About
As an entrepreneur, Kurt believes in 'business as a force for good' combined with a ‘people-first’ leadership philosophy having founded, grown and sold three successful businesses as well as serving as an investor, advisor and board member for numerous others. Currently, Kurt is Chair and Co-Founder of BUNKR. BUNKR empowers consumers and their households to organise, secure and share the most important information in their lives. The full product launch is expected in 2023. BUNKR believes privacy is a human right and is committed to a business model which generates on-going value in its customers’ lives.
Kurt is active with a variety of projects as an investor, mentor and through the Long Family Force for Good Foundation including work with Big Change, Virgin Strive, National Tennis Foundation, EasyPeasy, VentureWave, the Brookings Institute and Give Learn. With generous community matching the Long Family raised 1,800,000 meals for the people of Tampa Bay during the Covid crisis. Kurt co-founded and funded “Next Generation Entrepreneurs” with a major public school system in the United States.
Kurt founded and grew the software privacy company FairWarning with less $1 million of outside investment exclusively from life-long friends. FairWarning produced a 75x+ shareholder return as well as profits every year for over a decade. In 2019 FairWarning was acquired by Imprivata and continues to protect patient privacy in 8,500 healthcare facilities as well as financial institutions around the world. FairWarning was recognized as a Tampa Bay Top Workplace for 8 consecutive years as voted on by its employees.
Kurt started his career at the Kennedy Space Center as space shuttle databank mission lead for the Hubble Space Telescope, Venus Radar Mapper, Galileo (released probes into Jupiter atmosphere), Ulysses (Sun close fly-by) as well as numerous other missions. He has been granted nine patents in privacy and security technology globally and has a Masters degree in Theoretical Mathematics and Bachelors degree in Business.
Kurt Long
Business as a Force for Good
True entrepreneurs create sustainable value in the lives of all stakeholders beginning with the lives of their customers. In every decision, an entrepreneur weighs the on-going impact to customers, team members, community, planet and of course shareholders.
Becoming a force for good is an earned privilege and well worth the effort.
12 Words that took a Lifetime to Learn
Truth
"There are many kinds of truth, some simple and verifiable. The most interesting truths are powerful and complex, knowing them requires listening to everyone's view point for insight realizing that alone we only see a sliver of these kinds of truth."
Respect
"The recognition that another person brings something to the table that you don't"
Tough
"The ability to encounter wrenching setbacks-losses, learn from them, heal and recover quickly so you can carry on in an improved way"
Integrity
"The willingness and courage to consistently deal with truths. It takes wisdom to chose the time and place for dealing with some truths gracefully"
Family
"While it is very important to have ongoing relationships with your family of origin, our working family is the collection of people who make sacrifices toward our spiritual betterment. Its important to return their generosity, or you may lose them."
Persist
"To carry on toward our vision of a better tomorrow sometimes with very little or even no encouragement"
Inspiration
"To recognize something bigger than yourself that you believe is good and are willing to sacrifice to be a part"
Love
”The willingness to sacrifice toward the spiritual growth & betterment of a person beginning with yourself”
Forgiveness
"The ability to heal yourself from past disappointments, learn from them and move forward into the future".
Vision
"Everything in life and business begins with your optimistic visualization of how you will participate in a future that is of your own creation"
Money
"Money is an amplifier of who you are and if well earned represents the value you create in the lives of others. If earned unethically, money is a burden and stress on the soul"
Listen
"The foundational skill in building partnerships and cooperation in reaching mutual goals. Actually listening requires a still mind and an aspiration to eliminate the biases which plague each of us, thus listening requires self-awareness"
Career of Business as a Force for Good
2005-2019
Founder & CEO
FairWarning
Kurt Long is the visionary creator of FairWarning® and served as the company's CEO for 14 years. FairWarning's vision is to protect health, wealth and personal information for every person on Earth. FairWarning® underwent significant growth since Kurt founded the company in 2005 and the company's Patient Privacy Intelligence customers represent over 8,000 healthcare facilities globally. FairWarning's Cloud Security offering protects financial services customers with over $ 1 Trillion in assets. FairWarning® ultimately acquired by Imprivata in a highly successful exit.
1994-2004
Fouder & CEO
OpenNetwork
Founded and served as CEO of OpenNetwork Technologies a recognized innovator and leader in web single sign on and identity management solutions. OpenNetwork’s SSO and identity management solutions are used by Global 2000 companies across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. While CEO of OpenNetwork, Long was named an Ernst & Young Florida Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. OpenNetwork received numerous awards for growth and innovation prior to being acquired by BMC Software:
• Deloitte & Touche Fast 50, multiple years
• Global Software 500
• AlwayOn Top 100 Private Companies
1984-1993
Software Engineer
Kennedy Space Center - Lockheed Space Operations Company
All accomplishments with assistance of senior supervision from Databank Flight and Ground leads as well as support from senior design agency (Rockwell International) personnel:
Personally developed algorithms, system and associated software for improving real-time measurement and command processing speeds used by systems and personnel in the Kennedy Space Center Launch Control Center. The software automated the process of fitting line segments to multi-variable polynomial equations that represented Space Shuttle measurements and commands. The software and associated system utilized “divide and conquer”, and “least squares fit” techniques developed under Master’s Thesis at the University of South Florida. Served in various additional capacities including developing software for analysis of Space Shuttle telemetry data as well as automation software for databank mission loading.
2020-Present
Co-Founder and President
BUNKR
BUNKR Life's vision is to empower households to protect the most important information in their lives while streamlining day-to-day activities so that people can spend time on what matters most. BUNKR Life leverages the latest cloud-based software technologies to provide a first of its kind mobile platform that empowers households to build trusted networks of professionals, and protect their household against the threats of everyday modern life.
Current Projects
LONG FAMILY FORCE FOR GOOD FOUNDATION
Sports and Adventure
Travel and Culture
