INSIGHTS / Blog

Image caption: Emily Rosenorn-Lanng, Chief Executive Officer of Cyber Innovations Ltd, pictured with then Minister for Security Dan Jarvis and Professor Vasilis Katos, Co-Founder of Cyber Innovations Ltd.

For founders building technology, digital and science-based ventures, turning a promising idea into a scalable business can be challenging – particularly when navigating new commercial environments, validating a proposition and building confidence to pitch to customers and investors.

SETsquared’s Entrepreneurs Workout is designed to help founders take that next step. The fully funded, practical two-day programme allowed entrepreneurs to explore their business model, challenge assumptions, understand their customers and refine their proposition, while building valuable connections with expert mentors and fellow founders.

We sat down with Emily Rosenorn-Lanng, Chief Executive Officer of Cyber Innovations Ltd, to discuss her experience of taking part in the women-only Entrepreneurs Workout at the University of Southampton Science Park, and how the programme helped her gain a fresh perspective on her business, test her proposition with a new audience and learn from a supportive community of women entrepreneurs.

Having already experienced other accelerator programmes during her journey from academic research to entrepreneurship, Emily was keen to step outside the cybersecurity-focused networks she was used to and challenge her thinking.

Here, Emily shares the impact of the Entrepreneurs Workout and the lessons she is taking forward as Cyber Innovations Ltd moves towards its next stage of growth.

The value of stepping outside my sector

“I didn’t set out to start a company. That wasn’t my master plan. After 18 years working at a university, I loved what I did, but I never saw myself becoming an academic in the traditional sense. My journey into entrepreneurship began through research into online fraud and scams and a question that had been bothering me for years: why do well-trained people still make the same mistakes when they are under pressure during a cyber incident?

“My research at Bournemouth University kept pointing to the same gap. Traditional training was good at measuring whether people could recognise a threat, but recognition is not the same as response.

“Opportunities such as Innovate UK’s Cyber ASAP Accelerator Programme helped me explore how I could turn that research into something with sustained practical impact, eventually leading to the creation of Cyber Innovations Ltd.

“Our work takes a human-centred approach to cybersecurity. Our Cyber Self Defence programme is designed for non-technical staff, giving people the practical skills they need to recognise threats, respond appropriately and minimise the impact of cyber-attacks.

“That means I need to be able to communicate what we do clearly to people who aren’t cybersecurity experts.

“I am used to being surrounded by people who understand cybersecurity, so the Entrepreneurs Workout was a valuable opportunity to step outside that environment and test my business proposition and messaging with a different audience. Sometimes you are so close to your own business that you don’t see what other people see.

“The feedback I received helped me understand how my message landed with people outside my sector, where I might have become too technical and how I could make the value of our solution clearer. That external perspective was incredibly useful.”

Challenging the assumptions behind my business

“One of the most valuable parts of the Entrepreneurs Workout was revisiting my business model. You can never do that enough. As your business develops, you naturally make assumptions. Over time, those assumptions can start to feel like facts, and you can forget to stop and ask whether they are still valid.

“The most valuable exercise for me was being asked to identify the single most important assumption my business rests on – and then ask: what is the cheapest, fastest way to test it?

“It sounds simple, but founders can be very good at building on assumptions they have never actually tested. For us, the critical question is whether regulated organisations see tested response capability as a gap they need to address, and whether they will pay to solve it.

“That has given us a much clearer focus for our next steps. Rather than continuing to build based on what we think the market wants, we are putting that assumption to the test through pilots with real organisations in real-world contexts. I have taken part in similar exercises through other accelerator programmes, but every time you go through the process, you see something different. The value comes from applying that thinking at a different point in your journey, with a new group of people and a fresh perspective.

“The Entrepreneurs Workout didn’t give me an answer about what to do next. Instead, it helped me ask better questions, and that is something I will take forward as we continue to validate our product, work with design partners and explore opportunities to scale.”

Learning from a community of women founders

“Being part of the women-only Entrepreneurs Workout influenced my decision to take part. Most of the accelerator programmes I have experienced have been heavily weighted towards men. That has never been a problem for me, but I was interested in experiencing something different and becoming more connected to the wider community of women in technology and entrepreneurship.

“I also wanted honest challenge from people who didn’t already know me or my business. Supporters are lovely, but they are not always the people who will push back on your business model. I wanted people to challenge my thinking without worrying about my feelings.

