Episode #465 - From Military-Grade Security to SME Cyber Protection - with Peter Rucinski
Release Date: 03/24/2025
Episode #627: ScaleUp Radio Shorts - Burnout, Boundaries and Better Businesses
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt bring together three powerful conversations from recent ScaleUp Radio guests: Dan Glyde, Megan Robinson and Sam Eaton. Whilst their businesses are very different, they all arrived at remarkably similar conclusions about what it really takes to build a business that grows sustainably. From avoiding burnout to empowering your team and creating systems that scale, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can implement straight away. In this episode we discuss: Why founders should think of themselves as cognitive...
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Episode #626: Closing The Leadership Expectation Gap - with Megan Robinson
ScaleUp Radio
Why do so many talented managers struggle when they step into leadership roles? It's a challenge that affects businesses of every size. High performers are often promoted because they're brilliant at what they do, yet they're rarely given the skills, tools, or support needed to lead people effectively. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent speaks with Megan Robinson, Founder of eLeader Experience, about what she calls the "Leadership Expectation Gap" and why it is costing organisations far more than they realise. Megan shares how businesses can move leaders from being stuck in the...
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Episode #625: Why Authentic Leadership Starts With Looking After Yourself - with Daniel Glyde
ScaleUp Radio
What happens when the very traits that helped you succeed become the ones that push you towards burnout? In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent sits down with Daniel Glyde, founder of Positive Masculinity, to explore how business owners and leaders can build sustainable success by developing a healthier relationship with themselves first. Daniel shares his personal journey from BBC producer to coach, following a severe burnout and panic attack in 2018. His experience led him to challenge the traditional expectations many men place on themselves and ultimately build a business focused on...
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Episode #624: ScaleUp Club - Why You Should Plan for Exit Long Before You Want to Sell - with Helen Bower
ScaleUp Radio
Why should founders start planning their exit years before they intend to leave? That was the theme of this month's ScaleUp Club, where members explored one of the most misunderstood areas of business growth: exit planning. Joining Kevin Brent was returning guest Helen Bower, former owner of Adder Bookkeeping, who successfully sold her business to Fresh Financials Group in 2025 after deliberately building it with a 10-year exit strategy in mind. Helen shared a refreshingly honest account of how she transformed a self-employed role into a scalable business, the systems she put in place, how the...
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Episode #623: Building a Business That Scales Without Losing Its Soul - with Sam Eaton
ScaleUp Radio
Many founders dream of building a business that gives them freedom, impact and financial success. The challenge is that what gets a business to £1m rarely gets it to £4m and beyond. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Sam Eaton, founder of MindAbility, a business that helps HR and talent entrepreneurs build successful businesses on their own terms. Sam shares lessons from scaling her own HR business from £650k to £4.3m, the systems that made growth possible, and why founders need to rethink leadership, culture and accountability as their organisations grow. From...
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Episode #622: ScaleUp Shorts: The Founder Psychology Behind Better Decisions, Better Teams and Better Growth
ScaleUp Radio
This episode is created using AI What do a wine entrepreneur, a decision-science expert, and an occupational psychologist have in common? More than you might think. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt revisit three fascinating conversations with Jamie Smith of EcoSip, Dr Magda Du Preez of GetSense.net, and Tameron Chappell of athinka. Together, they uncover a common theme that sits at the heart of so many scaling challenges: founder psychology. From letting go of the superhero mindset to building decision-making guardrails and avoiding emotionally-driven...
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Episode #621: How EcoSIP Reinvented Wine Packaging and Built a Defensible ScaleUp - with Jamie Smith
ScaleUp Radio
What happens when a pandemic destroys your original business model? For Jamie Smith and his co-founder Alex, it became the catalyst for creating an entirely new category within the wine industry. Starting as a wine retailer and tasting club, they quickly discovered that shipping glass bottles was expensive, inefficient and environmentally problematic. Rather than accept the challenge, they spent three years developing a proprietary wine pouch capable of preserving and ageing wine in a way that mimics a traditional glass bottle and cork. Today, EcoSIP works with major brands including Naked...
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Episode #620: Mastering Better Decisions - with Magda Du Preez
ScaleUp Radio
How often do business owners make decisions they later regret? Whether it's hiring, investment, strategy, pricing or growth, most founders like to believe they make rational decisions. Yet the reality is that emotions influence almost every business decision we make. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by psychologist, researcher and entrepreneur Magda Du Preez, founder of GetSense.net. Following years of academic research into decision-making and cognitive bias, Magda has developed practical tools that help entrepreneurs and leaders make better decisions under pressure....
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Episode #619: ScaleUp Radio Short - Building a Business Worth Selling
ScaleUp Radio
Most business owners spend years building their company, yet very few spend any time building an exit strategy. In this month's ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt explore why exit planning isn't really about leaving your business. It's about creating a stronger, more valuable, and less owner-dependent company today. The reality is sobering. For many founders, their business is their most valuable asset after their home, yet the vast majority have no formal exit plan. Even fewer achieve the outcome they hoped for when they eventually sell. The good news? The same...
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Episode #618: Leaders need to recognise when they’re not the best leader for their business - with Tameron Chappell
ScaleUp Radio
Why do so many businesses hit a ceiling at around 10 employees? Many founders start their business because they're brilliant at what they do. In the early days, decisions are fast, communication is simple, and the founder sits at the centre of everything. Then the business grows. Suddenly, what made the business successful starts to become the thing holding it back. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent speaks with Tameron Chappell, founder of Athinka, a business psychology consultancy that helps organisations build healthier, higher-performing teams using evidence-based...
info_outlineIn this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I sit down with Peter Rucinski, co-founder of Assure Technical, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and how his company has evolved to provide cybersecurity solutions for SMEs.
Originally focused on high-value military and infrastructure projects, Assure Technical pivoted in 2016 to serve small and medium-sized enterprises, helping them navigate the increasingly complex world of cybersecurity. Today, they offer services like Cyber Essentials certification, penetration testing, and security audits to businesses that may not have dedicated security expertise in-house.
Peter’s leadership style has been shaped by his Royal Navy background and a unique 18-month sailing adventure with his family, which forced him to balance running his business remotely while navigating the unpredictability of life at sea. His experience has given him deep insights into risk management, problem-solving, and maintaining resilience—all of which are critical in both sailing and cybersecurity.
During our conversation, Peter shares practical advice for SMEs looking to improve their cybersecurity posture, including:
🔹 Why simply acknowledging cybersecurity as a priority can make a significant difference
🔹 How adopting the UK government's Cyber Essentials standard can mitigate 80% of common cyber risks
🔹 Why AI security doesn’t require special treatment beyond standard IT best practices
We also dive into the challenges of scaling a cybersecurity business, from balancing sales and delivery capacity to attracting and retaining skilled talent in a competitive market. Peter explains how digital marketing, automation tools like Zapier, and strategic partnerships have helped Assure Technical continue to scale while maintaining high service standards.
Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.
For now, continue listening for the full story from Peter.
Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.
If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:
https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin
You can get in touch with Kevin here:
Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!
Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.
More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/
Peter can be found here:
Resources:
Zapier - https://zapier.com/
BitOffender - https://www.bitdefender.com/