NASE in the News

Protecting Self-Employment

Andy Pham is the Founder of Company Alarm located in Meridian, Idaho. Andy Pham is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully started more than 30 companies in the last 20 years. Those businesses range from real estate development to medical technology to oil and gas drilling and production programs. Company Alarm, started in 2019 after Andy himself had an incident of business identity theft.

When and why did you join the NASE?
NASE provides many tools for small businesses. I wanted to be a part of that.

What inspired you to enter the field you are in?
I launched Company Alarm, a business identity theft protection company, to prevent what happened to me from happening to other businesspeople.

When and why did you start your business?
I founded Company Alarm in 2019 after an identity thief used the Nevada Secretary of State’s online business portal, SilverFlume, to hijack a holding company I controlled. That company held a $5 million piece of land that I and a group of investors owned free and clear in Las Vegas, where we were going to build luxury townhomes. Once the thief hijacked the holding company, he stole the land (in minutes) borrowed against it for $1.75 million dollars cash, moved it into another LLC and then tried to sell it for $2.3 million.

How do you market your business?
I follow the tenant outlined in Mark Schaefer’s book, “Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins.”

What challenges have you faced in your business? How have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge Company Alarm has faced thus far is that business identity theft is not well known. We spend a lot of our time educating potential clients about their vulnerabilities. More than $3 billion will be lost thanks to business identity theft in 2020. We are here to protect business owners.

Do you have any employees?
Yes, we currently have 3 full-time and 2 part-time employees.

What’s your schedule like, what’s a typical day for you?
As the leader of a new startup, I put in long hours, typically 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

What’s the best thing about being self-employed?
I set the tone for my company. Many think they know about business identity theft, but they don’t. Being a victim myself gives me the ability to create the best software to combat business identity theft.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received from a client?
A client once told me I’m an “architect of change.”

What’s the most important piece of advice you would give to someone starting their own business?
Be patient and persistent. Have an open mind and move fast, with confidence.

Which NASE member benefit is most important to you?
I’m most looking forward to tapping NASE’s experts for advice. Their insights will help Company Alarm grow and evolve quicker.

Any other information you would like to share?
No businessman is an island. To be successful, you must be humble and seek out the advice of those smarter than you. With the guidance of experts in the business community, law enforcement and government, I know Company Alarm will get the edge it needs.