How Echelon Risk + Cyber Cracked the Inc. 5000: Core Values That Fueled the Growth

Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and TechVibe sits down with Dan Desko, founder of Echelon Risk + Cyber, to talk about the company’s rapid growth and Inc. 5000 ranking at #433. Desko explains Echelon as a full-service cybersecurity firm offering professional and managed services, including governance, risk and compliance, pen testing, defensive engineering, and security team-as-a-service led by virtual CISOs, with partners like CrowdStrike. He credits their success to intentionally defined core values: being client-centric, prioritizing teamwork, hiring people with personality (not clones), facing issues head-on through trust and leader modeling, keeping culture fun with “more cowbell,” and a sixth value, “turning pro,” meaning continual improvement with no mountaintop. They also discuss “Echelon,” the company’s annual remote-first team gathering, including hikes in places like Asheville, to sustain culture and celebrate wins. 00:00 Inc 5000 Celebration 01:45 What Echelon Does 03:29 Core Values Blueprint 04:56 Client Centric Culture 07:36 Teamwork One Fight 09:07 Hiring Personality 11:55 Facing Issues Head On 14:56 More Cowbell Fun 16:41 Turning Pro Mindset 17:43 Echelon Retreat Culture 21:08 Wrap Up And Congrats