Before there was a business, there was a feeling — a need to do good.
Hernan Popper could have gone to the dark side. As a Certified Ethical Hacker, he knows exactly how to break into systems, craft the perfect phishing email, and find the weak spot that brings an entire company down. But he chose to use that knowledge for something better.
"I just don't want to be on the dark side," said Popper. "All that experience, all that knowledge, I want to use it for good in order to prevent those things from happening."
In 2020, that decision became a company: Popp3r Cybersecurity, a boutique firm dedicated to helping small and medium-sized businesses stay safe in a world where cyberattacks are no longer a matter of if, but when.
"When you have a small business, you're putting tears, blood, sweat into your business... and suddenly your business may disappear overnight because someone stole your credentials or because someone got your client list," he said.
Popper’s goal wasn’t just to sell a service. It was to protect dreams. And to do that, he needed to protect his own.
Bringing Big Tools to Small Businesses
What makes Popp3r Cybersecurity unique is Popper’s commitment to equipping smaller organizations with the same high-level protection that massive enterprises rely on.
"A company would be really well protected when it comes to firewalls, backups, etc., but if they are not training their users… you can have the most expensive firewall, but if Joe from accounting clicks on a phishing link, that could be the end of the company."
Popper wanted to fix that — not just with tools, but with education, accountability, and proactive strategy. 60% of small businesses will fall within six months of a cyberattack.
“It's a matter of not if, but when," he emphasized.
But running a cybersecurity firm — and growing it to reach more vulnerable businesses — requires more than knowledge. It requires protection of another kind: intellectual property.
ElevateIP: Lifting the Mission
As a solo founder building something from scratch, Popper knew trademarks, contracts, and legal work weren’t just intimidating — they were expensive. As a small business owner, he wasn’t planning on securing trademark work or conducting a full IP strategy.
That’s where ElevateIP came in.
A federally funded, nationwide initiative aimed at equipping Canadian startups with the essential resources to understand, develop strategy, and create intellectual property (IP) assets, ElevateIP gave Popper the support he needed — not just financially, but strategically.
"The support that I got from North Forge was not only game-changing on the money side, but also on the how to do it," he said. "Because I wouldn’t even know where to start."
Through ElevateIP, Popper worked with legal advisors to secure trademarks, strengthen his website’s legal policies, and create partnership and subcontractor agreements that protected his innovations and brand.
"We did their IP strategy, and most of the benefit came from protecting my accounts, protecting the brand, protecting the logos, protecting the wording," he said. "I also got a lot of support when it comes to agreements… how to work those in order to make sure that we own the IP, right?"
Without the program, he said simply, “I wouldn’t have done any of the work.”
A Wake-Up Call for Entrepreneurs
Popper believes ElevateIP isn’t just a grant — it’s a lifeline for founders who are too busy keeping their businesses afloat to stop and protect them properly.
"Do something not only about IP, but also about cybersecurity. Because now that you're thinking about IP… you should also think about cyber. If you don't, somebody else is thinking on how to hack you."
With ElevateIP and North Forge by his side, Popper’s not just defending brands — he’s defending livelihoods, hopes, and hard work.
And thanks to that support, more small businesses can sleep a little easier.
To learn more about how you can protect your business from a cybersecurity attack, visit www.popp3r.com. To learn more about the ElevateIP program and apply for funding, visit www.elevate-ip.ca.
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