PRACTICAL CYBERSECURITY SKILLS
The Cybersecurity Launchpad
Designed for busy professionals establishing their company's defences—structured, practical, and accountability-driven.
Tailored 6-Session Streams - Fall Registration Closing Soon!
Six hands-on sessions, specific to your cybersecurity needs, to get the technical know-how and critical competencies to get the job done.
Thursdays mornings & full day Thursdays - Virtual
18 live instructional hours total
Cost: $1,099 per seat (Eligible for 50% reimbursement through CAPG funding support)
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Foundations 01 - Introductory Virtual Session
Gain the essential building blocks of your cybersecurity in 3 hours
Choose from multiple Tuesday sessions to best fit your schedule
Cost: $250 per seat
Contact us for bulk pricing
Join the singular Foundations 01 session
OR
Go deeper in one of three specialized streams available:
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Secure Dev Basics
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Supply Chain Guardrails
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Compliance Kickstarter
Are you...
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... the first person tasked with building a security program at your company?
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... hit with a 300-question security questionnaire and don’t know where to begin?
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... tired of prospects ghosting after asking for your SOC 2 or ISO 27001 status?
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... and your developers overwhelmed with ad-hoc security requests?
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... scrambling to answer due diligence questions from investors or partners?
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... worried you’re one breach away from losing customer trust?
The Cybersecurity Launchpad:
Foundations 01
Register
Need just the basics, or want a sample before you commit to a stream?
One session, 3-hours, all essentials.
What is Foundations 01?
- As the starting point for each tailored stream, it introduces the essential building blocks of security: Why it matters, the CIA Triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability), common threats, and the basics of risk.
- You’ll leave the session with the ability to create a draft risk heatmap and start establishing your security roadmap.
Why take it?
- If you’re new to security or building a program from scratch, this session gives you the shared vocabulary and mindset to understand risks and talk about them with your team. It’s the foundation for everything else.
Choose the Foundations 01 session that works best for your schedule:
| Fall 2025 Sessions | Winter 2026 Sessions |
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Register
The Cybersecurity Launchpad:
Tailored Security Streams
Learn how to build the mindset and culture needed for security success in your company
Each stream is made up of six hands-on sessions, designed for professionals working in startups or small-to-mid-sized companies who are either launching their organization’s internal security program or stepping into their first security leadership role. Blending technical sessions with InceptionU Metaskills sessions mean you'll have both the technical know-how and critical competencies to get the job done.
You’ll walk away with security foundations tailored to your organization’s needs—and the confidence to lead.
Which Cybersecurity Launchpad stream is right for you?
Navigate the stream cards below and determine what you need to protect your business and your customers
What it is:
- Focused on developers and QA, this stream weaves security into your software development lifecycle.
- You’ll learn lightweight threat modeling, how to address the most common vulnerabilities, and how to add automated security checks to CI/CD pipelines.
Why take it:
- If you want your dev team to ship fast without shipping risk, this is the toolkit.
- If you want to avoid embarrassing vulnerabilities, improve code quality, and build confidence with both leadership and customers that security is “built-in, not bolted-on.”
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Eligible for 50% reimbursement through CAPG funding support
Secure Dev Basics - By Session:
Session Title |
Outcomes/Artifacts |
Foundations 01(CIA, threats, risk) |
Shared vocabulary + risk heatmap draft + security mapping |
Secure SDLC & Threat Modeling (STRIDE-lite) |
Threat model doc + security acceptance criteria |
Evolution → Adaptation → Iteration |
Experiment Plan: 1‑week experiment spec (hypothesis, metric, owner), backlog entry, review cadence. |
OWASP Top 10: “Practical 5” |
Vulnerability playbook + sample tests |
Supply Chain & CI Security (SCA/SAST) |
CI/CD security workflow (e.g., GitHub Actions) |
Checklists & Runbooks |
10‑Step Checklist + Runbook skeleton for one recurring task. |
This Stream:
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... will lock down your software supply chain.
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... combines secure SDLC practices with CI/CD hardening, evidence collection, and runbooks for repeatable workflows.
Why take it:
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Modern attacks often hit through dependencies, pipelines, or vendors. This stream gives you the guardrails to catch issues early, prove hygiene to auditors/customers, and prevent supply-chain risk from becoming a single point of failure.
- Eligible for 50% reimbursement through CAPG funding support
Supply Chain Guardrails - By Session:
Session Title |
Outcomes/Artifacts |
Foundations 01(CIA, threats, risk) |
Shared vocabulary + risk heatmap draft + security mapping |
Secure SDLC & Threat Modeling (STRIDE-lite) |
Threat model doc + security acceptance criteria |
Supply Chain & CI Security (SCA/SAST) |
CI/CD security workflow (e.g., GitHub Actions) |
Checklists & Runbooks |
10‑Step Checklist + Runbook skeleton for one recurring task. |
Tooling Quick Wins (SIEM/EDR/IaC baselines) |
Baseline rules + IaC starter pack |
Influence & Persuasion |
Stakeholder Influence Plan: message matrix (who/what/why/next step), trigger–action–reward framing; mini pilot ask. |
What it is:
- The Compliance Kickstart Stream gives you the foundations to tackle compliance requirements head-on.
- You’ll walk away with draft policies, a vendor risk approach, and a gap snapshot against SOC2/ISO, all supported by evidence collection practices.
Why take it:
- If you’re getting hit with security questionnaires from customers or starting to think about SOC2/ISO certification, this gets you moving quickly without drowning in complexity.
