Ep 16. How to Build Secure Developer Platforms: Dr Laurent Balmelli on Innovation & Start-Up Mindset

Описание: Laurent Balmelli, PhD, General Manager of Citrix Secure Developer Spaces, Switzerland, reflects on how secure developer platforms are built in a world shaped by cloud-native development, speed, and constant technological acceleration. In this conversation, he explains how Secure Developer Spaces originated from Strong Network, the startup he founded in Switzerland and later acquired by Citrix, and what it means to lead a product by aligning engineering, business outcomes, and customer messaging without a “typical day.”

Drawing on his background at Bell Labs and ‪@ibmresearch‬ in New York and Tokyo, Balmelli discusses the value of PhD-level rigor, storytelling as a core operational skill, and persuasion as clarity rather than manipulation. He shares insights on entrepreneurship, the start-up mindset, Swiss approaches to innovation, writing as a tool for thinking, and how AI is changing—but not replacing—how ideas, products, and companies are built. This episode offers practical perspectives for builders, leaders, and early-career professionals navigating the future of software and technology.

🌱 Chapters
00:00 Secure Developer Spaces & Role of a General Manager
07:30 Citrix’s Partner-Led Business Model & Global Positioning
08:51 Value of a PhD & Transferable Skills between Academia & Industry
13:28 A Global Career: The U.S., Japan & Switzerland
18:24 Entrepreneurship & the Start-Up Mindset
24:02 Persuasion & Storytelling in Product & Company Building
28:27 Lessons from Building a Second Company
31:01 Future of AI & Tech Acceleration
36:01 Developer, Entrepreneur or Both?
38:11 Advice for Entrepreneurs & Early-Career Professionals

Read the full print interview → persuasivediscourse.com/post/the-story-behind-citrix-secure-developer-spaces-laurent-balmelli
Recorded: November 29, 2025
Podcast Host: Dr. Sorina Matthey de l'Endroit
Music: Ignatius Calabria

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