Founders Everywhere: Bob Lam
Bob Lam is the co-founder & CEO of ShardSecure, a cybersecurity company that strengthens data security, enhances privacy, and ensures resilience for hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
In the face of rising cyberattacks and operational complexity, data protection is more critical than ever. While encryption is one of the most effective ways to secure data, most enterprise data remains unencrypted. That’s because traditional encryption usually creates a lot of friction by slowing workflows, annoying users, and complicating cloud and AI usage. ShardSecure provides a revolutionary, agentless encryption solution, securing data wherever it resides (on-premises, in the cloud, or across hybrid and multi-cloud environments). Their patented, innovative technology prevents attackers from ever accessing valuable data. In addition to advanced data privacy, the ShardSecure platform provides agentless file-level encryption, ransomware mitigation, and support for cross-border regulatory compliance.
ShardSecure was founded in 2019 by four cybersecurity veterans: Bob Lam, Lou Steinberg, Jesper Tohmo, and Christer Roslund. Bob, the company’s CEO, is a longtime cybersecurity entrepreneur with more than 20 years of leadership experience in both startups and large enterprises. Lou, based in New York alongside Bob, is a recognized security expert and investor with decades of industry experience. Jesper and Christer, both seasoned technologists from Sweden, bring deep expertise in data security and software engineering. The US and Swedish co-founders combined their backgrounds to create a cross-Atlantic collaboration dedicated to reshaping data protection and cybersecurity.
What’s ShardSecure’s North Star?
Our top goal is total data protection. If you use our product, even if data is exfiltrated, it remains encrypted and unusable for attackers. We’re obsessed with ensuring there’s no way for data loss to result in damage, so organizations can maintain trust and legal compliance. So far, we’ve been successful in achieving that.
What sets ShardSecure apart?
Our patented innovation, called “microsharding,” works a bit like a puzzle. We break data down into tiny, meaningless pieces (down to the byte level), so even if hackers access it, they can’t reassemble anything valuable. For example, think about a Social Security number: nine digits can be split into single bytes, or even just the last four digits. Alone, those fragments are meaningless (especially when mixed with thousands of other fragments) unless you have our “secret sauce” to put them back together. Our software does that seamlessly for authorized users, without adding latency or requiring software agents. That’s a big differentiator, since encryption usually involves deploying agents on devices, which creates friction for end users. With ShardSecure, the protection is transparent and customers don’t even notice it’s there.
What makes ShardSecure a “must-have” vs a “nice-to-have”?
We ensure that even if a company’s data is breached, the information remains encrypted and protected. Without it, hacks can expose sensitive data, create legal liability, damage a company’s reputation, and cause costly operational downtime, such as shutting down systems during ransomware attacks. ShardSecure prevents these consequences, making it essential for any organization that is serious about data security. We also ensure data resilience, so customers can recover their data instantly from other locations in the event of an attack.
Tell us about a recent milestone that ShardSecure has crushed.
One of our key milestones has been building revenue-generating strategic partnerships. Cybersecurity is dominated by a few large players, so smaller companies often struggle to capture revenue. Hiring a large sales team is expensive and not always effective, so our strategy has been to focus on high-impact partnerships that leverage the brand and sales teams of larger companies. For example, KPMG, one of the Big Four consulting firms, is both an investor and a partner, which has been very helpful. We also just announced Entrust as a strategic partner, a long-established company with over 40 years in data security. These partnerships allow us to go to market more effectively, scale our reach, and accelerate adoption.
How has your background influenced you as a founder?
I started my career on Wall Street in cybersecurity at Bear Stearns, which later became a part of JP Morgan, before moving into entrepreneurship about 15 years ago. Since then, I’ve founded and led several security startups, including two successful acquisitions. That combination of enterprise security experience and startup building has shaped how I approach leading ShardSecure, with a focus on practical innovation and strategic growth.
Fun Fact:
I picked up running during COVID and have completed several half-marathons. Having qualified for the 2026 New York City Marathon, I’m now training for my first full. It’s a great metaphor for founder life, requiring perseverance, endurance, and the determination to push through the tough miles.
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