How to Build a Startup in 2025? With 1/5th Cost, 1/5th Team | Shikhil Sharma, Astra Security

Cybercrime is predicted to drain the world of $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, making it one of the greatest threats to modern business.

Shikhil Sharma, co-founder & CEO of Astra Security, is building one of today’s most trusted pentesting platforms. Just last year, Astra uncovered over 2 million vulnerabilities across customer systems, preventing more than $69 million in potential losses.

Shikhil shares why Astra was built as a product- and marketing-first company, how storytelling helped the brand connect with people by clearly showing its purpose and expertise and how founder–investor relationships are built on conviction and trust.

He breaks down why pricing transparency is no longer optional for B2B companies and how trust is emerging as the true currency of go-to-market. We discuss what it takes to build a SaaS company in today’s AI-first world, from raising leaner rounds and running with smaller teams to creating products that customers love from day zero.

Beyond the playbooks, this is a conversation about building durable companies and the mindset that drives Shikhil as a founder: success isn’t bought, it’s rented, and the rent is due every day.

0:00 — Trailer
0:56 — Early college days that led to a startup
5:00 — AI could cut startup costs and team size by 80%
8:43 — Why seed rounds should be under $500K
11:45 — Marketing can beat sales in early-stage SaaS
16:07 — Is Google search under threat from consumer AI?
20:23 — Why B2B startups must display pricing transparently
25:41 — What VCs lend founders beyond capital?
28:36 — How 42 CIOs backed Atomicwork
30:58 — Replace GTM with COT- currency of trust
33:34 — Why 20-year SaaS playbooks no longer works
35:37 — How AI is changing cybersecurity
41:38 — How the founders first met in college
46:33 — Are “hard startups” actually easier to build?
51:50 — Neon X Astra Security
-------------
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
-------------
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww

Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
-------------
This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice. Receive SMS online on sms24.me

Watch on YouTube

Subscribe on YouTubeReaderBot

TubeReader video aggregator is a website that collects and organizes online videos from the YouTube source. Video aggregation is done for different purposes, and TubeReader take different approaches to achieve their purpose.

Our try to collect videos of high quality or interest for visitors to view; the collection may be made by editors or may be based on community votes.

Another method is to base the collection on those videos most viewed, either at the aggregator site or at various popular video hosting sites.

TubeReader site exists to allow users to collect their own sets of videos, for personal use as well as for browsing and viewing by others; TubeReader can develop online communities around video sharing.

Our site allow users to create a personalized video playlist, for personal use as well as for browsing and viewing by others.

@YouTubeReaderBot allows you to subscribe to Youtube channels.

By using @YouTubeReaderBot Bot you agree with YouTube Terms of Service.

Use the @YouTubeReaderBot telegram bot to be the first to be notified when new videos are released on your favorite channels.

Look for new videos or channels and share them with your friends.

You can start using our bot from this video, subscribe now to How to Build a Startup in 2025? With 1/5th Cost, 1/5th Team | Shikhil Sharma, Astra Security

What is YouTube?

YouTube is a free video sharing website that makes it easy to watch online videos. You can even create and upload your own videos to share with others. Originally created in 2005, YouTube is now one of the most popular sites on the Web, with visitors watching around 6 billion hours of video every month.