From

Ideem

— device-bound passkey implementations for banks, fintechs, and payment platforms.

Ideem CEO Toby Rush on Startup Timing, Identity, and the Future of Authentication

In this episode of Smart Friends, Toby Rush shares the rollercoaster journey behind four startups and a nine-figure exit. From childhood influences to strategic sabbaticals, the conversation dives deep into the motivations behind serial entrepreneurship. Toby also unpacks the thinking behind his newest venture, Ideem, and how it’s aiming to make 2FA obsolete by bringing passkey-level security to payments and identity verification—without friction.
Written by
Maranda Manning
Published on
June 11, 2025

In this episode of Smart Friends, Toby Rush shares the rollercoaster journey behind four startups and a nine-figure exit. From childhood influences to strategic sabbaticals, the conversation dives deep into the motivations behind serial entrepreneurship. Toby also unpacks the thinking behind his newest venture, Ideem, and how it’s aiming to make 2FA obsolete by bringing passkey-level security to payments and identity verification—without friction.

The episode is packed with personal insight and hard-earned lessons about building, timing, and starting again. Worth a listen for any founder or product leader thinking about what’s next.

Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxbAYHylHTc

Link to the Podcast Here: https://kite.link/smartfriends88g

The passkey implementation gap

USENIX Security researchers tested 103 live passkey deployments. None passed every WebAuthn check. The report covers the findings, how Passkeys+ measured up on the same criteria, and a framework for vetting any passkey vendor.

Download the Report →

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Device-bound passkeys and A2A payment authentication. One SDK. No OTPs, no redirects.

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0 of 103 passkey deployments passed every security check

We ran the researchers' own tests against Passkeys+ and published everything that came back. Read the findings, our results, and the questions to ask your vendor.

Get the Security Report →

New research: 0 of 103 passkey deployments passed every security check

Get the Report →

Before you go

New research tested 103 live passkey deployments and none came through clean. We ran the same tests on our own product and published the results, misses included.

14 pages. Research findings, Ideem's full results, and a vendor vetting framework.

Read the Report →No thanks, I’ll skip for now