More than machines and computer code, technology is about people, ideas and exploring innovation frontiers. This spirit of courage and leadership exemplifies Menlo Security Inc., a cloud-based security solutions company that breaks with tradition in multiple ways.

“I remember writing my first digital lab program to make an elevator go up and down on a board,” said Poornima DeBolle (pictured), co-founder and chief product officer of Menlo Security. “And the logic of it, the technology, the understanding … I just count myself to be very fortunate with how nicely it clicked into my brain, and I’ve never looked back. I’m sure there’s truth to the saying, ‘We love what we do,’ but I truly do love what I do. And that’s been the fuel and basis for [the] modicum of success I’ve had.”

DeBolle spoke with theCUBE’s Rebecca Knight for the Tech Innovation CUBEd Awards 2025 interview series, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the impact of women in tech, highlighting the new possibilities to push boundaries and inspire change.

Menlo and its approach to cloud-based security

Rather than relying on traditional methods that block known threats, Menlo Security redefined the approach by creating an architecture that ensures inherent security for end users. This model has been adopted by major institutions, including the U.S. Department of Defense, according to DeBolle.

“We looked at the problem space, and we said, ‘How can we make something architecturally secure?'” she said. “When you are interacting with the broader internet, you don’t know what’s happening on the backend, but you are secure by architecture. That was the genesis of our idea, and we’ve delivered that vision into reality for millions of users and protect them as they browse the internet on a regular basis from very sophisticated attacks because we have that secure-by-architecture design.”

DeBolle’s leadership and day-one presence have been critical in transforming a groundbreaking idea into a robust, scalable solution protecting millions from cyber threats. For this contribution, DeBolle earned an “Innovative Women in Tech Leadership” CUBEd award.

“I’ve always channeled the fact that whatever you build needs to solve a problem for a customer,” she said. “A lot of times as engineers and product people, we are very proud of what we’ve built, and we go down the path of, ‘Let me tell you about all the bells and whistles.'”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage for the Tech Innovation CUBEd Awards 2025 interview series: 

Photo: SiliconANGLE