The author of this text is building a security stack for their open-source identity provider, Authentik Security, using free and open-source tools such as Loki, Wazuh, and CodeQL. They estimate that using these non-commercial security tools saves them approximately $100,000 annually. The security stack includes Blue Team efforts focused on visibility and monitoring through SIEM and log aggregation tools, organizational security practices such as multi-factor authentication and single sign-on, product security measures like third-party penetration testing and remediating vulnerabilities, Red Team efforts for internal penetration testing and identifying low-hanging fruit vulnerabilities, and insider threat mitigation. The author emphasizes that security doesn't have to be a big-company luxury and that small startups can benefit from implementing good security practices early on, even with limited resources. They also highlight the importance of partnerships between teams and finding a compromise to ensure security without sacrificing development or sales priorities.