Justin Fargo: From a Childhood Love for Computers to a Cybersecurity Firm

At age three, Justin Fargo was already fascinated by his grandfather’s computer. At nineteen, he owns a cyber security company with paying clients across the United States.

Fargo is a sophomore studying economics at the University of Connecticut. He is also the founder of Ironhead, a cyber security and compliance firm. The firm helps small and medium-sized businesses meet the requirements needed to become United States government contractors. In just one year of operation, he has served about ten companies, ranging from machine shops to construction firms and has one full-time employee.

The problem he set out to solve is one most small business owners do not even know exists. Before a business can secure government contracts, it must meet over 100 cyber security requirements set by the government. The process is complex, technical, and expensive especially when handled by large cyber security firms. Many small businesses simply cannot afford it.

Fargo stepped into that gap. He reviews the government’s cyber security requirements, identifies what a company meets and what it falls short on, and explains the entire process in plain, simple language that non-technical business owners can actually understand. That ability to translate complicated technical requirements into human language, he says, is his biggest selling point.

Built on Years of Preparation

Ironhead did not appear out of nowhere. Fargo’s interest in technology started in childhood and grew steadily through high school, where he attended Windham Technical High School and treated IT like a calling. He won first place at Lockheed Martin’s CYBERQUEST cyber security competition against students across Connecticut, and took third place in a national SkillsUSA Technical Computer Applications competition.

By the time he got to university, he had already completed four internships at Lockheed Martin, one of the largest defense contractors in the world, most recently in their Information Assurance Engineering department. Those experiences gave him a deep understanding of what businesses actually need on the cyber security front and how the business world operates more broadly.

Fargo Taking the Leap as a Student

Thankfully, Fargo comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Both his grandfathers owned businesses, and his father is both a teacher and an HVAC contractor. That background shaped his belief that entrepreneurship was not something to wait for.

A former elementary school teacher, who owns his own computer company, also played a key role in pushing him to take the leap and building his confidence to do it.

Most of his clients now come through referrals, a sign that his work is delivering real results. One client described him as delivering everything on time, presenting his work professionally, and making complex requirements easy to understand. For a small business that could not afford a large cyber security firm, Ironhead was exactly what they needed.

Fargo’s Message to Other Students

Fargo’s advice is straightforward: being a student with a full schedule is not a reason to wait.

“Just because you’re a college student and you have a lot of obligations, you can still take risks,” he says. “You don’t have to wait until you graduate to start a business.”