The Application Security Podcast
The Application Security Podcast is a practitioner-led show for anyone building or securing modern software—and now AI-powered applications. Hosts Chris Romeo and Robert Hurlbut talk with the people shaping application security about AI and LLM security, threat modeling, secure development, OWASP, cloud, DevSecOps, security champions, and building programs that help engineering teams move faster and safer. With more than 300 episodes, the show turns real-world experience into practical guidance for developers, architects, AppSec professionals, and security leaders.
The Application Security Podcast
Kalyani Pawar -- Shaping AppSec at Startups
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Kalyani Pawar shares critical strategies for integrating security early and effectively in AppSec for startups. She recommends that startups begin focusing on AppSec around the 30-employee mark, with an ideal ratio of one AppSec professional per 10 engineers as the company grows. Pawar emphasizes the importance of building a security culture through "culture as code" - implementing automated guardrails and checkpoints that make security an integral part of the development process. She advises startups to prioritize visibility into their systems, conduct pentests, develop thoughtful policies, and carefully vet third-party tools and open-source solutions. Ultimately, Pawar's approach is about making security a collaborative, integrated effort that doesn't impede innovation but instead supports the startup's long-term success and safety.
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Chapters:
00:00 Meet Kalyani Pawar: Shaping AppSec at Startups
01:24 Yeah, we're going to talk about AppSec and how it intersects
05:45 Then that's a conversation to be had, but you should absolutely
09:11 Because that's, that's the, that's the results of that. But coming
12:51 One of the things about startups, and we kind of hinted
15:34 As the startup matures over time, we kind of, you took
19:22 Okay. So, let's say now you've got an AppSec team at
22:06 At a startup, they'll just step on you if you try
24:44 Yeah. I want to double-click on this culture as code, because
27:43 The advantage in the startup world is you're starting from scratch
31:37 Here we go. All right, so we've got 3 questions, Kalyani
34:44 That's a good gauge, yeah. And the third question is, what's
37:55 Yeah, people always, always got to focus on the original, right
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