Recently, we brought you #JudgesOnFire Roundup: The 13 podcasts to help you submit a trailblazing entry, where the judges shared what would impress and inspire them in a submission. Entries close soon so here is another take on it…  

Today’s your chance to learn from the founders who’ve been there, done it and bought the T-shirt (and even gone on to raise impressive further funding since winning and/or been acquired by leading enterprises such as Cisco, HPE, Microsoft, NetApp and even a fellow winner Nutanix). 

Here are an array of #FoundersOnFire podcasts to inspire you on your own journey to startup success. Just another reason why entering makes so much sense. Who doesn’t want a chance to share their startup success and get it amplified by the Tech Trailblazers?

Tony Craythrone, CEO, Bamboo Systems (2020 Cloud Trailblazers winner) – Tony explains how the company aims to revolutionize the server market, the potential that Bamboo’s PANDA architecture offers, and how the company came by its name and how adapting to COVID has changed things for them and startups in general. He also talks about how winning awards can help motivate staff as well as provide valuable third-party validation and marketing

Richard Li, Founder and CEO, Ambassador Labs (2020 Developer Trailblazers winner) – Richard fills us in on what the win has meant for Ambassador Labs and what’s been happening since. He shares how Ambassador Labs aims to empower developers to play a greater part in achieving success for the companies they work for, whilst reducing the distractions that can take them out of their flow. He can see a future where developers take full ownership of the entire software cycle.

Adi Ruppin, the CEO and Co-Founder, Ananda Networks (2020 Networking Trailblazers winner) – Adi explains how Ananda is not patching up current networking, but going back to basics to reinvent it. He also gives some advice for startups, extols the virtues of awards particularly for young companies, and explains how starting a company is like giving birth. There’s also exciting news about Ananda Network’s participation in the Telecom Infrastructure Project where the firm will get to mix with the likes of Google and Facebook.

Jim Zuffoletti, the CEO and Co-Founder, SafeGuard Cyber (2020 Mobile Trailblazers winner) – We find out what the win has meant for SafeGuard Cyber and what’s been happening since. Jim eloquently explains how the threat vectors for businesses these days are changing and will continue to do so as new communications channels appear, thanks to the power and flexibility of mobile communications and exacerbated by Bring Your Own Device. He also talks about the latest round of funding that the firm has recently secured and only announced a few days back on 12 April. $45m from NightDragon Security, Cisco, and AllegisCyber not only brings useful funds but also knowledgeable partners to forge the future with.

Grace Waters, Co-founder, Codastra (2020 Firestarter Trailblazers winner) – Grace tells us about the rapid development of what is still an early-stage startup, including the challenges they’ve faced in terms of being pulled in many directions whilst finding their way forward to launch the world’s first microservice migration solution. She also touches upon the FFWD pre-accelerator programme and how useful that was for Codastra’s development.  

Tim Hinrichs, CTO and Co-Founder, Styra (2020 Containers Trailblazers winner) – Learn more about OPA and what the enterprise version offers above and beyond the open source product, discover the origin of the company’s name, and find out how it’s their customers that are the key to driving the firm’s progress. Styra not only won the Containers Trailblazers Award in 2020, but Tim himself was runner-up in the Male CxO category, leaving him in the perfect position to give two tips for a successful startup.

Jeff Denworth, CMO and Co-Founder, VAST Data (2020 Storage Trailblazers winner) – Jeff shares the secret to the firm’s impressive success, including landing a multi-million-dollar deal far earlier than might be traditionally expected for an enterprise startup. He also describes how the company was in the fortunate position to raise a round of funding that didn’t need to be dipped into, despite COVID. Plus he gives advice on the fundamentals that all startups should follow and how winning an award can bring a sense of pride for a startup.

Niraj Tolia, President and GM, Kasten (2019 Containers Runner-up) – Despite running-up in the 2019 edition, Kasten has gone on to success and was recently acquired by Veeam. Niraj joins us to talk about the history of how Kasten came about and what the acquisition means for the firm. He also talks about the importance of company culture, finding the right team, and how he’d be first in line to enter the Tech Trailblazers Awards if he ever launched another startup.

Neena Dasgupta, CEO and Director of Zirca Digital (2019 Female CxO Trailblazer winner) – Nina shares the secret to her success and how she balances the competing facets of her life whilst still managing to strike a “great balance”. With diversity and inclusion being ever more brought into the limelight, Neena talks about her ethos of how to get the best out of a workforce that would normally be forgotten about.

Manish Gupta, CEO, ShiftLeft (2019 Security Trailblazers winner) – Manish explains how ShiftLeft has drastically improved the efficiency and effectiveness of code analysis. He also explains how the passion to solve a particular problem should be at the core of a startup. As he says “ideas are a dime a dozen, it’s the execution that’s super important for a startup”.

Gaurav Banga, Founder and CEO, Balbix (2019 AI Trailblazers winner) – Chief Trailblazer Rose Ross talks to Gaurav about how AI and retaining relevant data is vital to attain quality cybersecurity visibility and actionable solutions for risk management. He also talks about the challenges he’s faced during his time with the three startups he’s been involved with to date. 

Mansour Karam, Founder and President, Apstra (2019 Cloud Trailblazers winner) – Mansour explains how the firm pioneered intent-based networking and how it enables deadlines to be quickly met, without compromising the reliability of your network. He also recounts how pressure in the early days can lead to company-defining successes to be proud of. 

Evan Blair, Co-founder and Global VP Channel Sales, ZeroFOX (2014 Security Trailblazers winner) – ZeroFOX are a perfect example of how the Tech Trailblazers Awards can help new enterprise tech startups to gain the recognition that they need to attract investors and customers. Evan recounts the journey that the company has been on since winning the Tech Trailblazers Security Award back in 2014. He also explains how an all-hands policy has managed to keep a blossoming company feeling like a small, inclusive startup. 

Key information: Extended deadline – 22nd September at 23:59pm Pacific Time. 

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Download Tech Trailblazers @10 eBook

Our eBook celebrates our journey so far, it’s a 52 page book about the awards’ history, this year’s 10th edition, advice from experts, astounding statistics, research on current enterprise tech, and much more.

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For more information, visit www.techtrailblazers.com, follow @techtrailblaze, or listen to the #OnFire podcasts.