Radical Transparency

Uncomfortable with the privacy implications while watching his children interact with a smart speaker, Thomas Stachura decided to find some middle ground. He invented a solution and his company Paranoid Inc. is bringing it to consumers. In this episode he talks about people’s polarized attitudes towards privacy and the way COVID has amplified the divide.

He is honest about the commercialization of his products — after all, the purpose of a business is to make money — and says the only way to build consumer trust is through radical transparency.

Worryingly, Thomas sees the power of decision making around privacy in the hands of big tech and not the government, with corporations setting tougher rules for government than they ask of themselves. For Thomas, the solution is simple, the power “needs to go with the individual, and the way to do that is to give the right tools to empower them.”

05:19 — COVID is polarizing attitudes to privacy.

09:07 — How do you build customer trust? Radical transparency.

12:27 — A passionate inventor and a reluctant CEO.

15:36 — Corporations, not government, are setting the privacy rules.

For more on privacy, listen to our recent podcast with Jodi Daniels, Data Privacy Advisor at Red Clover Advisors.