A company that has been featured on VH1’s Hogan Knows Best, CBS World and News Report, 48 hours and many more to the list, is a trusted advisor of law enforcement, businesses, individuals and the government. Serving almost everyone – from individuals to large corporations, this company assures you to provide excellent services with a skilled staff to fulfill all your surveillance, counter-surveillance, tracking and security needs.
To know more about Michael Peros, the Electronics Counter Espionage Officer and his company Bugged.com, read on….
Q: Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: In the past 30 years, technology and its equipment has moved forward by leaps and bounds. Nothing is as simple or as secure as it once was. A corporate executive was able to make a phone call with limited concern about wiretapping of the phone line; a wife in the midst of a divorce could speak to her lawyer in her home without a second thought about the potential of her soon to be ex-husband’s eavesdropping. Today, however, privacy is no longer sacred. Bugs and wiretapping equipment are easy to obtain and install. Your most private moments could be videoed for all to see; your conversations could be recorded; and even your corporate secrets could be exposed and out in the open. What can you do? This is where Bugged.com can help with over thirty years of experience and technical expertise. We’re not just one option; we’re your only option. Our team of qualified technicians and surveillance experts use over one hundred thousand dollars worth of highly sophisticated electronic testing equipment and technical methods to find eavesdropping devices. Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Michael Peros, has traveled around the globe from Jerusalem to Moscow and even to Shanghai for assignments, and has attained a vast wealth of knowledge and experience. He was trained by the CIA’s top spy of 41 years. He has trained his team in the similar way. Besides the training, each of them brings their own understanding and unique expertise of TSCM, wiretapping and eavesdropping detection into the field.
Q: Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I am an electronic counter-espionage agent and bug sweep expert (against corporate and industrial espionage), currently operating in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I have been all over the world for my various bug sweeping and TSCM assignments. My most notable case was the Key Bank Case in Tampa, Florida. While there on assignment, I found over 65,000 illegal bugs and wiretaps that had been set up by law enforcement to monitor bank transactions without a warrant. I’ve also performed sweeps and have been a security consultant in many different locations such as Jerusalem, Israel; Shanghai, China; and Moscow, Russia.
We were selected as one of two vendors to bid on the TSCM sweep of the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington, D.C, and we got a 10 on a one to 10 scale for our technical abilities. These skills were evaluated by the alphabet agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA, Secret Service, etc.). Most recently, I was interviewed by ABC Action news about the security cameras that are going to be in place in Tampa for this year’s Republican National Convention.
In 1986, I came with an idea for a wiretap detector and defeating system that would not only let you know when your phone was being tapped, but would also stop the tap of that conversation. In 1987, I was able to sell this product to Sharper Image Catalogue, and additionally sold thousands of more units.
My company, Bugged.com, was the first web-based TSCM and bug sweep business and service provider. It was started in July, 1995.
Q: What ignited the spark in you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: I had a friend who was working as a counter-intelligence officer for the National Reconnaissance Organization, and he got me interested in the field. I came up with an idea to invent a wiretap detect and defeat system, which we designed, manufactured and sold thousands of units to Sharper Image Catalogue. Financially, that’s what supported the business in the beginning.
Q: How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Good employees are key. I believe that businesses are built around relationships, and employees are the asset for business to maintain those relationships for repeat customers. They are the most important asset to any business because they are the foundation for the relationships behind the business.
Q: What three pieces of advice would you give to college students who want to become entrepreneurs?
Ans: Number One: Businesses are built around relationships and that’s what develops repeat customers for longevity in a business.
Number Two: Education is key to being able to think outside the box, which enables you to be innovative and creative. That creativity can be applied to both services and products so you can be competitive in a world economy.
Number Three: The service or product has to be a good deal for both the company and the customer – for the company to sell and also for the customer who is receiving that product or service, so that the customers will continue to return and become repeat customers.
Q: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: I would have gotten a few PhDs, specifically one in Applied Sciences. And I would have also gotten an MBA degree.
Q: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: Long enough to be able to identify if it’s going to be a positive cash flow or not, which could be anywhere from six months to two years. You need to be able to identify if something is going to be an asset or a liability to your business.
Q: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: (laughs) 24 hours a day. You never stop working when you own a business. 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Q: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: I would have gotten a few PhDs, specifically one in Applied Sciences. And I would have also gotten an MBA degree.
