Possible Security founder: a bigger team does not guarantee better results

Kirils Solovjovs, founder of the cybersecurity group Possible Security, says in an interview with the Latvian business daily Dienas Bizness that one of his biggest challenges in running the company was learning to delegate. He also had to accept that things do not always go exactly as originally planned.

Growth is not a goal in itself

The experience made him reconsider his views on how a company should grow. Over the years he has become convinced that more employees do not necessarily mean better results, because a smaller team can sometimes work more efficiently. For that reason, rapid expansion is not his aim. He considers it more important to maintain high-quality work and a good reputation over the long term.

An interest in computers from childhood

Solovjovs says he became interested in computers at an early age. Unlike many of his peers, who used technology mainly for entertainment, he was more drawn to how devices actually work. At the age of seven he worked on a ZX Spectrum clone that a relative had soldered together himself, and programs had to be written to make it do anything. He also studied the electronic components of devices, and in fourth grade he dreamed of becoming a hacker.

During his primary school years, the so-called Chernobyl computer virus spread, and it could damage the school's computers on a certain date. Solovjovs warned a teacher about the risk but was not taken seriously, so he changed the system date on three school computers. They turned out to be the only three that kept working. He then described the whole incident on four sheets of paper.

A teacher's recollections

His former class teacher and computer science teacher, Aija Lūse, recalls that when Kirils was in seventh grade she received an insulting email signed with another pupil's name. By tracing where it came from, she arrived at Kirils. He first denied responsibility, but three months later came to apologise. He had been curious how she managed to catch him, and this increased his interest in computer networks. Lūse says her investigation earned his respect.