Get to Know the SCV Team

At a Glance —

What we do:
Hank Thomas: CEO, Co-Founder, and Accidental Venture Capitalist
Chris Ahern: SCV Principal
Abbie Ginis: Marketing & Operations

What do you like best about working at SCV?
HT: Doing things our own way and learning something new every day. Coming up with new ways to help the cybersecurity industry and our portfolio never gets dull.
CA: The ability to invest over a long-term horizon allowing us to navigate crowded, noisy, and turbulent markets.
AG: I like the amount of variability in the day to day. It's cliche to say, but no two days are alike, which I love. Keeps me on my toes!

What is something in the industry that you want to fix?
HT: As an industry we have often been in retreat (like moving backwards retreat) against a global network of criminals and nation states. We need to reverse that trend where it actually exists, and the perception generally. We need to be aggressive about doing this.
CA: How much "noise" there is in the market. It's a vague term, but to me it means how many companies are competing for the same budget dollars and attention with the same messaging and substantially similar products.

Targeted:

Hank, you've been with SCV since day one. Nearly five years later, what changes have you noticed most and what are you most excited for in the future?
HT: Our ability to pivot and do new things that other VC firms can't. Like create and invest in a SPAC to begin to roll up the highly fragmented cybersecurity market.

What made you the proudest to be SCV CEO this year?
HT: Launching via IPO the industry's first cybersecurity Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation (SPAC) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SCVX). It is real financial innovation for the industry looking for solutions outside of VC, PE, and traditional IPO. (Learn more here.)

A Deeper Dive:

What do you enjoy doing when you're not working?
HT: I think about my next ski trip pretty much every day of the year.
CA: Traveling and hanging out with friends and family, exercising, checking out new bars and restaurants, reading.
AG: In the before times, I was an avid movie and concert goer. These days, it's a lot more reading and biking. And Survivor. Lots of Survivor.

What's your favorite conspiracy theory?
HT: I am a fan of cryptozoology. I also enjoy reading about ancient alien theory. I suppose some people consider those conspiracy theories. I also worked as an intern for U.S. Senator Arlen Spector in the 90s. He served on the Warren Commission back in the 60s and it made me very interested in the magic bullet conspiracy theory associated with the JFK assassination.
AG: Simulation Theory, which basically posits that we're living in an advanced digital construct, like a computer simulation (aka the matrix). Kind of grim, but if you're enjoying life, does it really matter that it might not be real?

Do you have any pets? If so, tell us about them! If not… what's your dream pet?
HT: I have a 13 year old dog named Harrison. I got him from a high kill dog shelter in Georgia 12 years ago. He is high maintenance, but has taught me patience and so many other life lessons. In return, I have given him a bougie city life in DC. I hope he considers it a fair trade.
CA: No pets right now. Probably a wolf? Credit Game of Thrones for that idea.
AG: Do plants count? No? Honestly, I think a dog would be the dream pet, which is great because they actually exist. One day.

What's your go-to podcast?
HT: For a down and dirty cyber infusion, I still head to The Cyber Wire.
CA: How I Built This
AG: Reply All

What's one movie everyone should see?
HT: Point Break
CA: The original Blade Runner
AG: The Princess Bride

Favorite spot in DC?
HT: The Bar at Compass Rose, my outdoor space at home, or Roosevelt Island, depends on my mood.
CA: Chicken & Whiskey
AG: Suns Cinema

Any other miscellaneous info you'd like to include?
HT: I have taken up skating again, but my level of concern for injury is much higher than when I was 16. Pray for me.
CA: Not many people know that I was born and raised in Dubai since no one wants to hear a standard intro that starts with "Well I was born in …"