In this episode of Cyber Security District, we sit down with Kim van Lavieren, co-founder and CTO of Dawnguard, a cybersecurity startup that raised millions in funding before registering a company or launching a product. Kim’s story is anything but ordinary, from leading Marines on no-sleep missions to building offensive hacking tools for the Dutch military, to managing massive security teams at Amazon in the U.S., his path combines discipline, vision, and deep technical mastery.

Together with co-founder Madi Abdurazak, Kim is now on a mission to completely rethink how cybersecurity should be done, by starting not with alerts or vulnerabilities, but with architecture, policy, and real business risk. Dawnguard is building a platform that automates secure-by-design architecture using AI, aiming to replace an entire category of cloud security tools before most companies even realize there’s a better way.

• What the Dutch Marine Corps taught Kim about discipline and decision-making
• How a military comms officer became a cybersecurity architect
• Building secure systems after discovering flaws in weapons room access
• Writing offensive tools for the cyber division of the Dutch Armed Forces
• Why cyber soldiers may be more impactful than boots on the ground
• Kim’s journey to Amazon and running third-party security at massive scale
• The mindset shift from “no” to “how” in security engineering
• The origin story behind Dawnguard and raising millions pre-product
• How Dawnguard is building a new category for architecture-led security
• Using AI to design, verify, deploy, and enforce security from day zero
• Advice for cybersecurity newcomers, and why the industry must rebrand
• How Dutch risk aversion is holding back innovation — and how to break through

00:00:00 – Intro 00:00:47 – Kim's Background: From Marines to Cybersecurity 00:03:29 – Training Under Extreme Pressure 00:06:28 – Becoming a Communications Officer & Discovering Security Gaps 00:08:18 – First Lines of Code at Age 10 00:10:19 – When Tech & Physical Endurance Collide 00:11:04 – Offensive Cyber Capabilities in the Military 00:14:22 – Why Cyber Soldiers Now Matter More Than Physical Ones 00:17:05 – Consulting, CISO Roles & Joining Amazon 00:18:49 – The Scale & Speed of Security at Amazon 00:21:00 – The Origin of Dawnguard 00:23:00 – Automating Architecture Compliance with AI 00:25:08 – Using Threat Intel & Policy as a Starting Point 00:28:02 – Building the Engine: 5 AIs and a Moonshot 00:30:46 – Meeting Madi & Finding the Perfect Co-Founder Match 00:33:29 – Raising Millions with No Product — and Building a Dream Team 00:36:37 – Rise Into Resilience: What the Dawnguard Slogan Really Means 00:38:08 – Rebranding Cyber: Why the Industry Needs a Makeover 00:39:44 – Advice for People Trying to Break Into Security 00:41:03 – Advice for Aspiring Cyber Entrepreneurs 00:44:42 – Certifications, Labs & Reality Checks 00:47:25 – Going Big Means Accepting Uncertainty 00:49:00 – The 5-Year Vision: Replace Entire Security Categories 00:50:30 – Final Signal Message to CISOs: Security Is Balance, Not Absolutes

Connect with the guests:

Kim van Lavieren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-v-0645931b4/

Learn more about Dawnguard: https://dawnguard.ai/

Follow Cyber Security District: Laurens Jagt (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensjagt/ Website: https://www.cybersecuritydistrict.com All channels & newsletter: https://beacons.ai/cybersecuritydistrict

In this episode of Cyber Security District, we sit down with Niek Waarbroek (Founder & CTO) and Tycho Klessens (CEO) of Florbs, a Dutch startup transforming file security inside Google Workspace. What started as a simple set of admin scripts has evolved into a powerful SaaS platform, used by global enterprises to automate onboarding, offboarding, and prevent accidental (or malicious) data leaks.

Niek shares how his frustrations with error-prone onboarding flows inspired him to build smarter tools, and how a lack of visibility into shared files became a real security threat for many organizations. After bootstrapping Florbs for three years, he crossed paths with Tycho, then a VC investor, who not only became the commercial co-founder, but helped raise €1 million to scale the team.

Together, they discuss the power of building with product-led growth, how they’re scaling without wasting capital, and why real file security goes beyond Google’s default settings. They also explain why early-stage cybersecurity startups need more than funding, including focus, clarity, and the right partner chemistry.

