Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashlen Mccracken. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ashlen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I knew that I want to create a platform to assist with the ever-growing threat in the digital world. I have degrees in national security and financial crimes investigations so the idea of preventing fraud and protecting those who can’t is near and dear to my heart. I have worked in this field full time for almost five years now and you can see the threat landscape changing. The trends changing. The shift from traditional identity theft or bank account fraud is diminishing. The rise of romance scams via the internet and email compromise is becoming more and more popular. This is something that isn’t going to go away any time soon and something we actually know very little about. Cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated, and we need to be able to keep up. This is something that isn’t going away. We all know someone who knows someone that something like this happened to. That is why I feel like my business will work. There may be other companies that might offer this exact type of business, but the demand is too high. So, I went and got a certificate in cybersecurity. I decided to train myself and get the experience. Because it is not the best company that can always answer the demand but that with the most experience and knowledge in the field. I love researching the new trends and staying on top of them, so I can be the most prepared for my clients.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Growing up, my dad was in the military. It was a big part of my life, and I knew I wanted to do something as important as what he was doing. But the military was out of the question for me due to some personal health reasons. So, I knew the second-best thing I could do was get into government work. Something bigger than myself. But not something political, I wanted to do this for the people, not a party. I went to Baldwin Wallace University for my undergraduate degree. I was able to create my own degree and that was the best option for me. National security and psychology with a legal studies minor was the best option to set me up for my future. I also did extracurriculars to gain leadership experience. Model UN, model NATO, the vice president of operations for my sorority, studied abroad, internships. Once I graduated, I knew I wanted to continue my education. I initially got accepted into one school, which was a great school, for diplomacy. Before starting, I had switched my major to intelligence analytics. Also, during this time, I worked full time at an internship with the General Services Administration and a virtual internship with the State Department. After a year, I decided that the program I was in wasn’t for me and I transferred schools. I found the University of New Haven had a completed online Investigations program and I was able to tailor to myself again. While I completed that master’s program, I had accepted a position with an agency within the Department of Homeland Security to work as an intern. I graduated with my degree in criminal investigations and financial crimes investigations just as I was hitting my three-year mark with the agency. After I completed my degree, the agency offered me a full-time job to put my degrees to use. Today, I am coming up on five years and I still use the knowledge from my degrees and now I am able to put all of that knowledge to my business. Without those opportunities or degrees, my business would not be able to stand where it is today.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was told that the degree I was going to get from college, I was never going to do anything with. That it was just something I had on paper and that I would never be able to find a job with it. But I proved everyone wrong. I went to a school no one heard of, got my degree, got a full-time job within my field of study, moved multiple times to different offices, got a higher education degree, and now started my own business with my degree. If not for those degrees, I would not be in the place I am today. So, I will continue to prove everyone wrong. I will continue to turn heads when people ask about me. I will build a future for the next generation of my family.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That I am not worthy or enough. I was never the popular one and was always the nerd. I kept my head down and just did want needed to be done because it needed to be done. But since branching out and starting my own business. I am the one that needs to be in the front. It needs a face. I make the decisions and call the shots. I am worthy to put my best foot forward for the name and sake of my business and future. This has been incredibly hard for me to unlearn because, for once, I have to put myself first.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.valhallaindustriesllc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valhalla.industries.llc