Security Confidential S2 E1 Ida Abdalkhani

Manoj Tandon: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Security Confidential. We are really honored to have Ida Abdalkhani join us this morning. Ida is the CEO of Ability to Engage and the Chief Catalyzer at her company. She is a former Global Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble, and she is also a laughter yoga coach. Ida, welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us this morning.

Ida Abdalkhani: Thank you for having me. I’m excited to be here and get to talk with you today. We talk a lot about personal development on this program from a career perspective because cybersecurity is such a growing area and represents a huge opportunity for people looking to get into a high-growth field or even those considering a career change. Personal development is a big deal, and done right, it can yield fruitful results. My journey from Procter & Gamble to Ability to Engage was completely unplanned. I went straight from Ohio State’s MBA program in strategy and marketing into P&G after interning there. I loved brand management because every day presented new challenges, and working globally exposed me to different cultures and markets. But after about five years, I started waking up unhappy and asking myself if I could really do that work for the rest of my life. I realized the answer was no. It wasn’t that I disliked the work itself, but I couldn’t see myself staying in that environment forever. Once I understood that, I knew I had to make a change, even though I had no clue what that change would be. I considered going back to school, nonprofit work, and even teaching because both my parents were professors. It was scary, but I eventually realized that while I didn’t know the right answer, I knew the wrong answer was staying in a place that made me unhappy. So I quit my job with no plan.

Manoj Tandon: Most people can relate to what you’re saying. A lot of folks feel that way but may not even admit it to themselves. That was a very gutsy move, especially because your parents came from such a stable background in academia. How did they react?

Ida Abdalkhani: At first, not well. My dad’s immediate concern was health insurance. But once my family realized this wasn’t just frustration with a manager or project and that I was deeply unhappy, they became very supportive. My brother especially encouraged me and reminded me that I’d always been entrepreneurial and creative. I was fortunate because I was in my late twenties, unmarried, without children, and able to financially prepare enough to take time off. I planned ahead for my mortgage and expenses. I know not everyone is in that position, but I realized this was a rare opportunity to explore.

Manoj Tandon: I can relate because I left a comfortable corporate role later in life to start a cybersecurity company with friends. When you have kids in college and financial obligations, that decision becomes terrifying. But I realized much of life is lived in fear—fear of failure, fear of the unknown—and once you take the leap, a lot of that fear disappears. Looking back, you wonder why you waited so long.

Ida Abdalkhani: Absolutely. We often don’t pursue dreams because we’re scared, not because we don’t want to. Getting to the other side of fear is essential. I always tell people to take baby steps if the leap feels too overwhelming. Start with smaller risks that help build confidence and create muscle memory for overcoming fear. Security itself is often an illusion. People can work for companies for decades and suddenly get laid off. Sometimes being an entrepreneur is actually more secure because you’re in control of your own direction.

Manoj Tandon: But once you make that decision, you can’t blame anyone else for the outcome. You own it completely. One thing that fascinated me from your TED Talk was your backpacking experience. Tell us about that journey.

Ida Abdalkhani: After quitting my job, I looked at my bucket list and saw “backpack around the world by age 60.” I thought, “Why wait?” I bought a one-way ticket to Europe and backpacked around the world for eight months. I funded it by cashing out part of my P&G retirement account despite the penalties. I traveled through Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Central America. It was during the Arab Spring, so the Middle East was especially intense. I visited Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and others. Backpacking there was very different because there wasn’t the same hostel infrastructure you find in Europe, but the experience was incredible. As someone who is Persian, parts of the culture felt familiar and welcoming.

Manoj Tandon: That must have been an eye-opening experience.

Ida Abdalkhani: Completely. Traveling showed me that people are far more alike than different. That realization eventually inspired Ability to Engage. I wanted to help companies understand universal human motivations and use those insights for brand strategy and innovation. The backpacking itself wasn’t the important thing—it was the pause. We spend so much of our lives thinking about what’s next instead of slowing down and spending time with our own thoughts. Society constantly tells us to focus on the future: “I’ll be happy when…” But happiness has to exist now. Creating moments of pause, whether through travel, walking in a park, camping, or simply disconnecting from constant noise, is incredibly important.

