Episode 128 - A Masterclass on Being Yourself with Ashish Rajan

Ashish Rajan is a Cloud Security leader, podcaster, investor and fashion expert. He’s the Melbourne chapter leader of the OWASP Foundation and the Head of Security & Compliance. Ashish makes full use of his expertise and shares his knowledge as founder of a Cloud Security academy as well as in his weekly Coffee with Ashish which streams on Twitch, linkedin and YouTube.  Ashish shares that while doing his weekly cloud security livestreams from the streets of Melbourne he became a recognizable person. Dressing with the intention of presenting something different to people Ashish began changing the way people look at him as a cybersecurity person. Ron asks Ashish about people understanding his value and how that can be conveyed through being confident with self image and comfortable in your own skin. Ashish speaks about the difference that presenting a new image of a security expert makes in his own career, that sometimes folks in the industry don’t necessarily communicate enough with people who don’t already have that knowledge base and so there can be a gap. The conversation moves to how Ashish’s interests overlap and have grown throughout his cybersecurity practice and professional growth, he began meeting people more into sales over coffee in order to make more connections with other forward thinking professionals. Ashish’s mindset is that goals have to evolve especially when you’re able to meet them ahead of schedule, he applies this successfully to his Coffee with Ashish weekly show. Chris asks Ashish about his innovative mindset and a time he’s had to overcome an obstacle. His journey overcoming that is inspiring, after being let go from a job Ashish still believed there was reason to invest in the ideas and company. From there he began putting his time and energy into the cloud security academy and cloud security podcast using the motivation gained after that setback put in front of him as motivation to teach others how to fish in the cyber ocean. Ron and Chris talk with Ashish about legacy and Ashish shares that planting seeds will be the legacy he hopes for. Ashish hopes that making significant impact on other people’s lives in a positive way will become his. Ashish shares that finding mentors aligned with the goals that you have, starting on your goals will pay dividends.  Impactful Moments 0:00 — Intro 2:05 — Welcome to Hacker Valley Studio with Ashish. 4:15 — Origin story of a Tinkerer and mastering the cheat codes. 6:10 — Trying new things and trying to innovate them creatively. 7:45 — Unintentionally stumbling into the fashion world. 9:00 — Transforming into an extroverted Security person. 10:33 — Diversifying Cybersecurity with fashion and putting yourself out there. 12:40 — Being comfortable in your own skin after putting yourself out there. 13:33 — Following in the footsteps of your parents. 16:00 — Discovering more than just security and learning how to sell. 18:00 — The organic origins of Coffee with Ashish. 20:00 — Overcoming obstacles and teaching others to fish.  22:10 — Making the right investments in helping other people. 24:10 — Ashish leveling up constantly and what’s next. 26:20 — Ashish’s advice for stepping into your own personal strength. 28:00 — The very online future and making your own media hub.   Links: Connect with Ashish on LinkedIn and check out his podcast Coffee with Ashish. Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio. Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon. Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter. Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. If your experience with compliance has sucked, check out our friends at ByteChek and see what they can do for you.