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Tales From The Submarine

In which Ian, Dispel's President and CFO, candidly shares what it's like to find product market fit. Starting with Moving Target Defense and growing into Secure ICS Remote Access.

Tales From The Submarine

Rising Fortunes, Falling Iguanas

"I think it is fair to say we observed pent-up demand for sunshine,” said Schmertzler.
Ian Schmertzler
Ian Schmertzler
10 February, 2020•1 min read
Tales From The Submarine

So What? Why Smart Systems Are Not Selling.

Why are we still hearing people on stage huff and puff about "smart systems", and why aren’t people actually selling “smart” systems? The reason, I would posit, is reaction time.
Ian Schmertzler
Ian Schmertzler
22 October, 2019•2 min read
Tales From The Submarine

Seeing The Flowers As Well As The Bull: What is Thought Leadership?

Why do companies pay tens of thousands of dollars to talk on stages at conferences? What you are seeing, when you sit in those sad auditoriums that smell of overcooked chicken and underbrewed coffee, is an arms race in Thought Leadership.
Ian Schmertzler
Ian Schmertzler
24 September, 2019•1 min read
Tales From The Submarine

It is Convenience, Stupid

When you have spent nearly 40 million dollars building a system to solve a network security problem, I guarantee you will find it jarring when you start seeing it purchased for a usability feature you listed as 8th or 9th on the spec sheet.
Ian Schmertzler
Ian Schmertzler
21 August, 2019•3 min read