORE you build instead of patching it in post-production.
Document everything as you build your data protection strategy, and be ready when they come asking.
Train your team before you go to market instead of losing potential customers because you don’t have answers to their questions.
Do that, and you’ll be off to a great start.
6 years ago, I was clueless about data protection, and I learned the hard way.
Today, I help tech startups and scale-ups build data protection into their products from the start, enabling them to scale, attract investors, or exit without the additional compliance hassle.
Solve your problem first before you help others.
Your customers will thank you for it.
Upcoming Events
October 8-9, 2024: Analytics Summit in Hamburg, DE
October 9, 10, & 11, 2024: Measure Summit, Online
Interested in having me speak at your event? Get in touch.