While on the road to finding the global Startup Of The Year, we’re on a mission to feature and highlight as many rising stars as possible. From tech and hardware, to entrepreneurs improving the accessibility of health information, each month dozens of new startups try to breakout and create an impact in their industry.
Meet LifeSite from Mountain View California
LifeSite is committed to providing secure, convenient and smart solutions to help you manage, discover and share the most important information in your life with your family and those you trust. LifeSite Vault is a secure web and mobile based solution that helps individuals and families organize, share, and collaborate on the most important information of their lives throughout their lives. It combines secure file access and controlled, permission-based sharing with military-grade encryption and layered security, to provide you with the safest and smartest digital storages solution, all available on your computer or mobile device.
If asked about your core values, what would you say when asked why do you do what you do (as an organization)?
LifeSite’s mission is to inspire and empower you by connecting your head and heart, for your own peace of mind today, and for your family and loved ones tomorrow. “We created LifeSite Vault to facilitate everyday personal information sharing among trusted family members, as well as provide peace of mind for our own families,” explains Chris Wong, LifeSite CEO.
Wong: “As a father of four and son of two aging parents, my wife and I are using LifeSite Vault Plus to co-manage, organize, and share important/sensitive personal information. We are moving important family info out of ’mom and dad’s head’ and from ’under the mattress’. We believe in doing this for all families, around the world.”
What has been one of your largest challenges as an organization, and how did you overcome it?
Wong: “Everybody’s first concern is security. If people are unsure of whether their personal information is going to be protected, they are not going to be comfortable utilizing a solution like ours. So the architecture of our industry-leading, layered security was paramount to developing a successful product. We knew it was good, but we also knew we also had to engage outside experts to really validate it for us, and to increase the comfort level of our potential users.
Morgan Wright, international cyber security expert and national advisor on cyber terrorism, was one of the first cyber security experts with whom we shared the beta version of LifeSite Vault. He’s now an active user and an advisor to the company.
‘We have evolved into a highly mobile society. For too long our vital information was not as mobile as our lifestyle. That has changed with LifeSite,’ said Wright. ‘By obsessing on security from the start, LifeSite has separated itself from other solutions.’
In fact, LifeSite Vault has already obtained the highest scores possible for SSL verification, web vulnerability testing, and penetration testing from independent and certified, third-party auditing organizations including HackerOne and SkyHigh Networks. And, LifeSite was recently selected as a winner of the Red Herring’s Top 100 North America, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures.”
In one word, how would you describe yourself as a leader?
Wong: “Collaborative.”
What is the best piece of advice or quote you’ve ever received regarding running a business?
Wong: “Success is a gamble. It’s important to work with people and a team you can trust — who are going to have each other’s back. I don’t think I’m a person who has great or highly original ideas, but by really listening and understanding what everyone has to say, I connect the dots. My #1 job is to synthesize all the inputs into a strategy and focus people on executing. Always surround yourself with the best people, no one can do it alone.”
What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning?
Wong: “I’m definitely an early riser and for me I can’t wait to find out ‘what’s new’. It’s the ‘what’s new?’ which motivates me. As a born optimist, I look forward to each and every day. In today’s world, its easy to find out ‘what’s going on’ and as a creator, builder, developer, solver type, I can’t wait to get out of bed, get my coffee and make things happen.”
What was your first paying job?
Wong: “First jobs are big ‘life definers’ in my book. For me, I was a newspaper delivery boy (back when they actually delivered newspapers to people’s houses). Getting up at 5am everyday before school to deliver papers, going door to door each month to collect $2.50 /month, getting paid for only what you collect – the ultimate learning experience as a twelve year old. This first job helped me understand/learn the value of hard work, responsibility and forced me to develop customer skills. I paid for college with ‘first jobs’, newspaper delivery, pizza maker, women shoes salesperson – most fun jobs I’ve ever had :-)”