Manoj Tandon: That “I’ll be happy when” mindset is a huge issue because happiness becomes permanently attached to the future instead of the present.

Ida Abdalkhani: Exactly. One exercise I teach is to identify three things you need to stop doing and three things you need to start doing to move closer to your goal. Many of the barriers we create are artificial. People told me they could never backpack around the world, but often those obstacles can be worked through creatively. Maybe you can’t fund it the same way I did, but there’s almost always another path if it matters enough.

Manoj Tandon: Was there an epiphany during your travels that fundamentally changed how you approached business or life?

Ida Abdalkhani: Yes. Professionally, I used to obsess over outcomes and future goals. Entrepreneurship taught me to focus more on progress than outcomes. My mantra became “Be better than yesterday.” Every day I try to improve myself and my business incrementally instead of feeling frustrated over long-term goals that haven’t yet been achieved. Entrepreneurship constantly throws unexpected challenges at you, so learning to value progress over perfection was huge for me.

Manoj Tandon: People quote statistics like “90% of startups fail,” but I wonder how many failed simply because they quit too early.

Ida Abdalkhani: I completely agree. Grit and perseverance are absolutely essential. Every entrepreneur will face adversity. The key difference is whether you keep getting back up after setbacks.

Manoj Tandon: You also teach innovation. How do you teach someone to become innovative?

Ida Abdalkhani: Innovation can absolutely be learned. I teach concepts like vertical thinking versus lateral thinking. Vertical thinking is linear and logical: if A leads to B and B leads to C, you get one likely answer. Lateral thinking breaks those patterns and opens up multiple possible solutions. Using potato chips as an example, vertical thinking might create new flavors, while lateral thinking might ask, “What else can we do with the bag itself?” Maybe you make baskets or purses from the packaging. Not every idea will work, but lateral thinking expands possibilities and encourages creativity.

Manoj Tandon: That resonates strongly with what we do at Dark Rhino. We focus heavily on value innovation because cybersecurity is crowded with competitors. Differentiation becomes critical. Failures often become your greatest teacher in that process.

Ida Abdalkhani: Absolutely. Learning what doesn’t work is just as valuable as learning what does work. That process of elimination is incredibly important.

Manoj Tandon: We’ve discussed many serious topics, but you’re also a laughter yoga coach, which feels like the exact opposite of seriousness. I actually tried the exercise from your TED Talk and was shocked that fake laughter eventually became real laughter.

Ida Abdalkhani: Most people are skeptical at first. I discovered laughter yoga when I was looking for ways to reduce stress after quitting my job. I originally searched for meditation and found a laughter yoga class instead. At first, I thought it was incredibly awkward and strange, but after participating for an hour, I felt amazing. I slept better than I had in months. That experience made me curious about the science behind laughter and its effects on the body, so I pursued instructor training. Eventually, people became curious about it, especially after my TED Talk, and it organically became part of Ability to Engage.

Manoj Tandon: Is there a connection between laughter and innovation?

Ida Abdalkhani: Definitely. Laughter helps engage people, energize teams, and create openness. It’s an incredible icebreaker and collaboration tool. There’s also research showing that comedy and laughter improve creative problem-solving because they activate the right side of the brain associated with creativity and innovation. Laughter helps people loosen up mentally and become more open to new ideas.

Manoj Tandon: It also stops us from taking ourselves too seriously, which is critical because rigid thinking kills innovation.

Ida Abdalkhani: Exactly. Sometimes all we need is something disruptive enough to break our mental patterns.

Manoj Tandon: Before we wrap up, is there one final piece of advice you’d like to leave with our audience?

Ida Abdalkhani: Absolutely. Especially in uncertain times, it’s easy to feel stuck. But every moment is a chance to change your direction in life. Your tomorrow can be completely different from today. No matter your age or circumstances, you have the power to change your path if you truly want to and are willing to put effort behind it. A week, a month, or a year can completely transform your life.

Manoj Tandon: Ida, thank you so much for joining us today. Your insights into entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity, and personal growth have been refreshing and incredibly valuable.

Ida Abdalkhani: Thank you for having me. This was a lot of fun, and I hope there were some nuggets in there that help your viewers.