The Career Built on Course Corrections with Ruben Sarino

From military kid living in six countries to co-founding RiskHorizon AI - Ruben Sarino's career path proves you don't need to know where you're going to get where you need to be.

Growing up in Japan during the early 2000s, Ruben saw how technology could transform daily life. Watching people tap cards to pay for everything while in developing countries standing in lines changed how he thought about problems. That curiosity turned into a career spanning car parts, honey business, Apple retail, CrowdStrike's explosive growth, healthcare tech, and now AI security.

His secret? Stop asking "what do I want to do?" and start asking "how do I want to feel?"

In this conversation, Ruben breaks down:
Why he joined CrowdStrike as an SDR when they were Series B
The mentor relationships that shaped his career trajectory
Course correction as a life strategy, not just a tactic
Why the best founders solve problems, not push solutions
How growing up comfortable with change built entrepreneurial confidence
The annual one-on-one he has with himself every year

If you're stuck overthinking your next move or wondering if you have what it takes to make a jump, this one's for you.

TIME MARKERS
00:00 Introduction
03:04 Growing up in Japan - technology that just worked
05:50 The contrast between advanced and developing countries
08:29 Video games, curiosity, and breaking systems
13:58 The car parts company that taught problem-first thinking
17:35 Stumbling into the honey business by chance
19:30 "If you know too much, you will never start"
25:30 Why Ruben chose cybersecurity (hint: massive paychecks)
30:35 Landing at CrowdStrike as a Sales Development Representative
34:15 The account executives who became his mentors
36:30 Building relationships through curiosity, not credentials
42:25 Jumping from corporate to startup and back again
49:30 The annual check-in: "How do I want to feel next year?"
53:15 Why "where the jobs are" is a terrible career strategy
57:40 Getting comfortable being uncomfortable
01:02:10 Meeting his RiskHorizon AI co-founder
01:04:45 The confidence (and arrogance) it takes to be a founder
01:06:50 Transferable skills matter more than industry expertise
01:09:20 Cloud platforms, consolidation, and seeing patterns
01:12:45 Not everything needs AI - just solve the actual problem
01:14:30 Wrap-up and final thoughts

ABOUT RUBEN SARINO
Ruben Sarino is co-founder of RiskHorizon AI, bringing security and problem-solving experience from CrowdStrike, workforce intelligence startups, and healthcare technology. He started as an SDR at CrowdStrike when they were Series B and rode the wave of explosive growth while building relationships with account executives who showed him what was possible beyond cold calling. Before tech, he ran businesses in car parts and honey, learning that understanding the actual problem matters more than having the coolest solution.

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LinkedIn:   / rubensarino  

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