Episodes

A huge thank you to ISACA Sacramento for hosting an incredible appreciation event and welcoming the WakeUpX team in to capture some amazing conversations. The energy in that room was something else, packed with passionate pro...

Why can the biggest companies in cybersecurity see disruption coming and still not stop it? In this episode, Larry Switzer breaks down the innovator's dilemma and why business model is the real battleground for the next gener...

⚡ 25 times more efficient than any SIEM. 980 times faster threat detection. Petabyte scale data ingestion at a fraction of the cost. In this episode of Wake Up X, Larry Switzer goes deep on the technology behind Ziggiz.AI and...

“Trying is not failing. I don’t care what the outcome is. If you tried — you did not fail. Period.” That is how John Cuellar thinks. And after 30 years of building businesses from the ground up — through dot-com booms, market...

🔐 Cybersecurity isn't just an IT problem — it's everyone's responsibility.In this episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, Efren sits down with Jorge Avila of Paleo Tech Group — recorded LIVE at RSA Conference 2025 — to ta...

This one is different. No studio. No prep. Just real people, real stories, and a microphone open to anyone willing to share their journey. WakeUpX host Efren Salazar showed up to the ISACA Sacramento Appreciation Day and did ...

💡 What happens when 20 years of experience meets AI? You build a cybersecurity platform from scratch — and change your family's legacy forever.In this powerful episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, Efren sits down with ...

Is your organization’s security architecture prepared for the era of AI-driven threats? In this episode of the Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, host Efren Salazar sits down with Larry Switzer, Head of North American Sales at Zigg...

🚫 "I don't have the resources." That's not a reason. That's an excuse.Let me say that louder for the people in the back. 👇We're all limited on technology, knowledge, and resources at some point. But guess what? That has NEVER...

What does it really take to go from entry-level help desk to network architect and cybersecurity expert — without a four-year degree? In this episode, we sit down with Devin, a seasoned network architect and CISSP-certified c...

💪 Entrepreneurs aren't fearless. They're just built different — they feel the fear and do it anyway. In this episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, Efren sits down with Jorge Avila of Paleo Tech Group to break down one o...

🤖 Employers are already expecting 140 hours of work output from a 40 hour week — thanks to AI. Is your business ready?In this episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, recorded LIVE at RSA Conference 2025, Efren and Jorge A...

At RSA Conference 2026 in San Francisco, I sat down with Jorge Avila, co-founder of Paleo Tech Group, to talk about his journey from migrant farm worker roots in Texas to building an AI and cybersecurity startup. Jorge shares...

🤖 AI is the business advisor you never knew you had — and it's FREE. In this episode of The Wake Up X Solutions Podcast, Efren sits down with Jorge Avila of Paleo Tech Group to talk about how AI is completely changing the gam...

🎙️ Just wrapped an amazing conversation at RSA Conference with Ryan Doctor !We talked about:🔐 Breaking into cybersecurity from IT operations🤝 The power of networking (this is HUGE)🤖 How AI continues to dominate the cybersecur...

In this episode of the Wake Up X Solutions Podcast , Efren Salazar sits down with Michael Demetrius from P0 Security at RSA Conference 2026 . We dive into how Identity Access Management (IAM) is evolving with AI, cloud enviro...

In this episode of the *Wake Up X Solutions Podcast*, I sit down with **Greg McCord**, CISO at Lightcast and founder of Keystone Advisory, to break down what cybersecurity really looks like for startups and growing businesses...

🎙️ Live from RSA Conference, I sat down with Stacy to talk about her journey into cybersecurity and her first experience attending one of the biggest security conferences in the world. Host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/efrenl...

Great connecting with Louis Kemp at RSA Conference 2026! 🎙️ We had an insightful conversation about his journey from help desk to cybersecurity leadership, and now building his own consulting company. 💡 Key takeaways from our...

🎙️ Controlling Production Access Just Got Smarter At RSAC, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk about something every cybersecurity professional Gergely Dányi should care about, production access control.I spoke with th...

🤖 AI in Cybersecurity: Hype or Reality?At RSA Conference in San Francisco, I asked Johnny Norris from Concentric AI a simple question:**Is AI actually real… or just hype?**Here’s the honest answer 👇💡 There *is* real power in ...

🎙️ From High School Cyber Competitions to AI Security 🔐 At RSA Conference 2026 , I sat down with Sana Talwar to talk about breaking into cybersecurity—and what it really takes. 💡 How she started: AP Computer Science CyberPatr...

Efren Salazar discusses imposter syndrome on the Wakeup X Solutions podcast, explaining it as the inner voice that says you’re not valuable, ready, or knowledgeable and that others will expose you. He shares that imposter syn...

In this episode of the Wake Up X Podcast , we sit down with James to break down his journey from Help Desk to leadership and CISSP , using a light football-style framework to talk about mindset, preparation, pivots, and long-...