“The women-focused programme appealed to me because I suspected the peer dynamic would be different. It was. There is something specific about being in a room where everyone is taking their ambitions seriously. It changes how the conversation goes.

“The peer support was one of the most valuable aspects of the programme. There were lots of conversations about each other’s businesses, with people sharing ideas, asking questions and offering different perspectives. Many of the women in the cohort also represented the kinds of people we are ultimately trying to reach with our current solution, so hearing their insights was particularly valuable.

“I am often working in environments where the conversation is highly technical and predominantly male. Having the opportunity to hear directly from women with different experiences helped me better understand how our proposition might be received by a broader audience.

“I also found myself engaging more openly, pushing back more readily and being more willing to admit what I didn’t know. It was not just the formal programme content that created value. It was the conversations around it.”

The importance of pitching to a different audience

“The pitching session was another important part of the experience. I don’t think you can ever pitch too much. When I first took part in Cyber ASAP four years ago, I was petrified at the thought of pitching to anyone. I am certainly not the same person I was then, and that is partly because I have had opportunities to practise.

“Pitching is simply part of being in business. You have to learn how to explain what you do, why it matters and who it is for. What made the Entrepreneurs Workout particularly valuable was that it wasn’t a cybersecurity-specific programme. The feedback I received from the panel was therefore different from what I would normally hear.

“The most useful feedback was about framing, rather than content. The mentors responded particularly strongly to the regulatory pull behind our proposition and why this matters now. It helped me realise that I had been starting with, ‘Here’s what we do’, when I should be starting with, ‘Here’s the gap your regulator is already asking you to address.’

“That shift in perspective has helped me think differently about how we position Cyber Innovations Ltd and communicate the urgency of the problem we are solving. If I am going to successfully communicate the value of our solution to non-technical employees and organisations, I need to explain it in a way that is accessible, relevant and connected to the challenges they are already facing. Sometimes the best feedback comes from people who don’t already understand your industry.”

A fresh perspective at an important stage

“The Entrepreneurs Workout came at an important point in our journey. We have a live product, and our immediate focus is on proving our commercial thesis through pilots with real organisations in real-world regulatory contexts. We are continuing to work with design partners, validate our proposition and explore investment opportunities as we look towards scaling the business.

“The key question we identified through the programme, whether organisations recognise tested response capability as a gap they need to address, is now something we can actively test rather than simply assume.

“We are also due to spin out from Bournemouth University in September, marking another important milestone in our journey from academic research towards commercial impact. At a time when there are lots of decisions to make, having the opportunity to step away from the day-to-day and look at the business with fresh eyes has been incredibly valuable.

“The programme reinforced something I have learned throughout my entrepreneurial journey: you have to keep pushing yourself. Very early on, I said something to a group of other women that I thought sounded a little trite: if you are out of your comfort zone, you are probably in the right place. I genuinely believe that now.

“The Entrepreneurs Workout was another opportunity to step outside my comfort zone – to be open to feedback from people who didn’t necessarily understand my sector, pitch to a different audience and challenge assumptions I had made about my business.

“You don’t have to be at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey to benefit from a programme like this. You can be further along and still need to stop, reflect and challenge yourself. In fact, I think that becomes even more important as your business develops.”

My advice to other founders: back yourself

“My advice to other founders, particularly women building technology, digital or science-based ventures, is simple: join the programme. You don’t know if you don’t try.

“But I would also encourage founders to identify the single most important assumption their business rests on – just the one thing everything else depends on. Then ask yourself honestly: when did you last test it with a real customer, rather than someone who already believed in you?

“Find people who will tell you things you don’t want to hear. They are often the people who help you build something better. Don’t wait until everything is perfect before putting your idea in front of people. You will learn more from one honest conversation with a potential customer than from months of refining a product in isolation.

“You also have to back yourself. If you don’t believe in your idea, nobody else is going to. You have to put yourself out there, be willing to be noticed and make sure people understand why they should engage with your product and your company.

“For me, the biggest impact of the SETsquared Entrepreneurs Workout was the opportunity to step outside my usual environment. To look at my business again, challenge my assumptions, and hear directly from a different audience connect with a community of women who were all navigating their own entrepreneurial journeys. As Cyber Innovations Ltd moves towards its next stage of growth, I will take those lessons with me.

“The journey from academic research to entrepreneurship has been unexpected, challenging and incredibly rewarding. The Entrepreneurs Workout allowed me to step back, challenge myself and see the business from a different perspective – and that is something every founder can benefit from, wherever they are on their journey.”