Mary Guzman, CEO of Crown Jewel® Insurance, the world's first trade secret insurer, joins host KJ to expose one of the most overlooked assets inside a business. She explains how trade secrets differ from patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and why they now hold an estimated five times the value of patents in the US. The conversation covers why the cyber insurance market has steered clear of intellectual property, how Crown Jewel pre-agrees on what qualifies as a trade secret and puts a value on it before a loss happens, and what that means when key engineers walk out the door with a company's innovation. Guzman also makes the case that founders, CFOs, and investors are sitting on off-balance sheet assets that could reshape how companies get valued, insured, and funded.

Key Takeaways:

4:23 — When should a company patent an idea, and when should it keep it secret?

8:19 — How did trade secrets come to hold five times the value of patents?

18:15 — What happens when a company suspects its trade secrets walked out the door?

27:30 — Who should care most about an asset that never shows up on the balance sheet?

Quote of the Show (28:38):

"All of a sudden you have an off-balance sheet asset that was right under your nose the whole time that's worth $60 million." — Mary Guzman

Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome.

Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval

Ways to connect with Mary Guzman:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-guzman-49183b29

Company Website: https://crownjewelinsurance.com

How to get more Disruption/Interruption:

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption

Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuption