$ cat "Jean-Philippe Racine"
Bankruptcy and reconstruction: rational decisions in a changing market
A company’s bankruptcy is not always the result of a bad decision or a lack of expertise. It can also be the result of a series of rational choices made by experienced teams in a market that is changing faster than expected.
In this conference, Jean-Philippe Racine looks back on the path that led to the bankruptcy of Groupe Cyberswat, after nearly ten years of activity and significant investments, particularly in a SaaS cybersecurity product. He explores the sudden contraction of the SME market, the effects of the tariff war, the pressure of dilutive and non-dilutive financing, the arrival of generative AI, and the complex human decisions that must be made when room for maneuver disappears.
Beyond the story of the fall, the conference addresses the process of rebuilding, redefining personal and professional priorities, and the concrete lessons learned from this experience. A lucid reflection on blind spots, weak signals, and the very notion of success in IT and entrepreneurship.
About the speaker
Jean-Philippe Racine
President & Cybersecurity Specialist - CyberSwat
Jean-Philippe Racine has been working in IT and cybersecurity for over twenty years. He began his career in 2001 as a consultant, then continued as a freelancer starting in 2009. In 2015, he founded Groupe Cyberswat, which he developed for nearly ten years with small and medium-sized businesses. It was during the pandemic that Protection C4 took shape, a SaaS cyber risk management solution directly inspired by the challenges observed in the field.
In 2025, in a rapidly changing economic and technological environment, he resigned himself to filing for bankruptcy. During the liquidation process, a turnaround allowed him to buy back the main assets and begin a phase of reconstruction and repositioning.
Already holding a master’s degree in IT governance, audit, and security from the University of Sherbrooke, as well as CISA and CISSP certifications, he then completed ISACA’s AAIA and AAISM certifications to deepen his expertise in artificial intelligence and adapt his practice to new market realities.