February 27, 2024 • 40 mins
Josie Keck, a cybersecurity trailblazer from Open Text, joins us to uncork a celebration of her nine-year journey, and it's an episode brimming with insights and reflections. We crack open the complexities of being a woman in tech, acknowledging the barriers Josie's crushed along the way. Her story is more than just a tale of personal triumph; it's a beacon for diversity and inclusion, shedding light on the pivotal roles women play in driving innovation. Small and medium-sized businesses, take heed: Josie lays down the cybersecurity gauntlet, proving it's not just a big enterprise game but a universal imperative.
Raising a glass to collaboration, our discussion traverses the landscape of the cybersecurity industry, where sharing a pint with the competition isn't taboo—it's strategy. Josie illustrates a world where the line between rival and ally blurs, as we all shoulder the responsibility of protecting our collective digital neighborhood. With mentorship, networking, and a commitment to perpetual learning as the industry's lifeblood, we paint a picture of a tech community where everyone's success is interlinked. It's about uniting for the greater good, one circuit at a time.
Finally, we kick back with some Relax Hazy IPA, letting the conversation flow as freely as the brew. Josie's insights into communication and relationship-building strike a chord, reminding us that the beating heart of technology still pulses with human connection. We share stories of exceptional customer service triumphs and the enduring power of a human touch amidst the wired world. So, raise your glass with us—this episode is a toast to the innovators, the educators, and the relentless pursuit of a more inclusive future in tech. Cheers to the journey!
This Episodes Beers:
Space Dust, IPA
Elysian Brewing Company
https://www.elysianbrewing.com/beer/space-dust-ipa
Blueprint IPA
Birds Fly South Ale Project
https://untappd.com/b/birds-fly-south-ale-project-the-bluprint-ipa/1857263
Relax Hazy IPA
Offshoot Beer Company
https://www.thebruery.com/products/relax
Dank Side of the Moon New England Style IPA
3rd Planet Brewing Company
https://www.3rdplanetbrewing.com/our-beers/
Sponsor of this episode: Digital Boardwalk
Digital Boardwalk is one of the top 10 Managed IT Service Providers in the United States. If you are seeking to outsource your IT Management, or if your IT Team could use some help with projects or asset management, give Digital Boardwalk a call today! They offer a FREE IT Maturity Assessment on their website. If you want to see how your business's IT scores against industry standards, go to GoModernOffice.com now.
Thanks for listening!
Visit us online at www.thenerdsontap.com
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Follow us on Instagram
Like us on Facebook
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tim Shoop (00:08):
Hey everyone, welcome to Lucky episode number 13 of
Nerds On Tap.
Today's show is called BreakingBarriers Women in tech, with
special guest Josie Keck of OpenTech, one of the largest
providers of cybersecuritysolutions, among many other
things, and one of DigitalBoardwalk's favorite partners.
(00:30):
Speaking of Digital Boardwalk,today's show is once again
brought to you by DigitalBoardwalk, an industry-leading
managed IT services provider,providing IT support,
infrastructure management andcybersecurity to businesses
across the United States.
So a little bit about today'sguest, josie Keck.
(00:50):
She is a highly motivated,energetic and goal-oriented task
leader with barrier-breakingconfidence and a strong drive
for success.
Diverse experience, trainingand educational background which
provided strong foundations forrelationship building and
success across multicultural andsocioeconomic business groups.
(01:15):
She works with security and ITexperts like me to increase
productivity in the modernworkplace while reducing cyber
risk.
This is her ninth year at is ityour ninth year at River Open
Tech?
Twenty-ten?
All right, they do a few things, but for today, we're going to
(01:37):
focus on the fact that you're achannel first provider of
cloud-enabled cybersecurity,compliance and productivity
services, with 18,000 strongreseller community.
Wow, like us, digital Boardwalk, right?
We're your favorite partner,right?
Yeah, to protect tens ofthousands of businesses
(01:59):
worldwide against a growing listof dangerous online threats.
I've gotten a known Josie overthe years, considered more than
a partner but a friend, and I'dlike to welcome you to the show,
the lovely, the talented JosieKeck, everybody.
Josie Keck (02:16):
That was a lot.
Thank you, tim, very excited tobe here.
Lucky number 13,.
I did not know that, so evenbetter, and this is my very
first podcast, so I'm excited tobe here, and I mean for my
first one, the best one, sohappy to be here.
Thank you, tim, excited to havethis conversation with you.
Tim Shoop (02:33):
And you get to drink beer.
Josie Keck (02:35):
Yes.
Tim Shoop (02:36):
And IPAs.
Josie Keck (02:37):
Can you pick my favorite beer?
Tim Shoop (02:39):
And you brought donuts.
Josie Keck (02:40):
Yes, I did.
Tim Shoop (02:41):
Well, I'm on a diet.
Josie Keck (02:42):
I mean, you can't have half Everything in
moderation, all right.
Tim Shoop (02:47):
Well, josie, today we're going to cover three
segments in the show.
I'm going to go ahead andsummarize them.
So the first thing we're goingto get into is your
cybersecurity journey, yourjourney, where Josie's going to
discuss her inspiring journey tothe world of cybersecurity and
technology.
Then we're going to get intowomen in tech, where Josie will
(03:07):
discuss her passion to inspireother girls to enter the
industry and, of course,diversity and inclusion plays a
big part in our discussion today.
And then we're going to getinto the importance of
cybersecurity for small tomedium-sized businesses and why
it can't be an option anymore,right?
So, josie, have you listened toNerds on tap before?
Josie Keck (03:30):
Yes, I've listened to every single episode.
Tim Shoop (03:33):
So what happens first ?
Josie Keck (03:35):
What happens first, we get to taste our first beer.
Tim Shoop (03:37):
We get to taste our first beer and you asked for
IPAs.
We mentioned that before.
And why did you request IPAs?
Is it because you like them orbecause you heard I get
headaches from them?
Josie Keck (03:49):
Yes and yes, just kidding, I really like IPAs.
Back a few years ago, I did notdrink beer at all and my
husband introduced me, thenintroduced me to IPAs and I love
IPAs.
I cannot drink.
I don't drink the other beers,I only drink IPAs, and the
hoppier the better.
Tim Shoop (04:08):
Yeah, I like a good hoppy IPA.
I just wish I wasn't.
I had to switch to Pilsner'sand just to avoid that, but I
can drink an IPA without gettinga headache.
It's once I hit the fourth orfifth one.
Josie Keck (04:21):
Okay.
Tim Shoop (04:21):
Oh, is that normal.
Josie Keck (04:23):
Yeah, probably.
Okay, it's pretty cool when Igo out with the guys and they'll
work.
I'm in the man-dominatedindustry and we go to bar and
somebody one of the guys orderedtruly, and then I order an IPA.
There's always that.
Tim Shoop (04:35):
That's funny.
Yes, all right, without furtherado suds, what do we got first?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcometo Nerds On Tach.
I'm your host, tim Schu, and Icouldn't be more excited to
embark on this nerdy adventurewith all of you.
(04:56):
So grab your favorite brew,because things are about to get
exciting.
Suds (05:04):
Three, two, one go, All right.
Our first beer of the day,Dinkside of the Moon, from the
third planet brewing companyright here in a niceville,
Florida.
It's a New England style IPA.
Dinkside of the Moon isbursting with juicy hop flavor
and aroma, heavily dry hop withcitro, mosaic and El Dorado hops
.
This beer is intenselydrinkable thanks to restrained
(05:25):
bitterness and a soft full bodyto match its juicy profile.
Tim Shoop (05:29):
Yeah, the bitter is understated.
That is, that has got a verystrong bitterness.
Josie Keck (05:36):
Very good.
Tim Shoop (05:39):
Great Josie, what do you?
Josie Keck (05:41):
think Very good, I like it.
Tim Shoop (05:44):
Well, you're gonna now.
Josie was asking us before theshow if she had to drink all
these beers and we said well,all of our listeners out there
may try to look you up and ragon you for not drinking all the
beers, because you can't come ona beer show and not drink
what's put in front of you.
Josie Keck (06:05):
Well, what I did not tell you to is that I am here
also from Mardi Gras thisweekend, so I have to pace
myself.
Tim Shoop (06:12):
Okay.
Josie Keck (06:13):
But I would do my best and drink all the beer.
Tim Shoop (06:15):
Now I pace myself every time I come to an open
text event right or a conferencewhere I run into you guys.
Josie Keck (06:22):
Absolutely.
Tim Shoop (06:23):
Oh yeah, we're not gonna talk about any of those
stories.
Josie Keck (06:26):
No, you're always, you're the really gay.
Tim Shoop (06:31):
I'm referring to my birthday.
Josie Keck (06:34):
Oh, that's so yeah, okay.
Tim Shoop (06:37):
We'll save that, unless you want to talk about it
.
Josie Keck (06:40):
We do that for a different episode.
Tim Shoop (06:42):
So let's get into our first segment and let's talk
about your journey.
Now, this is what makes thisextra special is and to kind of
focus on today's episode is youare a woman.
The United States is not yourfirst country.
Josie Keck (07:01):
Correct.
Tim Shoop (07:02):
And you're in tech, yes.
So this is a triple whammy,ladies and gentlemen, and I'm so
excited to talk to Josie aboutthis.
So that's the.
That's my favorite part.
So let's start with, let's kindof ease into it.
So citizenship had to be anemotional day.
Josie Keck (07:21):
Yes.
