Episode 56: From Bristol to the Bay: AI-Powered DLP solutions that really work with Parvez Alam Kazi

Mar 2, 2026

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Join Den Jones as he sits down with Parvez Alam Kazi, co-founder of Fortyx Security, who's tackling the notorious failure of traditional data loss prevention with AI-powered email security.

From the UK startup scene to breaking into US markets, Parvez shares candid insights about first-time founder challenges, the reality of fundraising, and why the DLP industry desperately needs a revolution.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

- From Operator to Founder

Parvez shares his journey from Morgan Stanley to machine learning to leading security at startups
Key quote: "The human layer is always the one that is the most exposed"

- UK Startup Scene Reality

Discussion of UK tech hubs beyond London, including Bristol's aerospace and defense legacy
Key quote: "Most of the money is around London... but there's a big bubbling tech scene in other parts of the UK"

- The DLP Problem That Won't Die

Fortix's pivot to email data loss protection and why traditional DLP has failed
Key quote: "Email security is all about phishing, social engineering, business email compromise, but data loss protection... there's not much"

- The Million Dollar DLP Failure

Den's critique of the DLP market and its operational costs
Key quote: "You can spend millions, multimillion... and then at the end of it, the ability for a bad actor or an employee to make a mistake... we still aren't solving the basics"

- AI Agents as Human Email Reviewers

How Fortix uses AI to emulate human decision-making in email review
Key quote: "Imagine if you're a large bank and you're sending out millions of emails every day, we can spin up five million AI agents, behave like humans"

- Fundraising: Relationship Over Pitch

Lessons learned about building investor relationships vs. pitching
Key quote: "It's not that you pitch today and money in the bank tomorrow. It's all about building that relationship, trust"

- Why This, Why You, Why Now

The three critical questions every founder must answer
Key quote: "At early stage pre-seed seed, it's all on the founders. That is what people are betting on"

- 2026 Vision and Scaling Strategy

Fortix's roadmap from founder-led sales to scalable partnerships
Key quote: "Security is all about polish trust and brand, something that people can trust to secure their organizations"