The main thing about pioneering and being a thought leader is not necessarily trying to invent something brand new, but really trying to understand problems and address those with what’s in front of you. That is what Mark Harvey, CEO of Sekura.id believes. A man of many virtues, Mark exudes an unwavering passion and commitment to revolutionize industries through innovative solutions.
Having worked in the telecom industry for over two decades, Mark has seen things progress at lightning speed. His energetic, futuristic personality helped him surround himself with like-minded people and encouraged him to go for his goals. He never sits back on his laurels, but strives forward each day to learn something new.
Entrepreneurship was always on the cards for Mark. One of his early successes has been in the audioconferencing/web-conferencing space when one of his first companies became recognised as the leader in promoting audio conferencing around legal hearings. His motto is all about being agile and looking at the opportunity that’s in front. His relentless pursuit to embrace new opportunities compelled him to look ahead and that’s how Sekura.id was born.
Unleashing Inner Potential
Education was never something Mark was interested in and never wanted to go to university. He left school at 16 and went on to work. Learning from text books never excited him. Rather, he has always been keen to learn from real-life examples. “I’ve looked at ways where 1+1=3, so I’ve always looked at how we can put two things together to create something bigger. For me, it has been bringing people together and helping them drive their ambition” shares Mark.
Genesis of Sekura.id
Founded in 2019, Sekura.id is still in its infancy. It was started off with a couple of people, in a garage, but in 2020, the pandemic helped drive the business in unprecedented ways. Having impacted all sectors, it spurred the world to move online and forced people to embrace a digital journey. It was then, that the company grew exponentially, expanding across Europe, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa and India over a short period of time.
In four years, the company has seen massive growth and has already been recognised by industry players for treading innovation. Today, Sekura.id has emerged to be the leading global provider of mobile data, providing trusted, secure, and easy-to-consume solutions for ID verification, anti-fraud and secure online authentication use cases.
Power of Luck in Business Success
Mark believes that success in business is largely based on luck. “When you’re in business and you’re an entrepreneur, luck is important” he illustrates. “AI though working hard, dedication and having the right team around you is important, luck and timing are crucial. You can be recognised as a thought leader, but sometimes it is the luck that takes you there”
Believe in Yourself
True thought leadership is about believing in yourself and the people around you. It is about taking the risk. Mark shares, “The journey of Sekura.id would have been very easy for us if we would take up other types of services, work with credit referencing data, or other forms of data. But we choose mobile identity. We held true and believed in ourselves and our journey, and that’s what has made us the successful company we are today. True thought leadership is believing in yourself and believing in your people!”
“Although working hard, dedication and having the right team around you is important, luck and timing are crucial. You can be recognised as a thought leader, but sometimes it is the luck that takes you there.”
Innovation: Understanding Customer’s Pain Points
When one thinks of innovation, they think of inventing and creating something new. For Mark, innovation is trying to understand the customer’s pain point and simplifying it for them. He shares, “l am very privileged to have what I believe is the best Mobile ldentity team in the world that sits around me and supports me in delivering the vision of Sekura.id and we constantly look at the problem. What is that problem? It’s a cum bersome customer experience and it’s fraud. Fraud sters are very clever, so you’ve got to balance customer experience with security and that’s how we drive innovation today.”
Mark further elaborates, “Also working together, don’t like the word competition, I think it prevents innovation. There are companies that initially looked at us as a competitor, but when we started to talk to them, they realised that we are not competitors, but we are co-operators, so we can come together for the greater good. When you look at Mobile ldentity, we have to educate Mobile Network Operators in the same way. Where Mobile ldentity is concerned, we put them together in a collaborative way. That is how we drive innovation”
Embracing Technology
Mobile Operators are not here to just enable their customers to access the internet via the data connection or to send and receive text messages and calls. The data they hold is unparalleled, they have the best cryptography in terms of SIM cards, which has been around since 1991 and has never been broken.
“When you look at the field we’re in today, we already operate with the most secure technology and that’s a great basis, but what we’re now doing is layering on top of the SIM card to enable Mobile ldentity services and solutions for the banks, e-commerce players, retailers, gaming, gambling, education, medical sector etc. There’s a common theme here that we’re not creating something new, were taking what is already there and improving it” states Mark.
Fostering a Collaborative Team
There are in excess of 700 Mobile Network Operators in the industry today and Sekura.id thrives to get all of them talking to each other and on the same page offering similar services. It is a very cumbersome and difficult task but Mark shows immense faith in his team.
Mark finds in pride sharing, “l am surrounded by the best people in the industry. The people who work at Sekura.id are known as thought leaders in the Mobile Identity space and it comes down to focus. Because this is all we do, the team are talking to Mobile Network Operators, regulators and consumers every single day and that is how we are solving these problems. We’re also working with cross-industry bodies every day, such as MEF, GSMA, and UK Finance to harmonise and bring this together. Sekura.id looks at itself as the conductor of the orchestra and what we’re trying to play is awesome music”.
Envisioning the Future
Sekura.id is on the path to creating what will be seen globally as the identity rails. Mark sees Sekura.id to provide a single touch point, offering a seamless user experience that is 100% secure. He is looking forward to creating the Sekura.id Foundation to support the education sector to help people understand the dangers of the internet, understand digital identity, and how it can help and empower them.
Mark shares, “You look at things around the world where you’ve got the underbanked and the unbanked as well where digital identity can only help improve their lives. This is what I want to challenge in my industry, not to work alone but to come together as one, to change people’s lives and hopefully, 100 years from now the world will be a different place”