Q: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: Long enough to be able to identify if it’s going to be a positive cash flow or not, which could be anywhere from six months to two years. You need to be able to identify if something is going to be an asset or a liability to your business.
Q: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: (laughs) 24 hours a day. You never stop working when you own a business. 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Q: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: (laughs) It takes its toll, definitely. It takes a toll on the family life. It’s hard; you’ve to juggle between the two. But at least you get to go home and have some ice cream, and the kids still get to enjoy the extra-curricular activities. We’ve still got the weekends, and I’m glad to be able to provide my family.
Q: How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: Ideas come from the knowledge within, and the experience over time. Knowledge is power, and I’ve learned a lot from mistakes, as we all should.
Q: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: I think my greatest fear is not being able to be a support to my family. And I do get concerned about my health sometimes as well.
Q: What are your ideals?
Ans: The Ten Commandments. I have a Jewish mind and heart, and I believe in monotheistic ethical capitalism.
Q: How do you define success?
Ans: Number One: Success is getting benefit of the doubt for the other guy. Number Two: Leaving a legacy for the next generation. Number Three: to be community-minded, and to support the world economy through personal relationships and repeat customers.
Q: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Personal relationships, and a good deal for both the customer and the business owner.
Q: Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: It started with a very small personal loan from my father. I had just started my family, and I needed to support them, so he helped me out in that regard.
Q: How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Again, by building good personal relationships and having repeat and referral customers. We get a lot of customers who say they heard about us from a friend or family member, or referred to us from another store. That’s huge to us.
Q: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: Location, location, location. A lot of people commute in this area and drive by us all the time. They see the sign nice and clear, and they always know where we are. Customers come in all the time saying they saw the sign and wanted to look around.
Q: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: It’s all about personal relationships, and having a product or service that is creative and innovative. You need to be flexible and adaptable to the market’s needs, and so do your products and services.
Q: If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Abraham from the Bible. He’s the one that started the Western mindset, he started monotheistic ethical capitalism at the temple mount in Jerusalem 3400 years ago. He was about a good business deal for both sides, about selflessness. He was about free public education, and when they speak of him being the father of a million nations, I believe that they’re talking about world economy, which liberates minds and hearts through education, selflessness, personal relationships, and repeat customers.
Q: Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: Again, I’d have to go with Abraham from the Bible. I say Abraham because of his great business and paradigm-breaking thought process.
Q: What book has inspired you the most? (OR What is your favorite book?)
Ans: The Torah, Book of the Prophets, and the Gospel.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: The liberty behind it, being able to have full control of your destiny.
Q: To what do you most attribute your success? What would say are the five key elements for starting and running a successful business?
Ans: Number One: Personal relationships with the customers. Number Two: Innovation and creativity. Number Three: Quick adaptability. Number Four: A strong electronics infrastructure for accounting, products, and services. Number Five: Low overhead, so the company can survive within its own financial limits.
Q: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: After installing the camera system at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I received a key to the Eternal City of Jerusalem. I’d have to say, that was my proudest moment in business.
Q: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: There needs to be a gambling instinct, an ability to take risks. You have to be willing to risk it all every day to be an entrepreneur, and a lot of people aren’t willing to do that. And there’s also a need for accountability, because if it fails you have no one to blame but yourself. You do what needs to be done.
Q: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: Our outdoor sign is really helpful, as are the repeat and referral customers. We also use Google Paperclick for online advertisements, as well as Search Engine Optimization .
Q: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Innovation
Q: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: I did some business without written contracts, which was a big mistake.
Q: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: It’s tough, you need to micromanage sometimes. You have to be on the inside and watching the intricacies of the operation constantly. You have to be aware of everything at all times because they can be financially devastating to your company.
Q: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: I love restoring old cars. I also like reading and doing some research on the internet
Q: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I wasn’t able to travel sometimes when I would have liked to, and my free time has taken a big hit. When you own a business, you don’t get a way too much. It’s very demanding, almost like raising a child.
Q: What makes you happy?
Ans: The BioTech business, because it’s all about innovation, creativity, and helping others for a better future.
Q: Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
Ans: In 10 years, I’d like to be retired from my business. In 20 years, I want to be relaxing, enjoying my time with my family and life.
Q: If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Ans: Are you happy?
