Jake Moshenko

Yo, you gotta hear about Jake Moshenko. This guy’s the real deal in the tech world, no cap. He’s a YC W21 alum and now the CEO and co-founder of Authzed, which is basically changing how permissions and access control work in cloud-native apps. They commercialized SpiceDB, a permissions database inspired by Google’s Zanzibar paper, yeah, that’s some advanced stuff.

But here’s the thing, Jake’s process is nuts. He’s been in tech for over 15 years, and he’s done everything from big giants like Google and Amazon to aerospace at Boeing. Started out as a Real-Time Software Engineer at Boeing back in ’05, which is pretty wild if you think about it. He was building stuff that’s gotta be super reliable, super fast, imagine that kind of precision in aerospace.

Then he jumped into the startup scene with DevTable around 2012, which was all about developer tools. That got acquired by Red Hat, so he crushed it early on. After that, he was part of building Quay, the first private Docker registry, huge for containers and cloud infrastructure, and that was acquired by CoreOS. So, he’s got a real knack for building stuff that’s the backbone of modern cloud apps.

He’s not just a coder, he’s a leader. At CoreOS, he was NYC Site Lead and Head of Engineering, which means he’s all about scaling teams and products. After CoreOS got snapped up by Red Hat, he kept pushing, becoming a Senior Manager there. So, he’s got that mix of hardcore engineering chops and startup hustle, with a clear eye on solving complex problems like permissions, which are a huge problem in enterprise software.

What’s wild is how he combines this deep engineering background with a data-informed mindset. It’s like he’s got the technical skills but also understands the business side, knowing what companies need to stay secure and flexible. That’s why Authzed is such a big move. He saw a gap in how permissions are handled in cloud apps, super complex, super messy, and he built a product that actually makes it expandable and easy to use.

He’s based in New York but he’s been all over, building stuff at Boeing, Amazon, Google, startups, and now leading a company that’s pushing the boundaries of permissions tech. Honestly, it’s no surprise he’s making waves; he’s the guy who’s been in the trenches, building the infrastructure behind the future of cloud security.

Bottom line? Jake’s about taking big, complex problems, like permissions and security, and actually building solutions that people can trust at scale. He’s the type of founder who’s been through the grind, learned from the best, and now he’s crushing it with Authzed. That’s why he’s so important, he’s not just talking about the future of tech, he’s actually building it.