In 2009, Victor Chaltiel, a businessman and former Las Vegas mayoral candidate, came up with the idea to start an email security service that protects emails from getting intercepted or hacked, and allows the sender to track the email chain. Chaltiel worked at patenting his idea and brought in people to run the company. He died at age 72 in 2014 after battling cancer, but his wife, Toni, was determined to complete her husband's work. In 2017, she hired Idan Udi Edry to be the CEO of Trustifi, and the mission was realized.
Tell us your background.
Before becoming CEO of Trustifi, I was CEO of Nation-E, an Israeli company in cybersecurity for critical infrastructure. It built technologies that enabled the next generation of smart grid environments to protect power grids from hackers.
Before that, I was head of data and security for Pelephone, an Israeli cellular operator. I led special strategic projects for numerous governmental agencies and organizations, working closely with high-ranking government officials.
I served as an Israeli Air Force officer for more than eight years, and reached the rank of captain. I led hundreds of professionally trained military personnel, building and operating advanced secured information systems. I have 13 formal certifications from the world’s most renowned IT, telecommunications and cybersecurity institutes.
Describe your startup.
Our approach is unique: We secure emails with military-grade encryption on the client/sender level with a proprietary algorithm, and the recipient does not have to have Trustifi to open or reply. Our two-factor authentication also verifies that the right person opened it and will not allow the email to be opened on the wrong device.
Who are your customers and users?
Everyone. I know that sounds simplistic but who would not benefit? From a retired person emailing tax records to large organizations emailing company secrets, human resource records, medical records or financial information, everyone can protect their email by using this service.
Theft today is not just about robbing a house or stealing a car. It’s finding out when you are home and not home; it’s hacking into your Wi-Fi and intercepting emails to steal your identity, then getting into financial accounts and draining them.
What are people doing to protect their digital ID? Your email is this. Just like you protect a vehicle with insurance, Trustifi serves this function for your email.
For businesses, it is about protecting both employees and customer information, Social Security numbers, bank accounts, financial records, company secrets, corporate financial records, real estate, etc.
What sets Trustifi apart from similar encryption services?
This is all we do. Many cybersecurity companies offer email encryption as a side business. We are always improving what we offer only in email security services. And we call it end-to-end because once it leaves the sender encrypted, it stays that way throughout the email thread. The compose screen provides a sensitive content detection feature which tells the writer “be careful about this content” when certain keywords are added. The Trustifi Postmarked Email feature is the same as sending Certified Mail from the post office without that expense, and still having the receipt if needed to prove sending and receiving in court. The difference is the recipient does not have to be home to receive the email or go to the post office to retrieve it. And you know all the details of the message, such as when and where the email was delivered and opened, and if the email was forwarded or printed.
How many people do to you employ and what is your projected growth in the coming year?
We have 15 people in the company. Most are remote. We are projecting 24 people by the end of this year and are moving our research and development to Las Vegas in the next 18 months.
Why did you choose Las Vegas for your startup location?
I personally moved to Vegas from Silicon Valley to open a location for Nation-E, and then the company was sold. I got a call from Red Hills Ventures to take over Trustifi in April of 2017.
I think Las Vegas is one of the most attractive places for startups. I don’t think many companies realize how pro-business it is for high tech. It is also very affordable to live here.
Describe your company culture.
An adrenaline rush. Everyone is wearing many hats and is incredibly busy. We had to choose the right people to be able to work in several time zones with each other and make this company a top priority. We have open communication and respect each other’s experience in different roles and love unique approaches to problems.
What obstacles has your business overcome?
Hackers are getting smarter and evolving new ways to get the data they want. And the email security space is crowded. We have to stay unique, nimble and customer service-oriented, and attract the best talent with the right work ethic.
What is the best business advice you’ve received?
“Take with your brain, give with your heart.”