SPOTLIGHT interview with Mr. Sizow: Security Expert for UHNW Families

Michael Sizow

This week's interview is with Mr. Michael Sizow, a former Sheriff, Corrections Officer, and Policeman. He is now the founder and director of Bushido Protection, a private security firm specializing in protecting high-net-worth families, businesses, and private assets.

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​What is Bushido Protection?

​Bushido Protection, a concierge security firm, is a full-service investigative, protective security company, specializing in protections for UHNW individuals and family offices. Built on decades of law enforcement, private investigation, and security expertise, Bushido offers a unique, modern approach to the security issues facing individuals and companies today, in 2023 and beyond. 

Why have security in the first place?

Michael & Bushido on Location

In these uncertain times, you want to make sure that you are safe and secure. It is increasingly difficult to keep your home, business and even personal information safe. The more successful you and your businesses are, the more at-risk your family becomes. Our intent is not to frighten you, but to keep you and yours safe. Even the most security-conscious people can make the mistake of not understanding all the potential risks in today’s climate.

​We treat your family as we would our own by implementing processes, protections, and security measures that will always keep everyone safe. Bushido is also a badge of honor for vendors, and immediately identifies them as reputable companies. For them to be able to say they are Bushido Certified makes them stand out in their field as vendors who care about their clients’ well-being and shows their attention to quality of service.  

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What type of clientele do you work with?

As we are a security company, protecting the identity of our clientele is of the utmost importance and cannot be divulged to the general public. However, current clients include billionaires, celebrities, athletes, individual homeowners, corporate businesses, churches & synagogues, schools and property managers.

What is vendor management and how does it work? ​

Sample badge (censored)

As our security services are concierge style, they are tailored for each client; however, at the heart of Bushido is our Touchpoint ID system. No matter how many vendors and workers come in and out of a client’s home or office, we keep track of all of them with one system.

Touchpoint ID is an ID badging system, in which EVERYONE who could potentially enter your premises, including full-time employees, contracted employees and vendors, will have their identities verified. 

Before having access to the premises, clients can mandate that vendors coming to their properties must go to the Bushido website and register through the portal. Once registered, Bushido will verify their identity in a number of ways. 

Once screened, individuals get “Bushido Approved.” At that point, they must submit a government ID and picture, which Bushido uses this to create a unique Bushido-verified ID with a QR code, which, in turn, will be mailed back directly to them to bring to the client’s property. That will allow the client’s Chief of Staff or any other gatekeepers know that the vendors are free and clear to enter the property.  

When vendors show up at an estate, all the client’s gatekeepers have to do is QR the ID, and it will immediately identify who the vendor is with their picture, and that they are currently Bushido Approved. 
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Touchpoint ID is a proprietary, law enforcement-grade screening process that is conducted by a team of active and retired law enforcement officers and investigators. Our specialists evaluate each applicant through the lens of their extensive experience and look for abnormalities or inconsistencies. 

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How does Touchpoint ID work in a practical way to prevent crime?

Bushido Protection on a movie set

Everyone you encounter is a potential risk. Even if someone does not have any malicious intent, they may inadvertently communicate personal information which can, in the wrong hands, put you in danger.

Let me make a comparison to illustrate. Just like a crooked financial advisor could engage in insider trading, criminals do the same thing when they want to rob you: they share information. One real-life case that sticks out to me happened when I was working in the prison. A hairdresser’s boyfriend who got first-hand knowledge of his girlfriend’s wealthy client in her mid-60s, targeted her for a robbery.

The hairdresser told her boyfriend how wealthy and generous her client was, not knowing that her boyfriend was living a double-life and had malicious intent to rob the wealthy client. The subsequent robbery went bad and turned into a homicide.
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Touchpoint ID is my model for how I look at potential threats. The Touchpoint ID system allows clients the peace of mind to know who enters their home and to prevent anyone who shouldn’t be there from entering in the first place. When working with clients or recruiters, I assess the vendors, their employees and their associates as fully as I can. This gives everyone 360-degree protection.

To learn more about Bushido Protection, visit www.BushidoProtection.com

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