Lon Bazelais, Founder and President, Grid Squared: Best Advice

Today in the Best Advice Q&A series, we talk to Lon Bazelais, founder and president of Grid Squared Systems. He shares the best advice he’s ever heard, how he takes security industry newcomers under his wing and who has helped him most in advancing his own career.

Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Lon Bazelais: Your reputation is worth more than the payment you are going to receive for the job.

Early in my career, one of the best pieces of advice I received was to stop focusing solely on the transaction in front of me and start focusing on the impression I left behind. It completely changed how I approached the business.

At the start of the company, it was unavoidable for me to be worried about where the next job was coming from. Like any small business trying to gain traction, survival mode kicks in, and the instinct is to chase revenue wherever you can find it. But over time, I realized that chasing the next check wasn’t sustainable—and it wasn’t what built real momentum.

In the security industry, trust is everything. The way you show up, the way you handle challenges, the quality of your work—those things stick with people long after the invoice is paid. Your reputation follows you into every job, every partnership, and every opportunity. And if you guard that reputation with care, it will pay you back many times over.

I’ve seen time and time again that when you put your name and integrity above the check, the business grows in ways you can’t predict. Clients refer you. Partners seek you out. People remember how you made them feel, not just what you installed.

At the end of the day, the job might end, but your reputation remains.

SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?

Bazelais: Just the other day, I had a conversation about this very topic with the sales team from one of our manufacturing partners during their quarterly kickoff meeting. My advice to them was simple : make sure the dealers in your respective regions know about each other and, more importantly, find ways to support and collaborate with one another.

In my experience, building strong relationships—even with those who might technically be considered competitors—can open up unexpected opportunities. Collaboration often leads to shared resources, broader reach, and solutions to challenges that might otherwise be too big to tackle alone.

These partnerships can lead directly to new sales, stronger client outcomes and long-term growth. The security industry is built on trust, and that trust starts with how we work together as professionals.

SSI: If you could point to one person in the security industry and tell up-and-comers, “Make sure to listen to what they have to say,” whom would you pick and why?

Bazelais: I’m going to break the rules and give you two people. Both of these individuals are very important to us because of what we do here at Grid Squared Systems. If I had to point up-and-comers to two people in the security industry they should absolutely be paying attention to, it would be Steve Van Till, CEO of Brivo, and Mike Maxsenti, senior vice president of product development at Genea.

At Grid Squared Systems, we specialize in modern, cloud-based security systems and both Steve and Mike have been instrumental in shaping the direction of cloud adoption within the industry. Their contributions aren’t just theoretical—they’ve built platforms that have redefined how access control is delivered, managed and scaled in today’s connected world.

Steve Van Till founded Brivo over 25 years ago, at a time when the concept of the cloud was still abstract for most. He had the vision to see where technology was heading and built a company around that belief long before it was mainstream. His insights continue to drive innovation and help move the industry forward in meaningful ways.

Mike Maxsenti, who I met early in his security career, brings a similarly forward-thinking approach. He recognized the same cloud-driven shift and played a key role in building Genea’s access control platform from the ground up. I’ve watched Genea grow from its very first account to now working with Fortune 500 companies—largely due to Mike’s leadership, product direction and ability to truly listen to the needs of integrators and customers.

These two individuals not only saw the future early; they helped build it. Anyone looking to grow in this field would do well to study their paths, listen to what they have to say and understand how they continue to influence where the industry is headed.

Click here to check out the entire Best Advice series!

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