In this holiday episode special, we’re joined by Hamza Fodderwala, Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, where he leads cybersecurity equity coverage. He joined Morgan Stanley's software research team in early 2016 and leads coverage for public cybersecurity companies like Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Fortinet, SentinelOne, Okta, Zscaler, Cloudflare, Rapid7, Check Point, Qualys, Varonis and Tenable. Before Morgan Stanley, Hamza was an equity research associate at Susquehanna International Group covering the financial technology sector. Hamza graduated from New York University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

We dive into Hamza’s insights on the major customer buying patterns in cybersecurity throughout 2024 and what might shift in 2025. Hamza shares his observations on how the Generative AI boom is influencing product adoption in the industry, and whether enterprises are currently adopting AI security solutions. Additionally, we explore key trends from cybersecurity resellers, discuss what might unlock public equity markets for new IPOs, and which private cyber companies could go public next.

Our discussion covers the cybersecurity M&A landscape, highlighting over $50B in deal volume this year with companies like Juniper, Darktrace, Recorded Future, Synopsys, Venafi, and more all getting acquired. Finally, Hamza shares lessons for founders, offering advice on identifying areas ripe for disruption, navigating the venture funding landscape, and building resilience in a competitive industry.

In this episode, we sit down with Kumar Saurabh, CEO and co-founder of AirMDR, which provides a new approach to managed detection and response with an AI-powered virtual security analyst. A serial entrepreneur, Kumar has been at it for two decades. Before AirMDR, he co-founded Sumo Logic, the first cloud-based SIEM, and LogicHub, one of the pioneers of SOAR.

Kumar’s journey as an immigrant founder offers a unique perspective on why immigrants often succeed as entrepreneurs and how institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) have produced some of the world’s most successful tech leaders. Drawing on his experience, Kumar explores why large companies struggle to innovate, the competitive edge startups hold over established players, and how founders can identify opportunities in markets that may appear crowded. He also shares actionable insights for founders on hiring top talent from leading companies and scaling a startup with the right team.

Having collaborated with premier venture capital firms like Greylock, Sutter Hill, Sequoia, and Accel, Kumar provides invaluable advice on selecting the right VC partners, what to look for, and common mistakes to avoid. Kumar’s story is a testament to resilience, innovation, and the power of identifying opportunities in enterprise tech, making him a leading voice in the startup ecosystem.

In this special election episode, we sit down with Gov. Rick Snyder, an entrepreneur, a former VC, and a leader whose career is unique in depth and breadth, spanning both the public and private sectors.

Rick Snyder initially made his mark as COO of Gateway, where he helped the company grow revenue from $600 million to $6 billion to IPO. He then co-founded venture firm Ardesta, which stands for “spark” in Greek. After two fund cycles, he transitioned from business to politics, serving two terms as Governor of Michigan. Post-governorship, Rick Snyder returned to the entrepreneurial world, co-founding SensCy, a cybersecurity company focused on helping small and medium-sized businesses defend against growing digital threats.

Drawing from his experience in both public office and tech entrepreneurship, our episode with Rick Snyder brings unique insights into the intersection of technology, government, and cybersecurity. We speak with Rick about cybersecurity, its importance in elections, and what startup founders need to keep in mind when selling to the public sector. In addition, we cover the importance of securing small and medium-sized businesses, and what startup entrepreneurs should do to develop personal resilience.