Sedicii: Protecting users 'Digital Identity with Convenience and Security

Identity fraud has been a measure concern for organizations throughout the globe, involving the creation of completely fictitious identities or impersonating existing identities. The direct and indirect impact of these actions can significantly affect all parties involved, including the organizations through which the crimes are unknowingly initiated. Sedicii has responded to this growing problem by providing authentication and identity verification services where no personal information is ever exchanged unless an explicit consent has been given by the person whose identity information is being shared.

Incepted in 2013, Sedicii provides multi-factor authentication solutions where the user's PIN or password is linked to their mobile phone and that unique signature is never shared or exposed to anyone. They have developed a patented technology based on the zero knowledge proof protocol that allows a person to prove they know or control a piece of information without the need to share it. This means that clients can keep private information confidential. Sedicii's experience working for different industries translates into a differentiated values proposition. The company delivers comprehensive services to many banks and government agencies till date. And it has won numerous awards for their technology from organizations like the World Economic Forum, BT, EY and PWC among others.

Headquartered in Waterford and corporate offices in Dublin and London, Sedicii has also a development centre in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. The company was founded by Rob Leslie – a qualified electronics engineer with a track record of establishing successful businesses in Europe and Asia. Implementing identity and authentication solutions in various industries and organizations is a challenge on account of various factors, which Sedicii has successfully achieved by adopting a customer centric approach rather than a traditional product centric approach. Thoroughly analyzing your needs, the company provides scalable and genuine identity and authentication services. What differentiates Sedicii from many others in the field is that their focus is on privacy where they use the zero knowledge proof technology to keep information private.

A company's success can be attributed to all its team members working for the company. Sedicii's team of skilled, zealous and highly-qualified engineers with huge experience brings the company on the top.

The CEO Magazine was curious to know about Sedicii's success and its uniqueness in the industry and approached its CEO for a brief chat.

Rob Leslie – Founder & CEO of Sedicii, in the longue with Abhishek Dubey – Editor at The CEO Magazine

How does the company build a successful customer base?

Our business is about trust. We work very closely with our customers, demonstrating commitment to them so that trust can be built over time. Coupled with this there is strong focus on ensuring the technology solutions perform exactly as the customer wants them to.

How do you see the company changing in one year?

Over the next year, we will undergo very significant change as we are hiring very actively. We hope to open a US based sales office and also develop key partnerships in India and South East Asia

What's the most important thing you're working on right now, and how are you making it happen?

We are working on a privacy preserving identity platform that will allow a person to identify the extent of their digital footprint without any organization needing to share or expose any information that they hold.

What are the major milestones for the company since founding?

Major milestones have been being named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, raising our seed round and getting our first customer. We have many projects underway, some large, some small but all are integral to the overall goal of delivering the most comprehensive privacy preserving identity platform in the world.

What is your vision for the company?

We want to be the trusted platform that people can use to manage and maintain their digital identity where their privacy is absolutely respected at all times

Please tell us about Road Map and Future of your organizations.

We will be looking at solutions for eKYC, airport security and border control and solutions for digital government.

Please share about your or company's Awards & Recognitions, if any.

We have won awards from BT, EY, World Economic Forum, IPACSO, Irish Technology Leadership Group, PWC, and EIT Digital as European Finance Scale Up of the Year. We have also achieved Horizon 2020 funding from the European Union.

How do you learn in your life and what is your biggest dream?

I learn most by listening to many people who have lots of experience and knowledge. My dream is to make a positive difference to peoples' lives

Tell me about when you failed. How did you overcome?

The first time I failed was when I didn't ask for help soon enough. Had I done so the outcome might have been different? So asking for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. From that day to now, I have never been worried about asking for help when I need it. The other thing I will say about failure is to do whatever you have to do to ensure you succeed….you must persist and somehow figure it out!!

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year?

We want to ensure we continue our rapid growth by making zero knowledge identity management the gold standard that everyone will want

What was your journey like to get where you are?

It has been hard. Long-long hours, no pay for years, days of despair when things go badly and days of elation when things go well. We have persisted and we are starting to see the results of that commitment.

Tell me how you've approached change.

Change must be part of your culture from Day One. Technology changes so fast that standing still is not an option. If you fail to embrace change your business is going to die.

What was the most difficult lesson you have learned as an entrepreneur?

The most difficult thing I've learned is that the line between total failure and success can be knife edge thin. The challenge is to make sure that you ensure you never fall off that knife edge on the wrong side.