In this John Has Trust Issues episode, we sit down with the CEO and Co-founder of HACKERVerse, Mariana Padilla, to talk about her journey, mission, and insights on cybersecurity and the making of HACKERverse. Mariana continues to share her story on why HACKERverse is revolutionizing cybersecurity sales and her passion for building community and equity in the tech space.
But I absolutely love your tagline. It might get edited out—we’ll see—but I love it. I’m here to shake s**t up. That’s it. You shake s**t up. I absolutely love that. So I definitely want to hear about that.
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of John Has Trust Issues, where we discuss issues relevant to zero trust and authorization in just a few minutes—and a whole bunch of other security topics.
My name is John Martinez. I’m the Security Barista and Technical Evangelist here at StrongDM. And I really like coffee.
I have the honor today of having Mariana Padilla. Mariana, how are you today?
I’m so thrilled to be here. I’ve been looking forward to this all week. Super excited to chat today.
That’s awesome. I’ve been looking forward to this too. Right off the bat, I really like your tagline. You are the CEO of Hackervese, so we want to hear about that for sure. But I absolutely love your tagline—it might get edited out—but I love it. I’m here to shake s**t up. That’s it. Shake it up. I absolutely love that.
So I definitely want to hear about that. Why don’t you introduce yourself to everybody and share your trust issue as well?
Absolutely. Hello everyone. Mariana Padilla, co-founder and CEO of Hackervese. In a previous life, I was a marketer and started my own marketing agency.
Hackervese is working to solve the cybersecurity sales problem, which is where my trust issue lies. The reason Hackervese started was because my co-founder has been in cybersecurity for over 30 years. He’s a sales engineer and discovered that some of the products he was selling for a large MSSP didn’t actually work.
So my trust issue has to do with that. The way cybersecurity is funded and how venture capital operates means the end users are not the priority—revenue is. That shouldn’t be surprising, but it’s still a problem.
We do ourselves a disservice as an industry when we play by those rules. We’ve forgotten that we’re selling peace of mind. That’s what we should be providing—not half-baked or broken products.
That’s my trust issue.
I love that—especially how you’re addressing the experience of the buyer and the user. There’s definitely synergy there with StrongDM. We focus on frustration-free access. Security and user experience don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
No, they don’t. But we love gatekeeping in this industry.
Let’s get into it. You’ve been on a tear lately—I love following your LinkedIn. Why cybersecurity?
It was a twist of fate. I took a hard right into cybersecurity through marketing. I met my co-founder and understood his vision immediately.
I had experienced the pain of buying enterprise software. Clicking “talk to sales” creates existential dread. You get spammed, called, added to lists forever.
All I wanted was to try the product—touch it, use it—without giving up my credit card or being limited.
When my co-founder described a future where you could try before you buy, I got it instantly.
We’re using AI to build proof-of-concept environments in days—sandbox environments that simulate real-world attacks. CISOs and teams can test products before buying them.
Right now, products are bought on reputation, blind trust, or backroom deals. That’s broken.
I’m very mission-driven, and cybersecurity aligns with that. We’re here to protect people.
What do you love about the security community?
It’s a lifestyle. DEF CON is a cultural experience.
People live and breathe security. We’ve tapped into that with community—Discord, brand ambassadors, and more.
I hate the term B2B. You’re always selling to a human. The better you connect people and help them find their tribe, the more successful you’ll be.
Community-led growth is the future.
What makes cybersecurity marketing unique?
It’s done poorly.
There’s too much jargon. Everyone copies each other. You can’t tell vendors apart—same look, same messaging.
We need to radically change how we communicate—internally and externally. Less fear, more clarity, more human.
How do you stand out?
We’re disruptive. We rejected the generic cybersecurity look.
No stock art. No blue network backgrounds. We went cyberpunk—neon, bold, different.
If we can stop someone mid-scroll and make them curious, we’ve won.
You’ve also worked in education. What’s the connection there?
Education is huge, but we’re starting too late.
We shouldn’t focus on college pipelines—we should start in middle school. Coding early. Expanding access. Removing degree requirements.
Diversity of thought is critical. Right now, we’re missing talent, and that’s a vulnerability.
What does zero trust mean to you?
Least privilege. Trust and verify everything.
And stop texting passwords.
Fair enough.
Let’s shift—holiday traditions?
I’m from Northern New Mexico. We do luminarias on Christmas Eve—the real kind with candles.
And I love Thanksgiving. It’s about being together and appreciating each other.
What gives you joy in your work?
Community. Virtual coffees. Real conversations.
When CISOs tell me what we’re building will help them—that’s everything.
What keeps me up at night is balancing venture funding with staying true to our mission. The wrong investor can kill a company.
What advice would you give someone entering cybersecurity?
Network.
Go to events. Join communities. Talk to people.
This industry runs on trust—human trust as much as technical trust.
Also, be helpful. Lead with value. People remember that.
Mariana, thank you so much for being here.
It was such a pleasure. I’m glad we connected.
If people want to reach you, what’s the best way?
LinkedIn. LinkedIn slash “here to shake it up.”
Perfect. We’ll include that.
Thanks everyone for watching. Have a great day.