In this episode, we cover:

• The original problem Florbs set out to solve inside Google Workspace
• Why offboarding is one of the biggest overlooked security gaps
• How ex-employees still access company data without detection
• From custom scripts to a full-fledged SaaS product
• Product-led growth without a sales team or marketing budget
• Raising €1 million from angel investors and CISOs
• Going from solo founder to building a complementary co-founder team
• How they’re building safe, reversible file actions with real-time insights
• Expanding into AI-powered detection and cross-platform collaboration security
• Lessons learned transitioning from VC investor to cybersecurity CEO

Whether you're a CISO, founder, or operator working in Google Workspace or building a startup yourself, this episode shows how automation and visibility can finally close one of the biggest blind spots in modern file security.

Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:15 – What Inspired Florbs: The Google Workspace Problem 03:40 – Why Onboarding & Offboarding Create Risk 06:00 – Real-World Cases: Ex-Employees Accessing Confidential Docs 08:45 – Building from Admin Scripts to Full Product 11:30 – Why Google Alone Doesn’t Cut It for File Security 14:50 – The Origins of the Name “Florbs” 18:10 – Google Developer Expert Status & Product-Led Growth 21:00 – Meeting Tycho: From VC Investor to Co-Founder 25:30 – The First Pitch, the Missed Investment & The Unexpected Partnership 30:40 – Raising Smart Capital (Not Just Any Capital) 34:00 – Scaling Carefully: Where the €1M Will Go 37:20 – Building Automated Security Workflows 40:15 – Preventing AI-Fueled Phishing & Lookalike Domain Attacks 44:00 – Hiring Philosophy, Co-Founder Chemistry & Startup Reality 49:00 – Final Advice for Entrepreneurs & First-Time CISOs 52:30 – One Signal Message to CISOs: Don’t Block Everything

Connect with the guests:

Niek Waarbroek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niekwaarbroek/

Tycho Klessens:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tycho-klessens-a215abb7/

Learn more about Florbs: https://florbs.io

Follow Cyber Security District: Laurens Jagt (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensjagt/ Website: https://www.cybersecuritydistrict.com All channels & newsletter: https://beacons.ai/cybersecuritydistrict

In this episode of Cyber Security District, we sit down with Seemant Sehgal, founder and CEO of Breachlock, one of the fastest-growing offensive security companies in the world. Seemant’s journey took him from a small town in Northern India to leading global cybersecurity teams at ING Bank, before founding a startup that’s now active in over 20 countries.

At Breachlock, Seemant is rethinking how offensive security is done. His platform combines automation, AI, and human-led red teaming to deliver scalable Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS) that addresses the growing inefficiencies of traditional penetration testing.

Seemant has built a globally distributed company operating in over 20 countries, while staying close to the ground truth of cyber operations and keeping his team deeply connected to the challenges that security teams face every day.

In this episode, we cover:

• Building a global cyber career without a linear path
• Lessons from running cybersecurity at ING Bank
• The inefficiencies of traditional pen testing
• Starting BreachLock with automation and AI at the core
• Launching Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV)
• Balancing AI and human expertise in offensive security
• Leading a remote team across 20+ countries
• Hiring for culture and alignment, not just skills
• How to sell cyber risk to non-technical stakeholders
• Message to all CISOs

Whether you're scaling a security startup, running a blue team, or navigating board-level cyber strategy, this episode delivers hard-earned insights from someone who's seen the full lifecycle, technical, strategic, and entrepreneurial.

Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:10 – Growing Up in Northern India 03:25 – Starting Out in Ethical Hacking at IBM 06:10 – From Defense to Offense: Career at ING Bank 09:00 – Identifying the Pain Points of Traditional Pentesting 11:30 – Founding BreachLock: Automating What Matters 15:40 – What is Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV)? 19:20 – Scaling with AI, But Keeping It Human 23:45 – Managing a Remote-First Global Team 26:30 – Hiring Philosophy: Look for Disagreement and Culture Fit 30:15 – Translating Cyber Risk for the C-Suite 33:00 – Staying Grounded: Lessons from Building Profitably 36:20 – Advice to Future Founders & Security Leaders 39:00 – Final Message to all CISO’s

Connect with the guest: Seemant Sehgal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-sehgal/ Learn more about Breachlock: https://www.breachlock.com/

Follow Cyber Security District: Laurens Jagt (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensjagt/ Website: https://www.cybersecuritydistrict.com All channels & newsletter: https://beacons.ai/cybersecuritydistrict