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With the AI hype cycle spiraling forward, and speed often being prioritized over security, many industry leaders, analysts, and data center operators are warning about the dangers lurking in the code many of us use every day. On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Show, we went to the source, to figure out how that gap is being closed with Serial CEO and top Rebooter, Peter McKay – CEO of Snyk. Snyk is a developer security platform that’s reshaping how vulnerabilities are caught, fixed, and prevented—at the source—before the code goes live.
Watch or listen in on this episode as Peter shares how he rebooted Snyk, got them to move faster than the hackers, how AI has changed the coding game, why you should “give a shit” and not just “throw crap over the fence”—and how they are on their way toward being a billion-dollar market leader.
Stop Throwing Crap Over The Fence
Traditionally, security tools have been added to software after it was built, sometimes even after it was live, which has led to vulnerabilities being missed and exposed. Snyk’s business model is to shift that security left in the production pipeline, to catch the vulnerabilities as they appear. Peter equates to spell check, “when you’re typing a Word document, you spell check and grammar check as you go. It’s the same concept of Snyk.”
Peter calls it a “hacker-in-a-box” approach, and it is what has helped Snyk become beloved by developers and trusted by enterprise security teams alike. Currently, around 70% of Snyk’s business comes from large enterprises with tens of thousands of developers.
The Importance Of Closing The Wild West Gap
One of the major reasons why Snyk has seen success is the gap growing between speed and security. Speed has been taking the lead as it is what looks good in the eyes of investors and the C-suite. Even though AI is increasing development by 30-50%, AI-generated code often has 30-40% more vulnerabilities than human-written code. Peter equates it to “the Wild West,” even saying that “there will be a reckoning. Some big website is going to get hacked, and everybody is going to be like, how could that ever happen?”.
Tips For Building A Generational Company
Peter brough up two different aspects when asked about his leadership style. The first aspect was leadership revolves around the great talent that you find, develop, and retain, with an importance on the developing and retaining. This includes helping people that are in your team both professionally and personally, something that Peter notes became very important during and post-COVID, as everyone was in a tough spot.
The second aspect is making sure to ride the current waves, so that at the very least, when it subsides, you aren’t left in the wake. Currently, that wave is the Tsunami that is AI, and Peter notes, “You’re either ready for it, or you’re going to get bowled over by it. Your choice.”
