The security world is fighting a never-ending war, and the traditional players are losing. Why? Because security innovation often lags behind the threat. This week, Taylor May, Founder of SVIP, tells us that real breakthroughs come not from those inside the firewall, but from “people that think outside the box.”
In our latest episode of Innovator Insights, we sit down with Taylor May, host of the Nothing But the Truth podcast. Taylor shares why outsiders drive the most groundbreaking security innovation and reveals the critical mindset all successful innovators must embrace.
Here are three key insights from our conversation that leaders and innovators need to hear:
1. Outsiders and Crisis Drive Innovation
According to Taylor, the security industry, both physical and cyber, often struggles with rapid, proactive innovation. Major leaps typically occur only when an outside industry or a catastrophic event forces a change.
Taylor notes that outside technology companies, such as those that work at Meta or Netflix, drive the real disruption. These developers create technology “lightyears faster” than the traditional security industry. Furthermore, a security innovation often gets triggered by “some tragic event” like 9/11 or a mass shooting, which forces companies to act.
Taylor explains that because the industry remains reactive, tech companies now nudge major players to drive greater disruption in the security innovation space.
2. The Golden Rule of Innovation: Think Outside the Box
When interviewing groundbreakers, Taylor identifies one striking commonality: an essential mindset that rejects the comfortable “this is how we’ve always done things” approach.
“It’s going to be cliché, but it’s really people that think outside the box, man, that really are pushing the envelope as far as technology and innovation”.
Foresight, not just cleverness, defines this approach. Innovators must look beyond today’s problems and anticipate future vulnerabilities. A prime example is the rise of Deepfakes. Companies like Swear now step in to solve content manipulation (voice and video) because traditional security players did not look five to ten years ahead of the curve at the “weaponization of AI”.
3. Transparency Builds Trust, Drives Sales
Taylor’s personal philosophy, which also focuses his podcast, Nothing But the Truth, centers on raw honesty in a market dominated by inflated claims.
Taylor insists that end users must force vendors to admit their product’s limitations by asking them to identify the key areas where the solution is weakest. This aggressive accountability is essential for exposing inflated marketing claims and ensuring product fit.
Honesty builds credibility. When a vendor is transparent, saying, “I don’t recommend us, or you know what Scott, based on your use case, I’m going to recommend something different even if it’s my competitor,” that kind of relationship and rapport is established.
This transparency requires breaking down internal walls. Physical security, cybersecurity, and IT departments can no longer operate in silos. Taylor stresses that organizations need “cross-departmental communication” because everything now lives and breathes on a network. Without this communication, organizations set themselves up for vulnerabilities.
Ready to Disrupt the Status Quo?
Taylor May’s unique experience building a platform dedicated to honest product review (SVIP) offers critical lessons for anyone navigating the complex world of modern technology and security innovation.
