I am thrilled to have Simon Wijckmans, CEO of c/side, a cybersecurity company with tools for monitoring, optimizing, and securing vulnerable browser-side third-party scripts.
In this episode Simon Wijckmans, CEO of cside.dev shares his journey from homeschooling in Belgium to working at Microsoft and Cloudflare before founding cside.dev. He discusses the challenges of starting a company as a solo founder and the importance of product-market fit. Simon explains cside.dev's unique approach to client-side security and its pricing strategy for SMBs and enterprises. He also touches on hiring the right engineering talent, the role of AI in product development, and competing with larger companies, and much more!
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How does c/side differentiate itself from existing web security solutions in the market?
What is the go-to-market strategy for c/side
How does c/side balance security and performance considerations for websites?
What is your favourite business book? – On writing well
What is your favourite online tool? –Discord
If you could go back to when you started working, what is the one thing you would have focused on? – Did not hire right people
Timestamps
[03:30] - Simon's experience with early tech projects, leading to a career start with Microsoft.
[05:45] - Simon's move to Dublin for a full-time position at Microsoft and reflections on Dublin's tech scene.
[08:30] - Simon's transition to Cloudflare and the identification of a significant security gap in client-side security.
[11:00] - The founding of cside.dev and the specific problem Simon aimed to solve with third-party script security.
[13:20] - Differentiating cside.dev from competitors in the cybersecurity market.
[16:00] - cside.dev’s pricing strategy and target market, including SMBs and enterprise clients.
[18:30] - Overview of the core technologies used by cside.dev and how they address third-party script vulnerabilities.
[21:00] - Discussion on balancing website security with performance considerations.
[24:00] - Challenges and considerations in hiring engineering and product teams for startups.
[27:00] - The role of AI in product development and Simon’s views on AI-generated code.
[30:00] - Challenges in achieving product-market fit and common pitfalls for founders.
[36:30] - The challenges of competing with larger, established companies and the importance of product quality.
[40:00] - Simon’s experience as a solo founder and the reasons for choosing this path.
[43:30] - The impact of being a solo founder on business decisions and investor relations.
Simon's Links
LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/wijckmans
Website – https://cside.dev/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
5-day email course: www.enterprisesalesexpertise.com
Newsletter:
Navigating Cybersecurity with Simon Wijckmans of Cside