Tim Shoop (07:22):
Tell me about that.
Let's go back.
How long ago was that?
Josie Keck (07:25):
It was probably 10 years ago, it was.
It was very special because Iwaited to become a citizen.
You can live here, be legal andyou don't have to become a
citizen.
When somebody from a differentcountry takes the step to become
a US citizen is a choice, it'snot something that is forced
upon you.
The government doesn't requireyou to become a citizen.
I was blessed enough that thejudge asked me to be the speaker
(07:49):
that day on behalf of 99 othernew citizens Wow.
And we were not allowed to takecameras in there, so we don't
have the recording, but I havethe still have the speech that I
wrote.
You know I start.
I just had sworn.
You know that I gave up mycitizenship in my other country.
I'm an American citizen andit's very emotional when you say
(08:10):
that you, you renounce in yourcountry of birth, you renounce
in everything to be this newperson.
So when I got back up there,first thing that I my greeting
was good morning my fellowAmericans.
So that was very emotional.
And talk about my children, myjourney to be here, how we all
chose to be here.
So that was very special.
But you know, just going alittle back, when I first got
(08:34):
here, I arrived in this country,I was 21 years old, a woman by
myself.
I had a thousand dollars in asuitcase and I didn't speak any.
English and I came with a dreamto go to school and go back to
Brazil.
I wanted to get a master'sdegree in business and go back
to Brazil and I did not knowwhat I want to do.
But I knew what I did not wantto do.
Tim Shoop (08:55):
And that's why.
Josie Keck (08:55):
I came.
I came here looking for a dream.
Tim Shoop (08:59):
So a lot of tears that day, I'll bet.
Josie Keck (09:01):
Absolutely yeah.
Tim Shoop (09:02):
My mom got.
Rest her soul.
She, she German.
I have German heritage.
My mom was full on German.
English was her second language.
She chose to become a citizen.
My dad was in the army.
They met overseas and I heard Iheard that story over and over
and how emotionally, liketriumphant, that day was for her
(09:25):
to just become part ofsomething you know big.
Josie Keck (09:30):
You're taking me back in time and I'm I'm feeling
it.
It was very emotional and, justbeing where we are today, as an
immigrant and somebody whochose to be here and chose to
become part of this country, thesociety, I think that I
appreciate things a lot more attimes than people who lived here
their whole life.
I embrace this country as mine,the culture, everything to me
(09:52):
is, it's my life.
Tim Shoop (09:54):
So you, um, you listened to our show and you
were listening to the show withGeo Zalaya and the taco people.
When he brought the tacos andyou heard me say some things on
that show that I I told him Iwould have you go to Brazil a
lot, right, so you were going tobring beer back for him.
Josie Keck (10:13):
I called you out last night.
I was waiting to see him and Iwent, tim, I listened to.
You were talking about me andyour podcast.
You told him that, yep, she canbring some Brazilian beer back
from you.
Tim Shoop (10:25):
I think I was most impressed in that conversation
last night that you listen toour show.
I, you know.
You know we're still a growingshow and it's nice to hear that
people are listening to it.
So thank you for that.
Josie Keck (10:39):
And after today we're going to really push
everybody.
My my team is they're going tohave to listen to.
I listened to my partner'spodcast and share that with you.
My morning routine.
I get up, I go to the gym and Ilisten to my partner's podcasts
or whatever they're doing,because I want to know what
you're doing.
I want to know what you'retalking about.
I wanted to understand yourbusiness.
I want to understand youbecause to me is not, I'm not
(11:01):
selling you things we'rebuilding this relationship.
Before I get to know you.
I better understand yourbusiness model, the better I can
help you.
Tim Shoop (11:10):
Yeah, no, and that's that's totally understandable.
So tell me how share?
Share with us your journey intothe world of cybersecurity and
technology sales.
What inspired you to pursuethis path?
Josie Keck (11:23):
So my dream I really want to go to law school first.
Tim Shoop (11:27):
Okay.
Josie Keck (11:27):
And, and then I was working at Fred Levin's law firm
here in town.
Tim Shoop (11:32):
I saw that on LinkedIn.
Josie Keck (11:33):
So I was working there.
I worked there for five yearsand I wanted to go to law school
.
I was going through the processacceptance and all that and
then something happened,personally, that impeded me from
going with my family that Icould not go to law school.
So I'm like, well, I don't wantto be a paralegal, that's not
what I want to be.
I want to really be hands onhelping people.
I want to get into sales.
But I had no sales experience.
So I'm like so I contact a fewfriends in town.
(11:56):
They say, well, at River is agreat company to work for.
Go talk to them, see if you canget a job there.
Well, I did go get a job insales.
And this is how.
How little background intechnology.
I had One of the questions it'sembarrassing, but it's not
embarrassing because I embracethis part of me, or who I am
today, of my growth.
One of the questions that theyasked me was what's a domain?
(12:20):
And I said I don't know.
Tim Shoop (12:23):
That's where I live.
Josie Keck (12:26):
I don't know her.
I am like I honestly don't know.
And App River gave me a chancealmost 10 years ago and I
started working on the directside of the house where I talked
to people who did not knowwhatever I click on them out,
open your window.
Which window?
You know, and then I talked toCTOs of larger companies who
(12:47):
knew way above that I couldunderstand at the time and in
everybody at App River.
App River was very customerfocused, very.
You know, it's a family.
We still have our appers.
Tim Shoop (12:59):
Phenomenal customer care Phenomenal.
Josie Keck (13:01):
We call ourselves appers to this day with CTO.
Hey, there's an apper here,we're App River, mike Murdock,
joe, amazing, amazing familyRight.
Suds (13:12):
Yeah.
Josie Keck (13:13):
And they taught me everything that I know.
Tim Shoop (13:14):
So, yes, Talk to me about that just briefly before
we continue your journey.
Tell the audience so we can getit in this first segment.
Where that care comes from?
It comes from the culture,obviously Culture.
So how's that culture built?
Josie Keck (13:32):
The culture's built about taking care of people and
taking care of each other.
Right, I am the account managerof Digital Boardwalk, but when
Digital Boardwalk calls ourcustomer care, support or
billing, that's not my customer,that's our customer.
Suds (13:45):
That's good, you are our partner.
Josie Keck (13:47):
That's good.
I'm not going to lie to you.
Like I take care of you, Iexpect the customer care support
to take care of you with thesame care.
I like to say you know you havemy cell number.
If something would havehappened at 11 pm and I you know
that you can call me.
Tim Shoop (14:00):
Have you ever heard from me after hours?
Josie Keck (14:02):
No, you have not, but you know if something.
But I have partners in the pastwho have called me like 11
o'clock, text me and say, hey, Ihave a nurse and medic and you
have, of course, and if.
I'm awake, I would take care ofyou.
I would you know like we aremore than just clients, partners
.
We are, we're in this togetherand this cybersecurity business
(14:23):
together to take care of eachother.
Tim Shoop (14:24):
Yeah, and that's an important you bring that up and
that's so important to rememberbecause anytime someone gets
into business and and this isn'tmy first rodeo, digital prior
to Digital Boardwalk, I'vealways been in the tech business
, though, you know, andeverybody gets into business, no
matter what industry, whatvertical, it's always about it's
(14:45):
me against the competitors.
You know you don't want to workwith competitors, but our
industry is so awesome becausewe all cross that divide, or at
least I would say all the onesthat get it, cross that divide
and say there's power in numbers, because the future, the future
of protecting small to mediumbusinesses and enterprise, isn't
(15:08):
about just putting it, puttingall those eggs in one basket and
thinking that one managedservice provider or one
cybersecurity company or oneMSSP can handle everything.
It's about everybody, you know,protecting segments of
customers and working togetherand crossing that divide to help
(15:29):
one another.
Isn't that what you see?
And isn't that special?
I mean, I sit, I, you know,co-chair peer group for OpenTex
and I see it in that group andthe fact that we all come
together, we hang out together,we network together, we ask
questions hey, what are youdoing about this?
How are you helping youremployees stay ahead of the
(15:52):
training curve.
Just one you know and everybodyshares, and nobody is scared to
share with one another.
Why do you think that is?
Josie Keck (15:59):
Oh, it's so amazing Me being a relationship.
You know that's my foundationto me, like I nurture those
relationships and when we go tothe peer group, I like to say
something I feel like amatchmaker when I see you and
Lewis, you know, connecting andhelping exchange.
Tim Shoop (16:15):
I like Lewis.
Josie Keck (16:16):
I like him too.
He's like a brother to me.
Tim Shoop (16:18):
We're going to find out today if he listens to the
show.
Josie Keck (16:20):
We're going to find out.
Tim Shoop (16:21):
Go ahead, go ahead.
Josie Keck (16:24):
So you know, just find it seeing you guys connect
and helping each other outbecause you can do everything.
This cybersecurity world.
It's so complex and so bigYou're really not competing with
anybody Like there's no,there's so much business, so
much going on out there for usto be helping our customers and
(16:44):
helping each other out.
So when I see y'all connectingand developing relationships,
it's funny idea.
My roadshow, which you did notgo to, and for Lauderdale, maybe
next year I could make that oneyeah.
So my James Bond themed you knowroadshow and at the end I got
asked by several partners hey,can you share everybody's
(17:05):
contact information?
I had great conversation but wewere so busy.
So we have a plan for next yearhow we're going to make sure
everybody gets connected.
It's so important.
