What’s Next: The Future of Network Authentication and Mobile Identity — An Exclusive Interview with Eddie, CEO of Shush

Find the original post on Medium  by  Jason Malki

I had the pleasure of interviewing Eddie, a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience driving growth and innovation in the technology and telecommunications industries. He is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Shush, which is revolutionizing network authentication. Shush partners with mobile network operators (MNOs) around the world to reduce mobile fraud. Sherlock is Shush’s cloud-based solution, which unlocks additional revenue for MNOs by facilitating network authentication transactions.

Prior to Shush, Eddie served as Regional CEO — Americas for Sekura.id, where he led the company’s expansion in the Americas and Asia regions. Eddie has a proven track record of success in sales, business development, and strategic planning. He has held senior leadership positions at Mavenir, LivePerson, and Tyntec, where he consistently delivered results and exceeded expectations. Throughout his career, Eddie has demonstrated a deep understanding of the market, a passion for technology, and a commitment to building strong relationships with customers and partners.

What motivated you to launch your startup?

When I was the Regional CEO at Sekura, I was responsible for the Americas and Asia, and I was speaking to mobile network operators all over the world. They were all saying the same thing: “We want to do network authentication. We have no idea how to do network authentication. We have no money to buy a platform to do network authentication, and we don’t know where to start….” So, I took this feedback to my Group CEO and was told that we, Sekura, only buy network data from mobile network operators after they launch the service. To which I said, “What are you buying if they have nothing to sell?”

At that point, I realized there was a problem in an industry that, according to McKinsey, has a $300B TAM. Also, A2P SMS OTP is currently a $19B business, and network authentication is projected to be 10 times that. After speaking to some mentors and realizing that network authentication services don’t have a demand problem (banks, fintechs), but rather a supply problem, I understood the opportunity. There are currently 1,000+ mobile network operators globally, and fewer than 100 have launched the service. In reality, that number is closer to 27.

At this point, I called my co-founder, and we launched the company.

What excites you about what you’re building?

Great question. I guess what really excites me about what we are building at Shush is that it’s a solution that is wanted, needed, and no one else saw this huge missing piece in the network authentication ecosystem.

What has been your biggest challenge in growing your startup?

Besides raising capital? Finding the right team members to take my vision from a thought to reality. You can always find smart people, but they need to fit the culture and drive, etc.

What are your future plans for your startup?

Build the leading mobile network authentication solution for mobile network operators. If we do that, then we have succeeded.

If you had to share “words of wisdom” with a founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?

Talk to everyone, run your idea by them, and don’t worry about them “stealing your idea.” Get as much feedback as you can, and if your idea passes the smell test, then do it with as much passion as you can muster.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Sure, on linked in www.linkedin.com/edecurtis on twitter/x @edecurtis and you can follow Shush on both LinkedIn / Shush-inc and on Twitter/X @ShushSherlock