The Tech Trailblazers Startup Podcast

In this episode of the Founders on Fire podcast series, host Rose Ross interviews Balázs Scheidler, CEO and co-founder of Axoflow.

Balázs shares his journey in cybersecurity and enterprise software—from creating open-source log management tools during his university days and scaling his first startup over 18 years to founding Axoflow in 2022.

He discusses winning both the Male CXO Trailblazer award and a Firestarter runner-up award at the Tech Trailblazers Awards, the evolution of security data operations, and why human decision-making remains vital alongside AI.

Key Topics Covered:

● The Evolution of Axoflow: How Balázs and his co-founders built a security data layer to help organizations manage security and operational logs efficiently and cost-effectively.

● Entrepreneurial Journey & Lessons Learned: Transitioning from a tech-focused founder in Hungary scaling an 18-year bootstrapped business (250 employees in 12 countries) to entering Series A growth with Axoflow faster and with stronger strategy.

● Advice for Tech Award Entrants: The importance of showcasing authentic differentiators and grabbing every opportunity to build market momentum against intense competition.

● AI and the Role of Founders: Moving from AI skeptic to advocate, comparing AI to the next "steam engine" for automating repetitive tasks while emphasizing that critical decision-making, accountability, and the human touch cannot be automated away.

In this episode of the Founders on Fire podcast series, host Rose Ross sits down with Roha Raheel, co-founder of CyberSisters winners of the Diversity Trailblazer Award at the Tech Trailblazers Awards.

Roha shares her personal seven-year journey through the cybersecurity sector, covering roles from security awareness and vulnerability management to leading learning and development programs at major corporate institutions.

She discusses the organic creation of CyberSisters alongside her co-founders, outlining how personal workplace challenges inspired them to build a supportive "sisterhood" for women navigating the industry.

In this episode, we cover:

● The CyberSisters Mission: How the organization provides free community resources—including social media guidance, CV workshops, interview preparation, fireside chats, and podcasts—to make cybersecurity careers accessible.

● Corporate & Enterprise Engagement: Delivering tailored corporate workshops on personal branding, technical presentation skills, and career advancement strategies for women in entry- to mid-level roles.

● AI and the Changing Job Market: Navigating the evaporation of traditional entry-level cybersecurity roles, the pitfalls of AI-generated CVs, automated resume filtering, and why genuine human networking remains essential..

● The Power of Connection: Real-world examples of how organic professional networking and mentorship create long-term career growth and open new opportunities.

In this episode of the Judges on Fire podcast series, host Rose Ross interviews Bronwyn Boyle, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at payment fintech Pro and board member for Cyber Minds. Bronwyn reflects on her unconventional path into cybersecurity—from studying classical civilizations and philosophy to leading security at scale—and discusses how critical thinking and humanities remain deeply relevant in the age of AI. She shares her perspective as a Tech Trailblazers judge, key advice for award applicants, and the importance of supporting entry-level talent, diversity, and mental health in tech.

Key Topics Covered:

● From Classics to Cybersecurity: How a background in ancient history and philosophy laid the foundation for critical thinking, deep-dive problem solving, and contextual reasoning in AI-driven security environments.

● Psychological Resilience in Cyber: The mission of Cyber Minds to tackle burnout and high cognitive load among cyber defenders using evidence-based protocols to lower stress and improve wellbeing.

● Tech Trailblazers Judging Insights: What stands out in award applications, including avoiding AI-generated fluff and tailored responses that highlight genuine innovation.

● Diversity and Pipeline Growth: Addressing barriers facing women and neurodiverse professionals, avoiding DEI rollbacks, and tapping non-traditional entry points like gaming through initiatives like The Hacking Games.

In this episode of the Founders on Fire series by the Tech Trailblazers Awards, host Rose Ross is joined by Dr Will Hicks, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Air Aware Labs—winners of the Sustainability Trailblazer Award.Rooted in Dr Hicks' PhD research at Imperial College London measuring roadside and indoor emissions, Air Aware Labs has developed the AirTrack Engine. This platform delivers real-time, hyperlocal air quality modelling to reveal individual exposure levels, empowering users to make informed route choices, protect respiratory health, and meet corporate sustainability targets.In this episode, we cover: The AirTrack Engine: Why generic city-wide monitoring stations fail to reflect what individuals are actually breathing on a street-by-street level. The Science of Exposure: Insights from Dr Hicks' research on vehicle traffic, non-tailpipe emissions from heavier electric vehicles, and indoor air pollution risks. Enterprise & Clinical Applications: How employers can use AirTrack Enterprise to safeguard commuting staff, and how clinicians use hyper-local data to help asthma and COPD patients manage symptom triggers. Major Sporting Partnerships: Air Aware Labs’ experience providing real-time air quality data for elite runners and spectators at major events like the London Marathon, the UK Athletics Diamond League, and upcoming European Championships. Global Scaling & Wearables Integration: How new API developments enable global hyperlocal coverage, integration with health wearables, and supply chain insights for environmental and nature conservation.

