As the VP of Security at a leading FinTech, I was responsible for running AppSec vendor PoCs, but none of them made a real impact. Frustrated, I decided to create a workflow that would allow developers to fix issues more effectively. In a down market, we delivered AppSec solutions faster, better, and cheaper, quickly displacing established competitors who couldn’t match our speed and efficiency. The biggest challenge? Hiring. We tackled this by focusing on A-players—candidates who were both highly skilled and a perfect cultural fit, sourced through trusted referrals. Looking ahead, we envision a future where developers can code freely with AI, while security scales seamlessly—no delays, no overload, just safe, rapid product delivery. After launching our “w00t w00t” feature, we received unexpected praise from developers and even saw customers create a viral bragging Slack channel that spread across teams.