- It’s a pragmatic on-ramp that turns compliance from a blocker into a business enabler.
- Eligible for 50% reimbursement through CAPG funding support
Compliance Kickstart - By Session:
Session Title |
Outcomes/Artifacts |
Foundations 01(CIA, threats, risk) |
Shared vocabulary + risk heatmap draft + security mapping |
Minimum Viable Policies (MVP) |
3–5 policy drafts (AUP, Access, Logging, Backup) |
G.O. T.H.E.R.E. + SEXI (Statement, Explanation, Example, Interpretation) |
4‑Line Brief for a security decision; exec speaking points; slide snippet. |
Third-Party/Vendor Risk + Questionnaires |
Experiment Plan: 1‑week experiment spec (hypothesis, metric, owner), backlog entry, review cadence. |
Compliance Gap Snapshot (SOC2/ISO) |
Gap matrix + 60-day action list |
Influence & Persuasion |
Stakeholder Influence Plan: Message matrix (who/what/why/next step), trigger–action–reward framing; mini pilot ask. |
Select Your Stream, and Build Your Security Foundation
Secure Dev Basics
Fall Cohort: Oct. 21 - Oct. 30
Winter Cohort: Feb. 3 - Feb. 12
Tuesdays & Thursdays, Virtual
$1,099
Contact us for bulk pricing
Register
Supply Chain Guardrails
Fall Cohort: Oct. 21 - Nov. 6
Winter Cohort: Feb. 3 - Feb. 19
Thursdays (after a Tuesday kickoff), Virtual
$1,099
Contact us for bulk pricing
Register
Compliance Kickstarter
Fall Cohort: Nov. 18 - Nov. 27
Winter Cohort: Feb. 24 - Mar. 5
Tuesdays & Thursdays, Virtual
$1,099
Contact us for bulk pricing
Register
What will I get out of this program?
Final outcomes for The Cybersecurity Launchpad, by stream:
- Secure Dev Basics: Threat‑aware user stories, practical vuln fixes, CI gates + checklists.
- Supply Chain Guardrails: Evidence-rich CI and runbooks for repeatable, auditable supply-chain hygiene.
- Compliance Kickstart: Clear policy set, vendor approach nailed, gap snapshot, and evidence engine.
Regardless of which stream you choose, you can be confident that all of them are:
- Blending real-world action with foundational knowledge
- Rooted in critical thinking, systems thinking, and adaptive security practices
- Built around the OPAR model (Orientation, Provocation, Action, Reflection) striking a balance between theoretical and practical application
- Designed for busy professionals—structured, practical, and accountability-driven
InceptionU Programming Testimonials
Henry Ha
Developer
What really impressed me with the InceptionU learners is that they are presented with real-world problems and challenges. The students are then tasked with addressing these problems and present their solutions. That's someone who I want to put in front of a client.
Kahled Elbitar
CEO, Solution Stack
I decided to seek some more formal training, and that was at InceptionU. And I was blown away with how fast I was able to learn the basics that I had been struggling over for two years that I was trying to do it on my own; how succinctly they were able to teach it, and then go way past that and blow your expectations out for how much you can learn in a short period of time.
Aric Crosson-Bouwers
Developer, Collegium
My experience at InceptionU has blown me away. I had high expectations to learn the technical skills, and what I found at InceptionU is that they bring all the right people, not only for techinical skills, but for what tech can be. The diversity in the cohort, and the diversity in the facilitators has been great. InceptionU has been a game-changer and a life changer for me.
Vince Iannelli
Social Innovation Hub, Innovate Calgary
Experienced facilitators dedicated to your success
Shane Fast
Shane is a software developer and entrepreneur with a background in electrical engineering. A co-founder of legal tech startup Athennian, he spent 7 years helping the company grow and secure Series B funding. He now serves as Director of Technical Operations at CheckFront and runs his own consulting firm, Sandevistan Tech Inc.
Greg Hart
Greg is a super-connected entrepreneur, visionary and essential part of The InceptionU founding and facilitation team. He is also the Founder and CEO of Future Fit Cities. His expertise in design and critical thinking is a core component of the experiences he designs for both organizations. Greg is a sessional lecturer at the University of Calgary and has personally assessed nearly 200 design solutions for companies in various industries ranging from software development to tech manufacturing and heavy industry.
Companies who’ve hired InceptionU alumni
Your questions, answered.
1. What is InceptionU’s philosophy on learning?
At InceptionU, we believe that humans learn by doing. We've built experiential programs that are active, discovery driven, immersive, to build core competencies (both technical and non-technical) and challenging all in a supportive environment.
2. Will I be required to do any preparation prior to the start of the program?
Depending on your level of technical experience coming into the program, some online preparation may be required. During the application process we will provide additional information on how to prepare.
3. Will I get a certification?
No. InceptionU emphasizes genuine learning over certification. We can confidently tell you that our programs will lead to meaningful career opportunities. InceptionU will provide you with the technical skills and metaskills, like critical thinking and design thinking, that you need to succeed in your future career.
4. Is InceptionU an accredited education institution?
Fortunately, we are not! This allows us to be agile and adaptable with our curriculum as technology evolves. We consult with industry partners to design and develop curriculum that aligns with industry trends and workforce needs.
Start your registration
Registering for The Cybersecurity Launchpad is a multi-step process. Take the first step and share your basic information to get started.
01. Tell us about yourself
02. Complete the registration process
03. Enhance your company's defences