We're better together, and thatwas the motto of Zix better
together.
Suds (17:21):
When.
Josie Keck (17:21):
Zix and I forever became together.
I mean, we used to.
I used to talk about it.
It was the best arrangedmarriage ever.
When Zix and I forever cametogether, the culture just just
was in what we would say we'rebetter together.
Yeah, we're better together.
The MSPs are better together.
Tim Shoop (17:38):
Better together, power and numbers, overcoming,
you know, diverse situations andbuilding a better world
together.
Now I sound like a cliche, butit is what it is.
Josie Keck (17:51):
It is, and every customer is different.
Every customer is me.
There's, like this, commonground, what we need to work on,
but everybody has theirspecific things that you need to
work through, so it's not justnumbers.
When you are a partner, youwork differently than the
partner down the road, so weneed to adjust to make sure.
That's why I was telling you Ilistened to your podcast.
(18:11):
You know I like to haveconversations with you.
I like to sit at the table andlisten to you talk to the other
part.
I'm always learning.
Tim Shoop (18:19):
That's the beauty of this industry.
Josie Keck (18:20):
We're always learning.
Tim Shoop (18:21):
Everybody should be always learning.
You see all the books under myshelves.
I mean, I read books constantlyand I'm constantly doing
research to learn how to do.
It's not just about how to dotech better, but how to treat
our people better, how to liftthem up and take them along a
better path, how to handleservice operations better.
(18:47):
How can we be more efficient?
How can we take things off ofsomebody's work plate and
automate it so to make theirjobs a little easier, so they
can be more consistent andefficient with what they do?
It all goes around, and booksand education are the key to
(19:07):
getting better and mentorship,Absolutely.
Josie Keck (19:11):
You know I don't read as much, but I listen to
audiobooks.
Tim Shoop (19:14):
Yeah, same.
Thing.
Josie Keck (19:16):
I'm always.
If I'm working now at the gymor doing, I'm always listening
to audiobooks.
I was going to mention too, intoday's business world,
everybody's acquiring, everybodyin companies are getting bigger
.
So it's so important to alwayskeep even though we're a
technology company, in the techbusiness, the human touch, the
(19:40):
human feeling.
The warmth has to stay, becausepeople, they buy from people,
they don't buy from companies.
Tim Shoop (19:48):
It's very easy to go order things online.
You hit it right on the headPeople buy from people.
We're in the people businessright.
People business first machines.
Josie Keck (20:01):
Yeah.
Tim Shoop (20:01):
Second Right.
Josie Keck (20:03):
We need the machines , but without people too.
Tim Shoop (20:05):
Yeah, so that's good.
That's a good segue into mynext question.
Okay, so how have yourexperiences in the technology
industry impacted your life andwhat changes have you observed
in the industry over the years?
Wow, that's a, it's a, it's awhopper, and you know so how.
(20:28):
How have your experiences inthe industry impacted your life,
maybe professionally andpersonally, like, what did it
change for you?
What?
What did it really?
I mean, we already got into it.
Yep, you have a passion forthis.
Your passion is relationshipsand communication.
You're good at both of thosethings.
(20:50):
So tell me how all that ties into the impact.
Maybe, maybe on your, maybeyour kids are picking up a vibe
from you.
Maybe they want to get in thetech industry.
That might be the impact.
Because that's huge?
Yeah, because our kids are thefuture.
When we're, you know, gone,they're gonna lead the charge.
Josie Keck (21:09):
It's amazing.
I never in my life thought itwould be in the in the tech
industry.
I never saw myself as a nerd,and here I am.
You don't have to look to beone, and I find myself nerdy now
in a lot of things.
I'm not into video games, intolike, like decade, but I like to
learn new things.
I like to learn new technologyand I mean to me.
(21:29):
It just it has helped me growas a grow as a person.
But in this industry there'snot.
I mentioned to one of ourleaders the other day.
I had a meeting with him and Isaid the beauty about our job in
our industry.
There's no one day that goes bythat I can say I don't learn
anything new today, right, thisindustry is expanding, it's
(21:49):
growing, is evolving and I'veseen myself grow.
I'm happy.
Like you know, I wanted to be alawyer.
Thank God I did not become alawyer, but I am happy where I
am and and to be in technologyand I know we're gonna get into
this a little bit about womenand technology.
A lot of younger women peoplethink when you talk to them they
think to be in technology haveto be behind the computer coding
(22:12):
or the dark basement.
There's so much in technologythat we women can impact from
cells, market, even thetechnology itself, because we
women have a differentperspective of life.
We see life differently.
That it's not better than man,is not worse is just as
different, and we need to havethat diversity.
I can look at something from mypoint of view.
(22:35):
You will see different and youneed to hear from me how do I
see it to make it better.
Because now the technology thatwe have, that we're building,
is not just for me and is forwomen, for all of us you know we
went to dinner last night.
Tim Shoop (22:48):
My wife Kathleen was with us, and you know.
Kathleen yeah, she's awesome,right, you know I'm not just
saying that because we're on air.
She is awesome.
She is listening.
She does listen to the show,usually with the kids riding in
the car, and then they call meout going.
Why are you talking about me onthe show?
But no, she's a woman in technow.
(23:09):
She was a technical recruiterprior to joining digital
boardwalk, but from you knowdeep dive technical
troubleshooting and nerdy things.
I'm a nerd, right, she has ashirt, says I love my geek.
That's another for another timebut, yeah, but she, you know she
(23:32):
doesn't know how to do allthose things, but she leads the
charge, she's our VP of sales,she runs our sales division and
she does a really good jobworking with people.
So if you're people first whichdigital boardwalk is at River
Zix?
Open text is if you're a peoplefirst company in the IT
(23:52):
industry, you're going to doreally well because we're
relationship builders and that'swhat she does and she fits into
the mold perfectly, just likeyou do, josie yeah, there's so
much to do.
Josie Keck (24:04):
Like I said, as a woman in this industry, it's it.
There's.
It's not just coding or beingin front of the computer, and
you will know as you work and,like I've been here, you know
I've been here with thatfavorite open text for almost
ten years now and sometimes Idon't see myself as in
technology because it justnatural.
Now, sometimes, when I have totrain new people or talk to
(24:26):
somebody, I look back, think Iknow a lot about the stuff.
Tim Shoop (24:29):
Yeah, you know, because, like you're learning
every day and then it just, andit makes you feel great when you
yeah yes.
Josie Keck (24:36):
And to me going back to your question, how that has
that impact to you, it has shownmy kids, like today.
When you posted that onLinkedIn, I sent it to my kids
you did yes, and my youngest son, who's you know he's a mama's
kid.
He texts me back and said I'mso proud of you, mom, and that
is oh my god, you're gonna makeme cry, josie that is like
that's one thing that you wantto hear from your kid.
(24:57):
I want to make you proud andthey want to make you proud too,
but to me as if I want to behis role model.
You know, and I hear him tellinghis friends or girl oh, my mom
came here from another country,like you're telling about your
mom, you know, and to me that'slike the biggest compliment of
my life my kids.
Yeah, I'm making an impact inalong.
I have kids, friends who havelittle kids.
(25:19):
I think that I mentioned toyesterday that I've been looking
to writing a little technicalbooks for little kids, so I
actually wrote this first one.
I'll tell you when thispublished, we'll see.
It's about telling this littlegirl, this little girl asking
her mom about AI really andshe's only like three years old
maybe okay this is a, so this isa children's book.
Tim Shoop (25:41):
Okay, I would love to get the title of that yes, so
it's just like.
Josie Keck (25:46):
Like she's asking mom what's an AI and mom is
explaining to her she's that'sfall.
They're like a short littlething, but just to get a little
kids minds yeah about it.
You know, our kids are ourfuture.
Tim Shoop (25:56):
They are gonna take over and they're growing up in
it.
I mean, we had to learn it.
I mean, here's the thing.
Going back to my first computer, I was lucky enough.
My dad bought me a computerwhen he was 13.
Now, later in life, he neverreally told me hey, I'm proud of
you, son, because in my youngerlife I didn't do a whole lot to
(26:17):
make him proud.
But he was here with me at anevent, at digital boardwalk,
that I was putting on for allour customers and we were
honoring my mom.
I had her picture in a frame nowand Joel was here.
Joe and Mike actually were bothhere at that event.
It was gumbo fist back in 2016and my dad took me inside at
(26:39):
that point yeah, I'm gonna cry.
And he told me, son, I'm proudof you First time I ever heard
it.
Then he reminded me by the wayyou know, I got you your first
computer.
Oh, he wanted to let me knowhe's proud of me, but I'm going
to take credit for your success.
Josie Keck (26:57):
Yeah, I got your first computer Isn't that
awesome.
No, and I thought about today,driving here, thinking like I
did not work in the time thatthere wasn't computer.
There weren't computers, so Iwas thinking and often I stop
and I think how do people dotheir jobs?
Suds (27:12):
Yeah.
Josie Keck (27:14):
You know, and we're going to get a little more into
AI and other things here.
Tim Shoop (27:16):
Yeah, we'll talk about it in.
We're actually going to getinto women in tech in the next
segment.
But while I'm reading this nextquestion, I'm going to go ahead
and ask you this this is amouthful.
I'll let you catch up on yourbeer drinking because you're
falling behind and we're almostto segment two.
So let's talk about yourexpertise in helping MSPs manage
(27:37):
service providers like digitalboardwalk, find the right SAS
tools for cybersecurity,productivity and compliance For
this segment.
Let's get because we're insegment one in your journey.
Let's focus on your expertise.
We'll get into cybersecurity insegment three.
(27:59):
I want to talk about yourexpertise in regards to that
question.
Now, I mentioned communicationskills.
You got great communicationskills and you're really good at
relationship building.
So let's stay on that topic andlet's talk about how all that
ties together to help me.
And you know, maybe let's usemaybe some case studies.
(28:24):
Let's go back and think aboutsome of the things you may have
done when it came to me.
I remember the first time Iever talked to you was on a
phone call, and what did I sayto you?
You can tell the audience I'mnot going to be ashamed, but
what did I ask you not to do onthat very first phone call where
(28:46):
we spoke.
Josie Keck (28:47):
I never thought I would tell the story, but I will
tell so something you know,technology is great when it
works and technology is now whenit will fail Right the whole.
When it fails.
What do we do when it fails?
You will hear me talk about youbeing cyber secure and cyber
resilient, and we can get laterto what does that mean?
Tim Shoop (29:06):
Yeah.
Josie Keck (29:06):
But something happened to one of our servers
and it caused some issues withone of your customers.
One of your customers was veryupset.
Tim Shoop (29:13):
Now, just to pause, this happens across the entire
industry, not just with yourservers, and it's happened with
other partners but as a leaderand taking care of my customers,
what did I?
I want to focus in on the badthing I did.
Josie Keck (29:28):
Well.
So Tim, he's very passionate.
He cares about his customers.
When something bad happened tohis customer, he wants the
result.
I was out of town.
I was at a partner visit inAtlanta and I got a message
saying Tim Schup call fromdigital world walk.
He's very upset.
He left a voicemail and Iimmediately even has let's get
on the phone.
I was getting ready to go tomeeting.
I got my manager on the phoneand we got it in and she and I
(29:53):
talked him through what washappening, how we're going to
fix it, how we're going to makeit better and what the plan that
we had and everything.
And one thing that Tim asked me.
He said Josie, please do notlisten to the voice.
Tim Shoop (30:07):
I'm a look, and here's the thing my goal was to
take care of my customers.
We didn't really know eachother yet, correct?
But we're sitting here today,many moons later, right, and I'm
still your partner, yep.
So, leading back to thatquestion, what did you do?
Josie Keck (30:30):
I did not listen to the voice.
Tim Shoop (30:34):
But then you told me, and you assured me you weren't
going to listen to it.
But then you stepped intoaction.
Now I made a phone call rightbefore this show to stand the
man, uh-oh, and I asked him tellme one thing that you and your
coworkers know about Josie thatmaybe the rest of us don't know.
(30:55):
Now, after he told me, I wasn'tshocked because I'm like, well,
that's not, there's nothingshocking about that, because I
know Josie Um, and this tiesinto this your answer.
This totally handles it andmaybe you can feed the audience
bat and take this.
What?
What your co-worker said standthe man, um, and tied into that
(31:20):
question and the resolution ofthat question.
He said if you get on Josie'sbad side now for those of you
that don't know and we didn'tintroduce her this way, but
Josie is a Brazilian firecracker, um, meaning she's full of life
, right, and you can tell assoon as you meet her.
(31:40):
But he said if you get onJosie's bad side, I don't care
if you're under a rock hidingthree countries away, she will
find you, seek you out and findyou and make sure she gets a
resolution to the problem forwhoever she's working on.
(32:04):
Is that true, josie?
Josie Keck (32:06):
It is.
I'm very passionate.
I think that has to do with myculture, but also with my own
DNA, you know, like who?
Suds (32:13):
I am.
Josie Keck (32:14):
I don't do anything halfway.
You know, I do my job withpassion.
When I get up in the morning, Ilike to say this is not my job,
this is my business.
So when I go on vacation, mypartners, even though they know
I'm on vacation.
But you can always call me Ifyou wanna talk to me.
I'm always available becauseit's my business.
Tim Shoop (32:29):
I talked to you while you were on a balcony in Brazil
.
Josie Keck (32:32):
Yes, you did.
Tim Shoop (32:33):
Yeah, and quickly.
I didn't want to take your time, but you answered the phone.
Josie Keck (32:39):
Absolutely.
I answered the phone, but onething that I've been thinking
about, as you're saying,communication skills,
relationship building.
One thing that I think is veryimportant for us, you know, in
this industry, is to listen.
Yeah, listen is better thancommunicating is better.
You have to listen and you goback like what are your skills?
(33:01):
We can have all the technologyskills, understand the
technology, but every customeris very specific so you have to
listen.
Ask a question and listen.
Sometimes it will tell you morethan what you need to know, but
you need to know all thosethings.
So listen and some of thethings that I do, I really, when
I work with sales rep from MSPs, we do a CalMap and what we
(33:23):
call.
So we look at individualcustomer, what industry they're
in, let's look what they needfor compliance.
What else can we do?
How can we make them cybersecure than cyber resilient?
And we're gonna get into this,I think is yeah, we will.
Tim Shoop (33:36):
We will.
We're gonna save that forsegment three.
So, folks, don't go away.
Make sure you listen to thewhole podcast, cause segment
three is gonna be full of greatinformation, especially if
you're a business owner or anentrepreneur or anybody leading
an organization.
If you're C level, this show isfor you.
So we're gonna wrap up segmentone with a couple last questions
(34:01):
, and Josie's trying to downthat beer.
Now let's talk about.
I'm gonna skip that one, butwe're gonna go right to the last
part of this.
What do you find most rewarding?
Now we're staying on this topicabout your role in the
technology and cybersecurityfield, particularly in terms of
(34:25):
forging those relationships andpartnerships.
So we've gotten to know eachother right, and it's funny,
because when I go to an event, Ialways refer.
I'm gonna-.
Josie Keck (34:38):
I know why you refer me.
Tim Shoop (34:40):
What do I call you?
The handler, my handler?
She's my handler.
She is there to keep me out oftrouble and make sure I'm where
I need to be at all times, right?
Yes, and she bought me abirthday cake.
Josie Keck (34:54):
Yes, I did which, even though I eat a slice.
Tim Shoop (34:56):
Yeah, because I partied a little too much the
night before.
Well, I had a few too manyNerds on Tap beers.
Josie Keck (35:03):
Yes, yes, we celebrated the right way.
Tim Shoop (35:05):
We did.
It was my birthday, ladies andgentlemen.
Josie Keck (35:07):
We were in Atlanta and we did business next day.
It was hurting a little bit,but we got through the meetings
and we did everything we weresupposed to.
Tim Shoop (35:14):
And let's do a call out to one of your coworkers,
and I'm sorry that the name hedrives the Jeep.
Oh yeah, omar, omar.
So, omar, I'm sorry the name isslipped, but, omar, thank you
so much for being our Uber thatnight and taking good care of us
.
Josie Keck (35:31):
Omar is great.
He's also when I'm out of theoffice.
Omar is my backup, what we callit, so he takes care of those
calls.
I tell my partner if you needto talk to me, call myself, but
otherwise Omar can help you out.
So what was your question?
Again?
Tim Shoop (35:45):
So the question is what's the most rewarding about
your role in the technology andcybersecurity field,
particularly with relationshipsand like this?
Josie Keck (35:55):
Yeah, I mean just knowing that, like that partner
sometimes will joke with me hey,if I move on to so-and-so
company, will you still be myfriend?
I say yes.
So two weeks ago, I think thatI don't know if I mentioned last
night I was in Nashville for apartner visit.
And I was at my partner's housewith this guy, you did mention
that yeah.
(36:17):
I was like cutting up a saladfor her kids.
You know, to me it's like Imean, they brought me into their
house.
I'm not just a vendor, I'm notjust because, if you know me,
you know, they're so nice peopletoo they are amazing.
Sean and Batsy, if you listento this, we love you.
Tim Shoop (36:32):
Yeah, but her first impression of me was man, he's
crazy, I mean everybody thinksthat's Tim.
Josie Keck (36:38):
Oh really no, just kidding.
Tim Shoop (36:41):
Well, at least they're not saying he's nerdy.
Josie Keck (36:44):
I mean it would get, I think, nerds good.
Tim Shoop (36:46):
Yeah, no, nerds are good.
Josie Keck (36:47):
Nerds sometimes like when I say, when I call people
nerd, it's not in the bad ways,it's good, it's good to be a
nerd.
You know we're different.
I like different people.
I think that's one thing that Igot into this industry too.
I like odd, different people,yeah, and smart people too, and
nerds are all of that together.
Tim Shoop (37:03):
Well, I'm odd and different, so that explains a
lot, and you know what I'm soodd and different?
I think we need to drinkanother beer, suts.
Suds (37:14):
All right.
Next beer of the day is theRelax Hazy IPA from the Offshoot
Beer Company.
They use a combination of fruitforward hops like citra and
amaryllil, along with centennialand sumco, to impart fruity,
tropical and citrus notes, andthey use a young London yeast to
give it that soft roundmouthfeel.
No bitterus, no pucker, just asmooth IPA that drinks like a
(37:34):
breeze, say it in the mic.
Josie Keck (37:36):
Chin, chin.
Tim Shoop (37:37):
Chin, chin.
Josie Keck (37:38):
That's how we cheer in Portuguese.
Tim Shoop (37:40):
Broast, hmm, interesting.
Josie Keck (37:48):
That is.
Tim Shoop (37:49):
What's the name of this beer?