In this episode of the Judges on Fire series by the Tech Trailblazers Awards, host Rose Ross sits down with new panel judge Jukka Seppänen, CIO and CISO at UpCloud.Operating across 15 data centres in 12 countries, Helsinki-headquartered UpCloud provides core European cloud infrastructure with a strong emphasis on digital sovereignty, compliance, and rapid operational support. Jukka breaks down what it takes to balance dual roles in cloud leadership, the practical reality of AI-driven cybersecurity threats, and what Tech Trailblazers entrants must do to capture the attention of the judging panel.In this episode, we cover:Wearing Two Hats: How balancing the responsibilities of CIO and CISO allows Jukka to evaluate technology through complementary lenses—balancing operational delivery and scale against risk management and governance.Practical Cyber Defence: Why security controls must survive the real-world operational demands of service production, and why a theoretical control that cannot be operated reliably is useless in practice.The Reality of AI in Cyber Security: Why organisations must stop treating AI prompts as security boundaries, the necessity of giving AI agents minimum permissions and specific identities, and how AI-driven automation is flooding bug bounty platforms.European Digital Sovereignty: How highly digital nations like Finland view sovereignty not as isolated digital fortresses, but as a dependable network of friendly European collaboration.Advice for Tech Trailblazers Entrants: Why start-ups should focus on real customer outcomes, avoid empty buzzwords (AI-powered, next-generation, built for the cloud), and present concrete evidence over marketing jargon.

In this episode of the Founders on Fire series by the Tech Trailblazers Awards, host Rose Ross sits down with Steve Brodie from Goldilock—a Security Trailblazer Gold winner.Steve shares the story behind Goldilock, a UK-based cybersecurity company founded to revolutionise operational resilience and risk reduction by enabling complete, remote disconnection from the internet at the physical layer.In this episode, we cover:Beyond the "Kill Switch": Why Goldilock rebranded its flagship technology to Firebreak and how proactive defence differs from reactive emergency response.Hardware Enforcement: How physical layer security acts as both the first and last line of defence alongside traditional software-focused setups.Cross-Sector Security: The role of hardware controls across IT, IoT, OT, and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) amidst changing legislative landscapes like the UK Cybersecurity Bill.Emergency & Autonomous Use Cases: How physical disconnection protects systems from ransomware, DDoS attacks, and AI-driven threats while keeping essential functions running.

In this episode of Founders on Fire, host Rose Ross sits down with Emily Hodges, CEO, and Haydn Brooks, Co-founder and CEO of Risk Ledger—winners of the Security Trailblazers Award. Risk Ledger is redefining supply chain cybersecurity, shifting the focus from traditional third-party risk management to collaborative, real-time risk reduction across entire supply networks. Haydn shares the story of Risk Ledger’s early days, which started with two desks in a bedroom and a vision to empower companies against supply chain threats. Emily explains why the mission resonated so deeply—transforming her view of third-party risk from “boring” to essential, especially in an environment where attackers exploit supplier vulnerabilities. The conversation delves into startup challenges, from co-founder matchmaking and early funding to hiring a high-impact team and landing clients—even before the product was built. Emily highlights the importance of incentive alignment in security: helping suppliers grow their business while enhancing their security posture benefits everyone involved.Looking ahead, Risk Ledger is embracing AI to streamline risk reviews, support context-rich decision-making, and reduce manual overhead. The company is also expanding internationally, with a focus on Northern Europe and the U.S., and exploring new product capabilities for detection and response across supply chains. Tune in now to hear how Risk Ledger is building the future of collaborative cybersecurity!

In this episode of Founders on Fire, host Rose Ross speaks with Aleksandr Ragel, CEO of Leil Storage, winner of the Storage Trailblazers Award. Leil Storage is transforming large-scale, sustainable, and energy-efficient data storage, making hyperscale technologies accessible to enterprises that need on-premise solutions.

Aleksandr shares how Leil Storage spun off from Daiwee, a global system integration company, to address a critical gap in the market—bringing high-performance, cost-effective storage to businesses outside of the hyperscale giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alibaba. He explains how Leil Storage is fine-tuning software to maximize hardware performance, ensuring optimal efficiency for active archive, backup, and AI-driven workloads.

The conversation covers the challenges of launching a startup, including navigating economic uncertainty, embracing lean business strategies, and staying laser-focused on delivering real value. Aleksandr also discusses Leil Storage’s groundbreaking ICE technology (Infinite Cold Engine), which is set to reduce energy consumption by up to 70% by 2026—making sustainable storage a reality.

Tune in now to hear how Leil Storage is redefining hyperscale efficiency for the masses!

In this episode of Founders on Fire, host Rose Ross speaks with Dmitry Livshits, CEO and co-founder of Xinnor, and Davide Villa, Chief Revenue Officer, about their groundbreaking work in high-performance storage solutions. As winners of the Firestarter Award, Xinnor is revolutionizing data protection and storage performance, particularly in AI, HPC, and financial trading.

Dmitry and Davide explain how traditional storage architectures struggle to keep up with the speed of modern SSDs and NVMe technology. Xinnor’s innovative RAID and erasure coding solutions enable extreme performance without compromising data resilience, making them a game-changer for industries that rely on fast, reliable access to massive datasets.

The conversation dives into AI-driven workloads, the challenges of scaling storage for research institutions, and how Xinnor’s technology is helping universities, financial firms, and enterprises maximize their GPU utilization for AI training. Dmitry and Davide also share insights from their global partnerships with NVIDIA, Western Digital, Micron, and Samsung, and reflect on their startup journey, the challenges of focus, and the importance of strategic decision-making.

Tune in now to hear how Xinnor is redefining storage performance for the AI era!