Our Startup Spotlight series introduces you to the entrepreneurs in our community, sharing their unique journeys as founders.

This week, we put the spotlight on Matthew Roberts, founder of Anchorpoint, who offer independent, part-time cyber security leadership and support across the entire superyacht ecosystem, both onboard yachts and for businesses ashore.

What’s your story? How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Redundancy gave me a chance to reflect on a decade in the superyacht industry across physical security, communications, IT, and the last five years focusing on cybersecurity.

Over the past decade, cybersecurity incidents have happened regularly. They were either ignored or swept under the rug. Since 2021, new cybersecurity regulations have created pressure without providing much clarity.

Anchorpoint was born out of this gap. We saw a need for independent, fractional cybersecurity support that’s clear, practical, and specific.

Why does the industry need the solution you’re providing?

There is no shortage of cybersecurity tools, many now repackaged for yachting (often with a hefty “yacht tax”). Or companies now ‘doing cyber’ because VSAT revenues have diminished and not recovered by reselling Starlink. There is a tangible lack of leadership and guidance that is objective and prioritises the client’s best interests.

Most yachts and shore-based suppliers don’t need a full-time CISO (Chief Information Security Officer – basically the ‘Head of Cyber’);they just need someone to help them understand the risks, meet compliance, and avoid costly mistakes. That’s where we come in.

Our focus is on what actually matters: education, awareness, process, and better decision-making. We help people know what to buy, what to avoid, and what questions to ask.

What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?

The freedom to build something genuinely useful. Because we’re not tied to any vendor or product, we act as a true extension of the client’s team, aligned only with their best interests. That kind of independence is rare in yachting, and it’s why people trust us. It’s also been incredibly energising to move quickly.

For example, cybersecurity stats are often thrown around but rarely specific to yachting. 43% of businesses have experienced some kind of cybersecurity incident in the past 12 months (GOV UK), but this does not translate to the yachting industry.

So we’ve started collecting industry-specific data to raise awareness and help crews prioritise protections that actually reflect what’s going wrong onboard.

Read more: Startup Spotlight –  Boatscribe

What challenges did you have to overcome at the beginning?

The concept of a “fractional” service was new to many in yachting. So was a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer).

In simple terms, “fractional CISO” means accessing the cybersecurity expertise you need, but only for the time and cost you actually require.

Early on, we had to educate people on what we do, why it matters, and how it complements the operations of that yacht program or land-based business. We are slowly earning the trust that will set us apart from the competition by showing up, sharing knowledge, offering free training, and helping at every opportunity.

It’s still a challenge, but the momentum is growing, and where everyone else is trying to mark up every charge or widget, we are focused on delivering immediate impact and lasting value for the fees we charge.

Any advice for entrepreneurs just starting out in this space?

I believe it’s too early in my entrepreneurial journey to start giving advice until I have proven myself. What I would recommend to others, especially at the early stages of launching their first major venture, is to absorb as much knowledge as possible.

Ask far more questions than you answer, and listen carefully to your initial customers, even if their feedback challenges your ego.

And a fun one—what’s a quote or some words that you live by?

Truthfully, I find personal quotes a bit cringey. So instead, here’s one that genuinely changed my thinking when starting Anchorpoint.

During an interview at a conference, Jeff Bezos said: “I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ But I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change?’”

He explained that you can build a business strategy around things that are stable over time. That hit home for me because no matter how much technology changes, people are always going to need help navigating cybersecurity, not just to stay compliant, but to make smart decisions. That’s not changing in the decades ahead, and it’s ultimately what convinced me to start and why Anchorpoint exists.

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