80% of His Team Were Trapped. This CEO Made One Bold Decision That Saved His Company | Ep 39

When Russia invaded Ukraine, 80% of Cyberhaven’s engineering team was in Kyiv. Overnight, a scaling cybersecurity startup became a company fighting for its survival, and CEO Howard Ting had to decide what kind of leader he was going to be.

In this episode of Inside the Silicon Mind, Howard shares the story of his darkest moment as a CEO – the days when he thought it might be the end of the company – and the bold, people‑first decisions that helped them make it through. He talks candidly about the human cost of those choices, the weight of responsibility to employees and their families, and what it really feels like to lead in a live‑fire crisis.

Along the way, Howard explains why he believes most companies don’t ultimately fail on product or market, but on people – and how that realisation has reshaped his approach to hiring, culture, and leadership over the course of his career.

Who this episode is for:

• Founders and CEOs who want an honest, unvarnished look at what crisis leadership actually feels like behind the scenes.

• Startup leaders and operators who are thinking about how hiring, culture, and motivation really drive company survival.

• Engineering and product leaders responsible for distributed teams, especially those operating in high‑risk or unstable environments.

• Anyone juggling an intense career with family life and wondering about the real tradeoffs required to “go all in” on a company.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How he led Cyberhaven through the first 24 hours after Russia invaded Ukraine, with most of the engineering team trapped in a war zone.

• Why he told his team “Family first. Country second. Company last.” – and how that principle guided every decision.

• The concrete steps Cyberhaven took to support employees and their families, from financial support and relocation to exploring every possible route to safety.

• The operational playbook for building fault tolerance under fire: creating redundancy, focusing the roadmap, and keeping customers confident in the middle of chaos.

• Why Howard believes most companies fail because of people, not product – including the dangers of stage‑wrong hires, “rocket‑ship riders”, and over‑reliance on high‑priced free agents.

• How developing leaders from within and betting on your own people can become a long‑term competitive advantage.

• The personal cost of leading a high‑growth startup through crisis, and how the experience reshaped Howard’s view of success, sacrifice, and the different “types of wealth” that matter over a career.