We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Teressa Gehrke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Teressa below.

Hi Teressa, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

The genesis of PopCykol came from observing my 9 year old son figuring out how to bypass the security on his school’s computer. I distinctly remember sitting with my mother and talking to her about how to keep him safe online. I had a small piece of paper in my hand that I had written out some ideas. I wrote down the acronym, P.O.P.C.Y.K.O.L. I played with a few of the words and pronunciation. Then, in a moment, it all came together, Protecting Our Precious Curious Kids On Line. The “Cy” was for the cyber part of cybersecurity. Finally, I landed on the pronunciation of “popsicle” as the name of my company. What could be more fitting for a kid’s company, than a popsicle?

In the next few hours, I researched companies of a similar nature. Yawn! They were boring and dry. Right then and there, I decided PopCykol was not going to be a boring cyber security company. I was going to make it fun for kids. As a children’s music singer-songwriter, I was determined to bring the cute animation of my award-winning kid’s music video, Tub Soup, to PopCykol. I also wanted to have catchy tunes like those from my debut album, Hippity Hop Pop, integrated into my company.

All these ideas flooded my mind and it felt so effortless. I continued to investigate companies and discovered none quite brought the fun and whimsy of what I could bring, the intersection of the human connection to technology, animation, music, and spirit. It was a winning combination.

I also researched the phrase, “Protecting Our Precious Curious Kids On Line” and “PopCykol” and nothing was out there. So, I captured all of the social media sites and handles for my new company and got the domain. It really felt like it was meant to be mine.

PopCykol was blossoming into something special. I reached out to my Tub Soup animator who recommended one of the animation/graphic designers who worked on the video as someone who could bring PopCykol to life. Kemi Oyebade is my go-to person. She has been there from the inception. She helps me conceive of marketing, illustration, web and curriculum development. I named her a co-founder because she is critical to the success of PopCykol.

It all seems like a blur, those first few weeks of development. I have notebooks full of ideas, networking events, connections, webinars, and learning resources because cyber security is an evolving field with fast paced technology. Initially, I wanted to create five learning videos about common cyber security topics, but it was a very costly and time intensive project. Instead, I opted for building an online curriculum about Passwords.

Our Password curriculum is meant to be easy to follow and very accessible to kids and caregivers. We made it fun and engaging with special characters. PopCykol characters resemble penguins. We have three that represent a person’s journey through cyber security. Spicy is a novice. Sweetz is a learner and wants to do what is right online. Savvy is our leader and teacher. Protagonists must have an antagonist, so a natural predator of a penguin is a whale. Ninja Whale is on the lookout for when the penguins make a mistake, like not having a strong enough password or not implementing two-factor authentication.

As humans, we are in a constant battle to protect our data, privacy, and identity. PopCykol guides the novices to the experts in cyber security. It took about a year to develop our first curriculum about Passwords. You’re invited to participate in the curriculum and learn how to better protect your information online.

Teressa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am the Founder & CEO of PopCykol, an emerging cyber security awareness company for kids. It stands for Protecting Our Precious Curious Kids Online. I began working in cyber security in 2014 as a technical writer, user experience designer, and project manager.

I graduated from the University of Denver with a B.A. in Art History and Anthropology. I earned a Master’s in Genetic Anthropology and International Development from Colorado State University and advanced my education studying Network Security at Arapahoe Community College.

I am an award-winning children’s music singer-songwriter, performing as Teressa G & The Monkeys. In 2022, I was nominated for Cybersecurity Woman of the Year by United Cybersecurity Alliance. In 2023, I was a keynote speaker at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and a UN delegate. I am the current Social Media Chair of Women in Cybersecurity Colorado and Vice President of Business and Professional Women of Colorado – Denver chapter.

PopCykol offers a variety of services for kids and adults. We have our PopCykol Tips, which is a 1-page guide about various cyber security topics. They outline the do’s and don’ts of different online behavior. PopCykol offers a Password curriculum on our affiliated school site known as PopCykool (pronounced Pop-School). There are a lot of resources on the school site from a glossary of common cyber terms and we’re creating a Sweetz Web Café for kids to explore cyber.

You can book a speaking engagement for a school, business, and non-profit with a tiered pricing system. Families can also book a personalized presentation that is catered to your needs, such as cyberbullying, online grooming, online etiquette, and more. These speaking engagements are about your needs and suited to you.

We help individuals, schools, and companies, get over the barriers and obstacles standing in their way with regard to being safe and secure online. I’m proud to share that we’ve provided education to academic schools, martial arts schools, STEM organizations, education foundations, to global multi-billion dollar companies. Cyber security is for everyone! I’m very proud that in 2023, I was able to share this knowledge at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women event in New York City. This was definitely a career launching moment that I’m personally very proud of accomplishing.

The main thing customers should know is that your back is covered. We spend a lot of time researching and covering a lot of topics that help guide you to be safe and secure in your digital lives. We’re not afraid to talk about the hard and scary stuff because if we don’t, who will?

When you come to PopCykol or PopCykool we want you to feel welcome on our sites and feel like we are friends where you can reach out to me anytime with your questions. The PopCykol Squad is always finding ways to improve our site and communication. It’s a constant learning process for us too.

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

As the founder and owner of a startup, getting the word out there is still a struggle, especially when you start off and you’re the billing department, management, custodial, and marketing department. A one-woman business is no joke. Lots of late nights trying to perfect content like newsletters, blogs, and videos.

PopCykol isn’t generating enough revenue just yet for me to quit a day job. I’ve been a contractor and consultant for many years working in cyber and contracts typically run 12-18 months. My last one ended in June and I have been applying for work as a senior level technical writer. After two months of job hunting, I was able to secure a role as a cybersecurity technical writer.

I’d love to focus all of my efforts on PopCykol. Maybe this is like the stars aligning and telling me to venture out into the unknown and grow PopCykol now. It’s risky and scary, but it is the dream I have. Plus, so many people have told me that they believe in me and my company, that I don’t want to give up and quit. I want to persevere. I strongly believe that we have a brilliant idea and a service that lots of people need.

We live in a digital environment and it’s so critical to safeguard our information. PopCykol can train, educate, and guide people on that journey.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I know what good and poor managers have done for me. I want to be a good manager for my team. In the past, managers who were good, showed an interest in me as a person. They provided useful and helpful feedback. They valued my input and provided insight into helping me improve professionally. They were also warm and kind. I’m in the unique position that my team is small and it feels like a family. I care deeply about the people who help PopCykol. I make sure we have open, honest communication. We laugh with each other which brings a sense of comradery. I praise good work and hope that it inspires them to do their best and bring quality work to the company. It benefits everyone to do their best because our output is the difference between someone having a negative or a positive interaction online.

Poor managers communicate in a way that is demeaning, condescending, unkind, toxic, and verbally abusive. They focus on what went wrong and can be egotistical. I choose not to associate with people like that and I certainly don’t want to manage like that.

I love what I do and I want that passion for helping others to extend to my team and to kids, families, and companies that we serve.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.popcykol.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popcykol/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/popcykol
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/popcykol
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYtFkcKdfbkjKed4M9ONTg
• Other: PopCykool – Online school site: https://www.popcykool.com/

Image Credits
Gabriela Gjurekovec for the headshot