With products like HeyPolo and Incogni, it looks like Surfshark is already way beyond being just a VPN brand. What is it becoming?

We never wanted to lock ourselves in the VPN area only - we always knew that we were building an all-in-one cybersecurity solution. That’s why the name is Surfshark, not Surfshark VPN.

To understand what we’re becoming, it helps to look at how we operate today:

A multi-brand ecosystem: Surfshark, Incogni and HeyPolo are standalone brands within the broader Surfshark Group. They operate independently with dedicated focus on their specific verticals – like personal data removal (Incogni) or family safety app (HeyPolo).

Expanding the Surfshark app: At the same time, the core Surfshark product itself has evolved into an all-in-one cybersecurity hub. A VPN secures your connection, but modern threats are far more complex. That’s why we’ve built built-in features like Alternative ID to mask leaked identities and Scam Text Protection to stop fraudulent messages before they reach your phone.

Whether through our standalone specialized brands or the core Surfshark app, our ultimate goal is clear: we want to become the most beloved cybersecurity products for everyone. We’re building an ecosystem where robust security and digital privacy don't require a degree in computer science.

You went from paid ads specialist to CEO in seven years. What made those promotions obvious, and what does that trajectory tell us about Surfshark’s internal culture?

I wouldn’t say that those promotions felt 'obvious' – they were simply the result of focusing on execution, measurable impact, and taking ownership beyond my job description. Starting in marketing gave me an understanding of our users: what hurts them, what resonates with them; later, my experience as a product manager taught me how our product solves their real-world problems. As I stepped into operational and executive roles, that user-first perspective remained my north star.

What my journey really reflects though, is the DNA of Surfshark’s culture. One of our key principles is called “Radical Ownership” which means that each and every one of us has to truly solve the issues around you rather than brushing it off to “that’s not up to me”. I believe that when you truly care about the issues that you’re solving, the products you are building, deliver real impact, and lift the team up with you, there is zero ceiling on how far or how fast you can grow here.

Privacy is going mainstream. We’re seeing OS-level features, new regulations, and millions of first-time privacy users entering the market. What opportunities does this open up for Surfshark?

When tech giants add OS-level privacy controls or regulators push for stricter data laws, we see it as total validation of what we’ve been building toward. It educates the mainstream user that digital privacy isn't just a niche topic for the tech-savvy – it’s a basic digital right.

This growing awareness opens up a massive opportunity for us to broaden our impact. While VPNs, one of our key offerings, remain a powerful core tool, many first time users find network-level privacy quite abstract. The mainstream shift allows us to meet users where they actually feel the pain, introducing protection against everyday threats – from scam texts to leaked personal data.

Importantly, as operating systems expand their privacy features - like Apple introducing VPN support to Apple TV - it actually opens new doors for us. Instead of competing with OS-level updates, we leverage them to build richer, deeply integrated, and more seamless user experiences. An independent security provider like Surfshark can take those native OS capabilities and elevate them into a unified, high-quality experience across every device a user owns.

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