Motley Fool Money Interview with Zscaler Founder and CEO Jay Chaudhry
11 snips
Jan 4, 2026 Jay Chaudhry, Founder and CEO of Zscaler, shares his journey from a young entrepreneur in India to leading a cloud security powerhouse. He discusses the shift from traditional firewalls to a zero-trust architecture, highlighting its advantages. Chaudhry also explores AI's dual role in security—offering both benefits and new threats. He provides practical advice on combating phishing attacks and emphasizes the importance of customer loyalty in driving Zscaler's growth. His passion and vision for the future of security are truly inspiring.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
How Netscape Sparked A Career
- Jay Chaudhry became an entrepreneur after reading about Netscape and realizing internet growth would demand security solutions.
- He left corporate life, started SecureIT with personal risk, and found early startup success and acquisition.
Staggering Startups Like Kids
- Jay describes founding multiple startups after SecureIT, staggering them like having children to spread risk and opportunity.
- Those startups (email, wireless, e-procurement) succeeded and were acquired, shaping his approach to bigger, lasting ventures.
Why Firewalls Became Obsolete
- Jay identified a step-change: apps and mobility broke the firewall model and required a different architecture.
- He proposed flipping security to a zero-trust, switchboard-like policy engine where everything is untrusted.