The hoodies behind Zerocopter

Welcome back to one of our favourite blog series, where a different member of the team is introduced on the second Monday of each month. In these posts, you can find out more about the hoodies behind Zerocopter!

This month we would like to introduce you to our Head of Sales, Jan Albert Jonker. A lot of you may already know him because he is the person within the team who stays in close contact with our clients, and handles all the aspects when it comes to becoming one.

Please tell us a bit about yourself, who is Jan Albert Jonker?

My name is Jan Albert Jonker. I am 47 years old and I live in the north of the Netherlands. I am married and have 2 daughters. When it comes to my hobbies I love listening to (rock!) music, playing guitar, as well as enjoy a good glass of whisky from time to time.

How would you describe your job title in a couple of words?

I am Head of Sales. I talk to people that are interested in our services, and of course, I make sure the formal part of becoming a Zerocopter client is taken care of as well. I am also working closely with our Marketing and Customer Success teams.

What do you like about working in Sales at Zerocopter?

I meet interesting people every day! I talk to a lot of security professionals, from security officers to hackers, and I learn new stuff every time!

How did you end up at Zerocopter?‍

I used to be a musician, but I always worked at internet-related companies as well. In the past, I was a programmer, a designer and a frontend developer. I slowly got more involved in sales, by presenting my designs to companies. I always liked getting feedback and actually talking to people about their needs and expectations.

At some point, I was asked to set up a startup that was specialized in search engine technology. Very interesting btw! I spent most of my time finding out the sweet spot in the market, looking for organisations that needed our knowledge and products while keep learning about this complex technology.

Early 2016 I talked to a good friend of mine about Zerocopter. He introduced me and I started working here a few months later.

If you could trade positions with anyone in Zerocopter for a day, who would it be and why?

I would trade with Chantal (Head of Researchers). Zerocopter depends on our hackers and our clients. They are equally important. Since I am always involved with our clients, it would be good and educational for me to be more involved with our hackers.

What have you learned from working at Zerocopter?

I could write a book on everything I learned here! Most important for me: I learned to be more aware of all the things I do online. I always think twice about connecting to a WiFi network, about sharing any kind of information, about simply agreeing to terms, about buying ‘smart’ devices and about clicking on links in general, of course 😉

When was the first time that you heard about the term “Bug Bounty” or “Responsible Disclosure/Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure”?

April 1st, 2016. No joke.

What resources would you recommend to someone (new) in this industry?

It depends on who you are, but for me, it worked to simply ‘get out there’. I believe there are a lot of passionate people in this business – meet them! I learned a lot from hackers, security professionals in general and suppliers/companies that are involved in our industry. Everyone has their own stories to tell, their own experiences and their own view on information security. Just listen. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, you will have many!