Priscilla Elora Sharuk is the Co-Founder and COO of Cyber Security company Myki, whose mission is to define the future of digital identity. Before taking a leap into her ultimate passion – technology – Priscilla was a Landscape Architect who has worked with the likes of Zaha Hadid. The pitching skills she acquired while building her company inspired her to create “Pitch Please,” a series of interactive workshops to help fellow entrepreneurs optimize their pitch decks and delivery.
Priscilla was named Forbes Top 7 Female entrepreneurs in MENA 2017, she was a finalist at the Brilliant Lebanese Awards 2017, a finalist for Stars of Business Leadership Awards, named Game Changer 2016 by Women’s Health magazine, and Leader of Innovation 2016 by the American University of Beirut.
Priscilla holds a graduate degree from the American University of Beirut, is Lebanese, and speaks English, French and Arabic.
What is your title and what does this involve?
Chief Operations Officer is a fancy name for Growth Hacker. As COO, I lead the business development and outreach for Myki and work to grow and engage our use base. My Co-Founder Antoine leads the product vision, development and execution.
Where do you work in the app industry and what does the company do?
The Myki Password Manager and Authenticator is a mobile application that allows users to seamlessly and securely store and manage passwords as well as personal information including credit cards, government IDs and secure notes. Myki allows you to login to accounts using your fingerprint or Face ID. What is unique about Myki is that it does not store user sensitive data in the cloud. Your data is stored uniquely on your smartphone. Myki is available for free on iPhone and android.
We like to position Myki as both a business and a productivity tool.
Myki Security Report | Launch
What are the big trends you see in the app market right now?
One of the biggest trends now is the rise in crypto wallets! Brace yourselves as Myki will soon be launching its ‘Myki for Crypto Keys’ feature, which will securely backup private keys across devices you are paired with, as well as sign transactions from within the app.
What is the best thing about working in apps and mobile?
We’ve only scratched the surface of what mobile can do and it’s a thrill to be addressing the security and data protection needs of hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses in such as fast paced and ever changing environment.
Our mission is to define the future of digital identity and to execute on that, we need to stay one step ahead of the game. Last week at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin, we announced the -out of Beta- launch of “Myki for Teams,” which allows businesses to manage their team’s passwords and access to company-owned accounts in real time. We have an ambitious product roadmap for the next 12 to 18 months, and we will be rolling out more products and features to cater to our users’ needs.
What is the one thing you’d like to change about the Apps business?
The biggest liability to the Apps ecosystem is the churn rate that many apps face. Users often sign up for an app and never use it. The so-called ‘apps graveyard’ is something I’d love to see fixed. One step in that direction is for users to be more open to providing feedback to help developers optimize these apps. At Myki we value our users’ feedback very much, their continuous input and feedback is the reason behind our success.
If you didn’t work in apps, what would be your dream job?
Before taking a leap of faith and becoming a technology entrepreneur, I was a Landscape Architect. If in my professional life, I hadn’t crossed paths with Antoine, my Co-Founder, and had we not decided to launch Myki together, you would probably find me designing urban spaces, balinese-style residences and eco-friendly parks.
What mobile device do you use?
iPhone 8+, the size allows me to get work done even on the move.
What are your favorite apps and games?
Heads Up is a fun team-building game, Sleep Cycle helps me wake up rested and fresh and, I couldn’t live without Whatsapp I use it day in day out in my personal life and at work.
What do you think of the Apple watch?
I think the Apple watch is one example of the potential that wearables can offer. I see huge potential for the Cyber Security market with these types of devices – keeping your data literally ‘on you’ at all times. Smartwatches and smart wearable devices, with the explosion in artificial intelligence capabilities that we are witnessing, have huge potential to become the next big thing. Oh, and Myki works on the Apple Watch!
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