I’m the founder of Baited, a cybersecurity startup that simulates hyper-realistic phishing and social engineering attacks. We harness the power of AI and your online footprint to expose the cracks in human security, not to exploit, but to empower. We’re a team of ethical hackers, builders, and dreamers. And yes, we’re fully bootstrapped.
No outside funding. No shortcuts. Just raw belief, obsession with impact, and the kind of resilience you can’t fake.
The Beauty and Brutality of Bootstrapping
Bootstrapping isn’t glamorous. It’s grit. It’s waking up every day with the odds stacked against you and choosing to build anyway.
“A startup is a human institution designed to deliver a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.”
— Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
That uncertainty is magnified when you’re self-funded. Every decision could make or break your vision. But that’s what makes it beautiful. Bootstrapping forces focus. It demands clarity. It eliminates the noise. You don’t build what might work, you build what must.
We’re not chasing valuations. We’re chasing validation. Real traction. Real transformation.
Security is Broken, We’re Trying to Fix It
We live in a world where privacy is paper-thin, and manipulation is monetized. Social engineering is no longer about guessing passwords, it’s about understanding people, their habits, their language, their fears. Phishing attacks today are personalized. Sophisticated. Psychological.
And most companies aren’t ready.
At Baited, we simulate the scariest, most targeted attacks, the kind that could actually happen. We use AI to craft emails, messages, videos and calls, that mirror your tone, your context, your connections. We don’t do this to terrify. We do this to train. To show you what’s possible and how to defend against it.
“The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself.”
— Peter Thiel, Zero to One
We’re thinking for ourselves. We’re building the future of security by reimagining awareness, not as a checkbox, but as a lived experience. An emotional one.
Ethical Hacking: Fighting for the Good Side
Yes, we’re hackers. But we’re the good kind. The kind that believes knowledge without ethics is dangerous, but ethics without knowledge is useless.
We’re here to improve the world, one phishing simulation at a time. We believe that by showing people how they can be manipulated, we’re giving them back their power. We’re not just protecting systems. We’re protecting people. Their choices. Their privacy. Their freedom.
“The ability to delay gratification, to regulate emotion, and to empathize these are not just personal virtues. They’re competitive advantages.”
— Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence
Leadership is Emotional
Being a founder isn’t just about code, strategy, or slides. It’s about people. It’s about influence. Not the sleazy kind, the kind rooted in trust, empathy, and vision.
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
— Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
That’s how we lead at Baited. We listen. We learn. We put our team first. Because great products don’t come from pressure. They come from passion.
And passion can’t be bought. It’s earned, tested, and refined in fire.
Perseverance Over Permission
We didn’t wait for someone to fund us. We didn’t ask for permission. We started. We kept going. We’re still going.
In a world obsessed with speed and scale, we’re obsessed with meaning and impact.
Bootstrapping forces you to build something real. Ethical hacking forces you to build something right. And at the intersection of those two forces, Baited was born.
We’re not just a startup. We’re a mission.
To make people safer. Smarter. Stronger.
Let the world catch up.
We’re already building the future.
Founder and CEO