Suds (37:51):
This is the Relax Hazy IPA from Offshoot Beer Company.
What's not?
Tim Shoop (37:56):
relaxed.
Josie Keck (37:57):
It's making me relax .
Tim Shoop (37:59):
Yeah, but the palate, it's hitting the palate with a
zing.
Josie Keck (38:02):
Yeah, I was going to say like and then, it tapers.
Suds (38:05):
I think that's the relax.
It doesn't linger with thatbitterness at the end.
Tim Shoop (38:10):
Thank you for that, Suts.
Josie Keck (38:12):
You're so educational.
Tim Shoop (38:16):
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining
us for part one of this two partseries with Josie Keck of Open
Text, where she talked about herjourney into the world of tech
and cybersecurity.
In the next episode, josie isgoing to talk about how we
inspire women in the field oftechnology, and we talk about
(38:39):
diversity and inclusion.
Cheers my fellow nerds and beerlovers.
Stay tuned for more Nerds onTap.
Oh, and one more thing Help usspread the nerdy love and the
love for grape roots by sharingthis podcast with your friends,
(38:59):
colleagues and fellow beerenthusiasts.
Let's build a community thatembraces curiosity, innovation
and the enjoyment of a cold one.
Hey everyone, welcome to Lucky episode number 13 of
Nerds On Tap.
Today's show is called BreakingBarriers Women in tech, with
special guest Josie Keck of OpenTech, one of the largest
providers of cybersecuritysolutions, among many other
things, and one of DigitalBoardwalk's favorite partners.
(00:30):
Speaking of Digital Boardwalk,today's show is once again
brought to you by DigitalBoardwalk, an industry-leading
managed IT services provider,providing IT support,
infrastructure management andcybersecurity to businesses
across the United States.
So a little bit about today'sguest, josie Keck.
(00:50):
She is a highly motivated,energetic and goal-oriented task
leader with barrier-breakingconfidence and a strong drive
for success.
Diverse experience, trainingand educational background which
provided strong foundations forrelationship building and
success across multicultural andsocioeconomic business groups.
(01:15):
She works with security and ITexperts like me to increase
productivity in the modernworkplace while reducing cyber
risk.
This is her ninth year at is ityour ninth year at River Open
Tech?
Twenty-ten?
All right, they do a few things, but for today, we're going to
(01:37):
focus on the fact that you're achannel first provider of
cloud-enabled cybersecurity,compliance and productivity
services, with 18,000 strongreseller community.
Wow, like us, digital Boardwalk, right?
We're your favorite partner,right?
Yeah, to protect tens ofthousands of businesses
(01:59):
worldwide against a growing listof dangerous online threats.
I've gotten a known Josie overthe years, considered more than
a partner but a friend, and I'dlike to welcome you to the show,
the lovely, the talented JosieKeck, everybody.
Josie Keck (02:16):
That was a lot.
Thank you, tim, very excited tobe here.
Lucky number 13,.
I did not know that, so evenbetter, and this is my very
first podcast, so I'm excited tobe here, and I mean for my
first one, the best one, sohappy to be here.
Thank you, tim, excited to havethis conversation with you.
Tim Shoop (02:33):
And you get to drink beer.
Josie Keck (02:35):
Yes.
Tim Shoop (02:36):
And IPAs.
Josie Keck (02:37):
Can you pick my favorite beer?
Tim Shoop (02:39):
And you brought donuts.
Josie Keck (02:40):
Yes, I did.
Tim Shoop (02:41):
Well, I'm on a diet.
Josie Keck (02:42):
I mean, you can't have half Everything in
moderation, all right.
Tim Shoop (02:47):
Well, josie, today we're going to cover three
segments in the show.
I'm going to go ahead andsummarize them.
So the first thing we're goingto get into is your
cybersecurity journey, yourjourney, where Josie's going to
discuss her inspiring journey tothe world of cybersecurity and
technology.
Then we're going to get intowomen in tech, where Josie will
(03:07):
discuss her passion to inspireother girls to enter the
industry and, of course,diversity and inclusion plays a
big part in our discussion today.
And then we're going to getinto the importance of
cybersecurity for small tomedium-sized businesses and why
it can't be an option anymore,right?
So, josie, have you listened toNerds on tap before?
Josie Keck (03:30):
Yes, I've listened to every single episode.
Tim Shoop (03:33):
So what happens first ?
Josie Keck (03:35):
What happens first, we get to taste our first beer.
Tim Shoop (03:37):
We get to taste our first beer and you asked for
IPAs.
We mentioned that before.
And why did you request IPAs?
Is it because you like them orbecause you heard I get
headaches from them?
Josie Keck (03:49):
Yes and yes, just kidding, I really like IPAs.
Back a few years ago, I did notdrink beer at all and my
husband introduced me, thenintroduced me to IPAs and I love
IPAs.
I cannot drink.
I don't drink the other beers,I only drink IPAs, and the
hoppier the better.
Tim Shoop (04:08):
Yeah, I like a good hoppy IPA.
I just wish I wasn't.
I had to switch to Pilsner'sand just to avoid that, but I
can drink an IPA without gettinga headache.
It's once I hit the fourth orfifth one.
Josie Keck (04:21):
Okay.
Tim Shoop (04:21):
Oh, is that normal.
Josie Keck (04:23):
Yeah, probably.
Okay, it's pretty cool when Igo out with the guys and they'll
work.
I'm in the man-dominatedindustry and we go to bar and
somebody one of the guys orderedtruly, and then I order an IPA.
There's always that.
Tim Shoop (04:35):
That's funny.
Yes, all right, without furtherado suds, what do we got first?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcometo Nerds On Tach.
I'm your host, tim Schu, and Icouldn't be more excited to
embark on this nerdy adventurewith all of you.
(04:56):
So grab your favorite brew,because things are about to get
exciting.
Suds (05:04):
Three, two, one go, All right.
Our first beer of the day,Dinkside of the Moon, from the
third planet brewing companyright here in a niceville,
Florida.
It's a New England style IPA.
Dinkside of the Moon isbursting with juicy hop flavor
and aroma, heavily dry hop withcitro, mosaic and El Dorado hops
.
This beer is intenselydrinkable thanks to restrained
(05:25):
bitterness and a soft full bodyto match its juicy profile.
Tim Shoop (05:29):
Yeah, the bitter is understated.
That is, that has got a verystrong bitterness.
Josie Keck (05:36):
Very good.
Tim Shoop (05:39):
Great Josie, what do you?
Josie Keck (05:41):
think Very good, I like it.
Tim Shoop (05:44):
Well, you're gonna now.
Josie was asking us before theshow if she had to drink all
these beers and we said well,all of our listeners out there
may try to look you up and ragon you for not drinking all the
beers, because you can't come ona beer show and not drink
what's put in front of you.
Josie Keck (06:05):
Well, what I did not tell you to is that I am here
also from Mardi Gras thisweekend, so I have to pace
myself.
Tim Shoop (06:12):
Okay.
Josie Keck (06:13):
But I would do my best and drink all the beer.
Tim Shoop (06:15):
Now I pace myself every time I come to an open
text event right or a conferencewhere I run into you guys.
Josie Keck (06:22):
Absolutely.
Tim Shoop (06:23):
Oh yeah, we're not gonna talk about any of those
stories.
Josie Keck (06:26):
No, you're always, you're the really gay.
Tim Shoop (06:31):
I'm referring to my birthday.
Josie Keck (06:34):
Oh, that's so yeah, okay.
Tim Shoop (06:37):
We'll save that, unless you want to talk about it
.
Josie Keck (06:40):
We do that for a different episode.
Tim Shoop (06:42):
So let's get into our first segment and let's talk
about your journey.
Now, this is what makes thisextra special is and to kind of
focus on today's episode is youare a woman.
The United States is not yourfirst country.
Josie Keck (07:01):
Correct.
Tim Shoop (07:02):
And you're in tech, yes.
So this is a triple whammy,ladies and gentlemen, and I'm so
excited to talk to Josie aboutthis.
So that's the.
That's my favorite part.
So let's start with, let's kindof ease into it.
So citizenship had to be anemotional day.
Josie Keck (07:21):
Yes.
Tim Shoop (07:22):
Tell me about that.
Let's go back.
How long ago was that?
Josie Keck (07:25):
It was probably 10 years ago, it was.
It was very special because Iwaited to become a citizen.
You can live here, be legal andyou don't have to become a
citizen.
When somebody from a differentcountry takes the step to become
a US citizen is a choice, it'snot something that is forced
upon you.
The government doesn't requireyou to become a citizen.
I was blessed enough that thejudge asked me to be the speaker
(07:49):
that day on behalf of 99 othernew citizens Wow.
And we were not allowed to takecameras in there, so we don't
have the recording, but I havethe still have the speech that I
wrote.
You know I start.
I just had sworn.
You know that I gave up mycitizenship in my other country.
I'm an American citizen andit's very emotional when you say
(08:10):
that you, you renounce in yourcountry of birth, you renounce
in everything to be this newperson.
So when I got back up there,first thing that I my greeting
was good morning my fellowAmericans.
So that was very emotional.
And talk about my children, myjourney to be here, how we all
chose to be here.
So that was very special.
But you know, just going alittle back, when I first got
(08:34):
here, I arrived in this country,I was 21 years old, a woman by
myself.
I had a thousand dollars in asuitcase and I didn't speak any.
English and I came with a dreamto go to school and go back to
Brazil.
I wanted to get a master'sdegree in business and go back
to Brazil and I did not knowwhat I want to do.
But I knew what I did not wantto do.
Tim Shoop (08:55):
And that's why.
Josie Keck (08:55):
I came.
I came here looking for a dream.
Tim Shoop (08:59):
So a lot of tears that day, I'll bet.
Josie Keck (09:01):
Absolutely yeah.
Tim Shoop (09:02):
My mom got.
Rest her soul.
She, she German.
I have German heritage.
My mom was full on German.
English was her second language.
She chose to become a citizen.
My dad was in the army.
They met overseas and I heard Iheard that story over and over
and how emotionally, liketriumphant, that day was for her
(09:25):
to just become part ofsomething you know big.
Josie Keck (09:30):
You're taking me back in time and I'm I'm feeling
it.
It was very emotional and, justbeing where we are today, as an
immigrant and somebody whochose to be here and chose to
become part of this country, thesociety, I think that I
appreciate things a lot more attimes than people who lived here
their whole life.
I embrace this country as mine,the culture, everything to me
(09:52):
is, it's my life.
Tim Shoop (09:54):
So you, um, you listened to our show and you
were listening to the show withGeo Zalaya and the taco people.
When he brought the tacos andyou heard me say some things on
that show that I I told him Iwould have you go to Brazil a
lot, right, so you were going tobring beer back for him.
Josie Keck (10:13):
I called you out last night.
I was waiting to see him and Iwent, tim, I listened to.
You were talking about me andyour podcast.
You told him that, yep, she canbring some Brazilian beer back
from you.
Tim Shoop (10:25):
I think I was most impressed in that conversation
last night that you listen toour show.
I, you know.
You know we're still a growingshow and it's nice to hear that
people are listening to it.
So thank you for that.
Josie Keck (10:39):
And after today we're going to really push
everybody.
My my team is they're going tohave to listen to.
I listened to my partner'spodcast and share that with you.
My morning routine.
I get up, I go to the gym and Ilisten to my partner's podcasts
or whatever they're doing,because I want to know what
you're doing.
I want to know what you'retalking about.
I wanted to understand yourbusiness.
I want to understand youbecause to me is not, I'm not
(11:01):
selling you things we'rebuilding this relationship.
Before I get to know you.
I better understand yourbusiness model, the better I can
help you.
Tim Shoop (11:10):
Yeah, no, and that's that's totally understandable.
So tell me how share?
Share with us your journey intothe world of cybersecurity and
technology sales.
What inspired you to pursuethis path?
Josie Keck (11:23):
So my dream I really want to go to law school first.
Tim Shoop (11:27):
Okay.
Josie Keck (11:27):
And, and then I was working at Fred Levin's law firm
here in town.
Tim Shoop (11:32):
I saw that on LinkedIn.
Josie Keck (11:33):
So I was working there.
I worked there for five yearsand I wanted to go to law school
.
I was going through the processacceptance and all that and
then something happened,personally, that impeded me from
going with my family that Icould not go to law school.
So I'm like, well, I don't wantto be a paralegal, that's not
what I want to be.
I want to really be hands onhelping people.
I want to get into sales.
But I had no sales experience.
So I'm like so I contact a fewfriends in town.
(11:56):
They say, well, at River is agreat company to work for.
Go talk to them, see if you canget a job there.
Well, I did go get a job insales.
And this is how.
How little background intechnology.
I had One of the questions it'sembarrassing, but it's not
embarrassing because I embracethis part of me, or who I am
today, of my growth.
One of the questions that theyasked me was what's a domain?
(12:20):
And I said I don't know.
Tim Shoop (12:23):
That's where I live.
Josie Keck (12:26):
I don't know her.
I am like I honestly don't know.
And App River gave me a chancealmost 10 years ago and I
started working on the directside of the house where I talked
to people who did not knowwhatever I click on them out,
open your window.
Which window?
You know, and then I talked toCTOs of larger companies who
(12:47):
knew way above that I couldunderstand at the time and in
everybody at App River.
App River was very customerfocused, very.
You know, it's a family.
We still have our appers.
Tim Shoop (12:59):
Phenomenal customer care Phenomenal.
Josie Keck (13:01):
We call ourselves appers to this day with CTO.
Hey, there's an apper here,we're App River, mike Murdock,
joe, amazing, amazing familyRight.
Suds (13:12):
Yeah.
Josie Keck (13:13):
And they taught me everything that I know.
Tim Shoop (13:14):
So, yes, Talk to me about that just briefly before
we continue your journey.
Tell the audience so we can getit in this first segment.
Where that care comes from?
It comes from the culture,obviously Culture.
So how's that culture built?
Josie Keck (13:32):
The culture's built about taking care of people and
taking care of each other.
Right, I am the account managerof Digital Boardwalk, but when
Digital Boardwalk calls ourcustomer care, support or
billing, that's not my customer,that's our customer.
Suds (13:45):
That's good, you are our partner.
Josie Keck (13:47):
That's good.
I'm not going to lie to you.
Like I take care of you, Iexpect the customer care support
to take care of you with thesame care.
I like to say you know you havemy cell number.
If something would havehappened at 11 pm and I you know
that you can call me.
Tim Shoop (14:00):
Have you ever heard from me after hours?
Josie Keck (14:02):
No, you have not, but you know if something.
But I have partners in the pastwho have called me like 11
o'clock, text me and say, hey, Ihave a nurse and medic and you
have, of course, and if.
I'm awake, I would take care ofyou.
I would you know like we aremore than just clients, partners
.
We are, we're in this togetherand this cybersecurity business
(14:23):
together to take care of eachother.
Tim Shoop (14:24):
Yeah, and that's an important you bring that up and
that's so important to rememberbecause anytime someone gets
into business and and this isn'tmy first rodeo, digital prior
to Digital Boardwalk, I'vealways been in the tech business
, though, you know, andeverybody gets into business, no
matter what industry, whatvertical, it's always about it's
(14:45):
me against the competitors.
You know you don't want to workwith competitors, but our
industry is so awesome becausewe all cross that divide, or at
least I would say all the onesthat get it, cross that divide
and say there's power in numbers, because the future, the future
of protecting small to mediumbusinesses and enterprise, isn't
(15:08):
about just putting it, puttingall those eggs in one basket and
thinking that one managedservice provider or one
cybersecurity company or oneMSSP can handle everything.
It's about everybody, you know,protecting segments of
customers and working togetherand crossing that divide to help
(15:29):
one another.
Isn't that what you see?
And isn't that special?
I mean, I sit, I, you know,co-chair peer group for OpenTex
and I see it in that group andthe fact that we all come
together, we hang out together,we network together, we ask
questions hey, what are youdoing about this?
How are you helping youremployees stay ahead of the
(15:52):
training curve.
Just one you know and everybodyshares, and nobody is scared to
share with one another.
Why do you think that is?
Josie Keck (15:59):
Oh, it's so amazing Me being a relationship.
You know that's my foundationto me, like I nurture those
relationships and when we go tothe peer group, I like to say
something I feel like amatchmaker when I see you and
Lewis, you know, connecting andhelping exchange.
Tim Shoop (16:15):
I like Lewis.
Josie Keck (16:16):
I like him too.
He's like a brother to me.
Tim Shoop (16:18):
We're going to find out today if he listens to the
show.
Josie Keck (16:20):
We're going to find out.
Tim Shoop (16:21):
Go ahead, go ahead.
Josie Keck (16:24):
So you know, just find it seeing you guys connect
and helping each other outbecause you can do everything.
This cybersecurity world.
It's so complex and so bigYou're really not competing with
anybody Like there's no,there's so much business, so
much going on out there for usto be helping our customers and
(16:44):
helping each other out.
So when I see y'all connectingand developing relationships,
it's funny idea.
My roadshow, which you did notgo to, and for Lauderdale, maybe
next year I could make that oneyeah.
So my James Bond themed you knowroadshow and at the end I got
asked by several partners hey,can you share everybody's
(17:05):
contact information?
I had great conversation but wewere so busy.
So we have a plan for next yearhow we're going to make sure
everybody gets connected.
It's so important.
We're better together, and thatwas the motto of Zix better
together.
Suds (17:21):
When.
Josie Keck (17:21):
Zix and I forever became together.
I mean, we used to.
I used to talk about it.
It was the best arrangedmarriage ever.
When Zix and I forever cametogether, the culture just just
was in what we would say we'rebetter together.
Yeah, we're better together.
The MSPs are better together.
Tim Shoop (17:38):
Better together, power and numbers, overcoming,
you know, diverse situations andbuilding a better world
together.
Now I sound like a cliche, butit is what it is.
Josie Keck (17:51):
It is, and every customer is different.
Every customer is me.
There's, like this, commonground, what we need to work on,
but everybody has theirspecific things that you need to
work through, so it's not justnumbers.
When you are a partner, youwork differently than the
partner down the road, so weneed to adjust to make sure.
That's why I was telling you Ilistened to your podcast.
(18:11):
You know I like to haveconversations with you.
I like to sit at the table andlisten to you talk to the other
part.
I'm always learning.
Tim Shoop (18:19):
That's the beauty of this industry.
Josie Keck (18:20):
We're always learning.
Tim Shoop (18:21):
Everybody should be always learning.
You see all the books under myshelves.
I mean, I read books constantlyand I'm constantly doing
research to learn how to do.
It's not just about how to dotech better, but how to treat
our people better, how to liftthem up and take them along a
better path, how to handleservice operations better.
(18:47):
How can we be more efficient?
How can we take things off ofsomebody's work plate and
automate it so to make theirjobs a little easier, so they
can be more consistent andefficient with what they do?
It all goes around, and booksand education are the key to
(19:07):
getting better and mentorship,Absolutely.
Josie Keck (19:11):
You know I don't read as much, but I listen to
audiobooks.
Tim Shoop (19:14):
Yeah, same.
Thing.
Josie Keck (19:16):
I'm always.
If I'm working now at the gymor doing, I'm always listening
to audiobooks.
I was going to mention too, intoday's business world,
everybody's acquiring, everybodyin companies are getting bigger
.
So it's so important to alwayskeep even though we're a
technology company, in the techbusiness, the human touch, the
(19:40):
human feeling.
The warmth has to stay, becausepeople, they buy from people,
they don't buy from companies.
Tim Shoop (19:48):
It's very easy to go order things online.
You hit it right on the headPeople buy from people.
We're in the people businessright.
People business first machines.
Josie Keck (20:01):
Yeah.
Tim Shoop (20:01):
Second Right.
Josie Keck (20:03):
We need the machines , but without people too.
Tim Shoop (20:05):
Yeah, so that's good.
That's a good segue into mynext question.
Okay, so how have yourexperiences in the technology
industry impacted your life andwhat changes have you observed
in the industry over the years?
Wow, that's a, it's a, it's awhopper, and you know so how.
(20:28):
How have your experiences inthe industry impacted your life,
maybe professionally andpersonally, like, what did it
change for you?
What?
What did it really?
I mean, we already got into it.
Yep, you have a passion forthis.
Your passion is relationshipsand communication.
You're good at both of thosethings.
(20:50):
So tell me how all that ties into the impact.
Maybe, maybe on your, maybeyour kids are picking up a vibe
from you.
Maybe they want to get in thetech industry.
That might be the impact.
Because that's huge?
Yeah, because our kids are thefuture.
When we're, you know, gone,they're gonna lead the charge.
Josie Keck (21:09):
It's amazing.
I never in my life thought itwould be in the in the tech
industry.
I never saw myself as a nerd,and here I am.
You don't have to look to beone, and I find myself nerdy now
in a lot of things.
I'm not into video games, intolike, like decade, but I like to
learn new things.
I like to learn new technologyand I mean to me.
(21:29):
It just it has helped me growas a grow as a person.
But in this industry there'snot.
I mentioned to one of ourleaders the other day.
I had a meeting with him and Isaid the beauty about our job in
our industry.
There's no one day that goes bythat I can say I don't learn
anything new today, right, thisindustry is expanding, it's
(21:49):
growing, is evolving and I'veseen myself grow.
I'm happy.
Like you know, I wanted to be alawyer.
Thank God I did not become alawyer, but I am happy where I
am and and to be in technologyand I know we're gonna get into
this a little bit about womenand technology.
A lot of younger women peoplethink when you talk to them they
think to be in technology haveto be behind the computer coding
(22:12):
or the dark basement.
There's so much in technologythat we women can impact from
cells, market, even thetechnology itself, because we
women have a differentperspective of life.
We see life differently.
That it's not better than man,is not worse is just as
different, and we need to havethat diversity.
I can look at something from mypoint of view.
(22:35):
You will see different and youneed to hear from me how do I
see it to make it better.
Because now the technology thatwe have, that we're building,
is not just for me and is forwomen, for all of us you know we
went to dinner last night.
Tim Shoop (22:48):
My wife Kathleen was with us, and you know.
Kathleen yeah, she's awesome,right, you know I'm not just
saying that because we're on air.
She is awesome.
She is listening.
She does listen to the show,usually with the kids riding in
the car, and then they call meout going.
Why are you talking about me onthe show?
But no, she's a woman in technow.
(23:09):
She was a technical recruiterprior to joining digital
boardwalk, but from you knowdeep dive technical
troubleshooting and nerdy things.
I'm a nerd, right, she has ashirt, says I love my geek.
That's another for another timebut, yeah, but she, you know she
(23:32):
doesn't know how to do allthose things, but she leads the
charge, she's our VP of sales,she runs our sales division and
she does a really good jobworking with people.
So if you're people first whichdigital boardwalk is at River
Zix?
Open text is if you're a peoplefirst company in the IT
(23:52):
industry, you're going to doreally well because we're
relationship builders and that'swhat she does and she fits into
the mold perfectly, just likeyou do, josie yeah, there's so
much to do.
Josie Keck (24:04):
Like I said, as a woman in this industry, it's it.
There's.
It's not just coding or beingin front of the computer, and
you will know as you work and,like I've been here, you know
I've been here with thatfavorite open text for almost
ten years now and sometimes Idon't see myself as in
technology because it justnatural.
Now, sometimes, when I have totrain new people or talk to
(24:26):
somebody, I look back, think Iknow a lot about the stuff.
Tim Shoop (24:29):
Yeah, you know, because, like you're learning
every day and then it just, andit makes you feel great when you
yeah yes.
Josie Keck (24:36):
And to me going back to your question, how that has
that impact to you, it has shownmy kids, like today.
When you posted that onLinkedIn, I sent it to my kids
you did yes, and my youngest son, who's you know he's a mama's
kid.
He texts me back and said I'mso proud of you, mom, and that
is oh my god, you're gonna makeme cry, josie that is like
that's one thing that you wantto hear from your kid.
(24:57):
I want to make you proud andthey want to make you proud too,
but to me as if I want to behis role model.
You know, and I hear him tellinghis friends or girl oh, my mom
came here from another country,like you're telling about your
mom, you know, and to me that'slike the biggest compliment of
my life my kids.
Yeah, I'm making an impact inalong.
I have kids, friends who havelittle kids.
(25:19):
I think that I mentioned toyesterday that I've been looking
to writing a little technicalbooks for little kids, so I
actually wrote this first one.
I'll tell you when thispublished, we'll see.
It's about telling this littlegirl, this little girl asking
her mom about AI really andshe's only like three years old
maybe okay this is a, so this isa children's book.
Tim Shoop (25:41):
Okay, I would love to get the title of that yes, so
it's just like.
Josie Keck (25:46):
Like she's asking mom what's an AI and mom is
explaining to her she's that'sfall.
They're like a short littlething, but just to get a little
kids minds yeah about it.
You know, our kids are ourfuture.
Tim Shoop (25:56):
They are gonna take over and they're growing up in
it.
I mean, we had to learn it.
I mean, here's the thing.
Going back to my first computer, I was lucky enough.
My dad bought me a computerwhen he was 13.
Now, later in life, he neverreally told me hey, I'm proud of
you, son, because in my youngerlife I didn't do a whole lot to
(26:17):
make him proud.
But he was here with me at anevent, at digital boardwalk,
that I was putting on for allour customers and we were
honoring my mom.
I had her picture in a frame nowand Joel was here.
Joe and Mike actually were bothhere at that event.
It was gumbo fist back in 2016and my dad took me inside at
(26:39):
that point yeah, I'm gonna cry.
And he told me, son, I'm proudof you First time I ever heard
it.
Then he reminded me by the wayyou know, I got you your first
computer.
Oh, he wanted to let me knowhe's proud of me, but I'm going
to take credit for your success.
Josie Keck (26:57):
Yeah, I got your first computer Isn't that
awesome.
No, and I thought about today,driving here, thinking like I
did not work in the time thatthere wasn't computer.
There weren't computers, so Iwas thinking and often I stop
and I think how do people dotheir jobs?
Suds (27:12):
Yeah.
Josie Keck (27:14):
You know, and we're going to get a little more into
AI and other things here.
Tim Shoop (27:16):
Yeah, we'll talk about it in.
We're actually going to getinto women in tech in the next
segment.
But while I'm reading this nextquestion, I'm going to go ahead
and ask you this this is amouthful.
I'll let you catch up on yourbeer drinking because you're
falling behind and we're almostto segment two.
So let's talk about yourexpertise in helping MSPs manage
(27:37):
service providers like digitalboardwalk, find the right SAS
tools for cybersecurity,productivity and compliance For
this segment.
Let's get because we're insegment one in your journey.
Let's focus on your expertise.
We'll get into cybersecurity insegment three.
(27:59):
I want to talk about yourexpertise in regards to that
question.
Now, I mentioned communicationskills.
You got great communicationskills and you're really good at
relationship building.
So let's stay on that topic andlet's talk about how all that
ties together to help me.
And you know, maybe let's usemaybe some case studies.
(28:24):
Let's go back and think aboutsome of the things you may have
done when it came to me.
I remember the first time Iever talked to you was on a
phone call, and what did I sayto you?
You can tell the audience I'mnot going to be ashamed, but
what did I ask you not to do onthat very first phone call where
(28:46):
we spoke.
Josie Keck (28:47):
I never thought I would tell the story, but I will
tell so something you know,technology is great when it
works and technology is now whenit will fail Right the whole.
When it fails.
What do we do when it fails?
You will hear me talk about youbeing cyber secure and cyber
resilient, and we can get laterto what does that mean?
Tim Shoop (29:06):
Yeah.
Josie Keck (29:06):
But something happened to one of our servers
and it caused some issues withone of your customers.
One of your customers was veryupset.
Tim Shoop (29:13):
Now, just to pause, this happens across the entire
industry, not just with yourservers, and it's happened with
other partners but as a leaderand taking care of my customers,
what did I?
I want to focus in on the badthing I did.
Josie Keck (29:28):
Well.
So Tim, he's very passionate.
He cares about his customers.
When something bad happened tohis customer, he wants the
result.
I was out of town.
I was at a partner visit inAtlanta and I got a message
saying Tim Schup call fromdigital world walk.
He's very upset.
He left a voicemail and Iimmediately even has let's get
on the phone.
I was getting ready to go tomeeting.
I got my manager on the phoneand we got it in and she and I
(29:53):
talked him through what washappening, how we're going to
fix it, how we're going to makeit better and what the plan that
we had and everything.
And one thing that Tim asked me.
He said Josie, please do notlisten to the voice.
Tim Shoop (30:07):
I'm a look, and here's the thing my goal was to
take care of my customers.
We didn't really know eachother yet, correct?
But we're sitting here today,many moons later, right, and I'm
still your partner, yep.
So, leading back to thatquestion, what did you do?
Josie Keck (30:30):
I did not listen to the voice.
Tim Shoop (30:34):
But then you told me, and you assured me you weren't
going to listen to it.
But then you stepped intoaction.
Now I made a phone call rightbefore this show to stand the
man, uh-oh, and I asked him tellme one thing that you and your
coworkers know about Josie thatmaybe the rest of us don't know.
(30:55):
Now, after he told me, I wasn'tshocked because I'm like, well,
that's not, there's nothingshocking about that, because I
know Josie Um, and this tiesinto this your answer.
This totally handles it andmaybe you can feed the audience
bat and take this.
What?
What your co-worker said standthe man, um, and tied into that
(31:20):
question and the resolution ofthat question.
He said if you get on Josie'sbad side now for those of you
that don't know and we didn'tintroduce her this way, but
Josie is a Brazilian firecracker, um, meaning she's full of life
, right, and you can tell assoon as you meet her.
(31:40):
But he said if you get onJosie's bad side, I don't care
if you're under a rock hidingthree countries away, she will
find you, seek you out and findyou and make sure she gets a
resolution to the problem forwhoever she's working on.
(32:04):
Is that true, josie?
Josie Keck (32:06):
It is.
I'm very passionate.
I think that has to do with myculture, but also with my own
DNA, you know, like who?
Suds (32:13):
I am.
Josie Keck (32:14):
I don't do anything halfway.
You know, I do my job withpassion.
When I get up in the morning, Ilike to say this is not my job,
this is my business.
So when I go on vacation, mypartners, even though they know
I'm on vacation.
But you can always call me Ifyou wanna talk to me.
I'm always available becauseit's my business.
Tim Shoop (32:29):
I talked to you while you were on a balcony in Brazil
.
Josie Keck (32:32):
Yes, you did.
Tim Shoop (32:33):
Yeah, and quickly.
I didn't want to take your time, but you answered the phone.
Josie Keck (32:39):
Absolutely.
I answered the phone, but onething that I've been thinking
about, as you're saying,communication skills,
relationship building.
One thing that I think is veryimportant for us, you know, in
this industry, is to listen.
Yeah, listen is better thancommunicating is better.
You have to listen and you goback like what are your skills?
(33:01):
We can have all the technologyskills, understand the
technology, but every customeris very specific so you have to
listen.
Ask a question and listen.
Sometimes it will tell you morethan what you need to know, but
you need to know all thosethings.
So listen and some of thethings that I do, I really, when
I work with sales rep from MSPs, we do a CalMap and what we
(33:23):
call.
So we look at individualcustomer, what industry they're
in, let's look what they needfor compliance.
What else can we do?
How can we make them cybersecure than cyber resilient?
And we're gonna get into this,I think is yeah, we will.
Tim Shoop (33:36):
We will.
We're gonna save that forsegment three.
So, folks, don't go away.
Make sure you listen to thewhole podcast, cause segment
three is gonna be full of greatinformation, especially if
you're a business owner or anentrepreneur or anybody leading
an organization.
If you're C level, this show isfor you.
So we're gonna wrap up segmentone with a couple last questions
(34:01):
, and Josie's trying to downthat beer.
Now let's talk about.
I'm gonna skip that one, butwe're gonna go right to the last
part of this.
What do you find most rewarding?
Now we're staying on this topicabout your role in the
technology and cybersecurityfield, particularly in terms of
(34:25):
forging those relationships andpartnerships.
So we've gotten to know eachother right, and it's funny,
because when I go to an event, Ialways refer.
I'm gonna-.
Josie Keck (34:38):
I know why you refer me.
Tim Shoop (34:40):
What do I call you?
The handler, my handler?
She's my handler.
She is there to keep me out oftrouble and make sure I'm where
I need to be at all times, right?
Yes, and she bought me abirthday cake.
Josie Keck (34:54):
Yes, I did which, even though I eat a slice.
Tim Shoop (34:56):
Yeah, because I partied a little too much the
night before.
Well, I had a few too manyNerds on Tap beers.
Josie Keck (35:03):
Yes, yes, we celebrated the right way.
Tim Shoop (35:05):
We did.
It was my birthday, ladies andgentlemen.
Josie Keck (35:07):
We were in Atlanta and we did business next day.
It was hurting a little bit,but we got through the meetings
and we did everything we weresupposed to.
Tim Shoop (35:14):
And let's do a call out to one of your coworkers,
and I'm sorry that the name hedrives the Jeep.
Oh yeah, omar, omar.
So, omar, I'm sorry the name isslipped, but, omar, thank you
so much for being our Uber thatnight and taking good care of us
.
Josie Keck (35:31):
Omar is great.
He's also when I'm out of theoffice.
Omar is my backup, what we callit, so he takes care of those
calls.
I tell my partner if you needto talk to me, call myself, but
otherwise Omar can help you out.
So what was your question?
Again?
Tim Shoop (35:45):
So the question is what's the most rewarding about
your role in the technology andcybersecurity field,
particularly with relationshipsand like this?
Josie Keck (35:55):
Yeah, I mean just knowing that, like that partner
sometimes will joke with me hey,if I move on to so-and-so
company, will you still be myfriend?
I say yes.
So two weeks ago, I think thatI don't know if I mentioned last
night I was in Nashville for apartner visit.
And I was at my partner's housewith this guy, you did mention
that yeah.
(36:17):
I was like cutting up a saladfor her kids.
You know, to me it's like Imean, they brought me into their
house.
I'm not just a vendor, I'm notjust because, if you know me,
you know, they're so nice peopletoo they are amazing.
Sean and Batsy, if you listento this, we love you.
Tim Shoop (36:32):
Yeah, but her first impression of me was man, he's
crazy, I mean everybody thinksthat's Tim.
Josie Keck (36:38):
Oh really no, just kidding.
Tim Shoop (36:41):
Well, at least they're not saying he's nerdy.
Josie Keck (36:44):
I mean it would get, I think, nerds good.
Tim Shoop (36:46):
Yeah, no, nerds are good.
Josie Keck (36:47):
Nerds sometimes like when I say, when I call people
nerd, it's not in the bad ways,it's good, it's good to be a
nerd.
You know we're different.
I like different people.
I think that's one thing that Igot into this industry too.
I like odd, different people,yeah, and smart people too, and
nerds are all of that together.
Tim Shoop (37:03):
Well, I'm odd and different, so that explains a
lot, and you know what I'm soodd and different?
I think we need to drinkanother beer, suts.
Suds (37:14):
All right.
Next beer of the day is theRelax Hazy IPA from the Offshoot
Beer Company.
They use a combination of fruitforward hops like citra and
amaryllil, along with centennialand sumco, to impart fruity,
tropical and citrus notes, andthey use a young London yeast to
give it that soft roundmouthfeel.
No bitterus, no pucker, just asmooth IPA that drinks like a
(37:34):
breeze, say it in the mic.
Josie Keck (37:36):
Chin, chin.
Tim Shoop (37:37):
Chin, chin.
Josie Keck (37:38):
That's how we cheer in Portuguese.
Tim Shoop (37:40):
Broast, hmm, interesting.
Josie Keck (37:48):
That is.
Tim Shoop (37:49):
What's the name of this beer?
Suds (37:51):
This is the Relax Hazy IPA from Offshoot Beer Company.
What's not?
Tim Shoop (37:56):
relaxed.
Josie Keck (37:57):
It's making me relax .
Tim Shoop (37:59):
Yeah, but the palate, it's hitting the palate with a
zing.
Josie Keck (38:02):
Yeah, I was going to say like and then, it tapers.
Suds (38:05):
I think that's the relax.
It doesn't linger with thatbitterness at the end.
Tim Shoop (38:10):
Thank you for that, Suts.
Josie Keck (38:12):
You're so educational.
Tim Shoop (38:16):
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for joining
us for part one of this two partseries with Josie Keck of Open
Text, where she talked about herjourney into the world of tech
and cybersecurity.
In the next episode, josie isgoing to talk about how we
inspire women in the field oftechnology, and we talk about
(38:39):
diversity and inclusion.
Cheers my fellow nerds and beerlovers.
Stay tuned for more Nerds onTap.
Oh, and one more thing Help usspread the nerdy love and the
love for grape roots by sharingthis podcast with your friends,
(38:59):
colleagues and fellow beerenthusiasts.
Let's build a community thatembraces curiosity, innovation
and the enjoyment of a cold one.
Popular Podcasts
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.