Cybersecurity is in a "perfect storm": Global conflicts and AI advancements are creating unprecedented threats, making the field more critical than ever.
Bet on talent, not just ideas: Cyberstarts’ success stems from focusing on resilient founders who have overcome personal adversities.
The Sunrise methodology drives product-market fit: By prioritizing urgent customer pain points, startups can build solutions that are both necessary and user-friendly.
Resilience is the key founder trait: Founders who have faced and overcome challenges are better equipped to navigate the startup journey.
Urgency over importance: Wiz’s success shows that targeting urgent pain points accelerates growth and adoption.
Personal adversity fuels purpose: Raanan’s personal tragedy underscores the power of resilience and focusing on helping others.
1. The Perfect Storm in Cybersecurity: AI and Global Conflicts Redefine the Threat Landscape
Global conflicts amplify threats: Conflicts like those in Ukraine and Gaza have turned offensive cybersecurity into a strategic weapon, with state-level tools trickling down to criminals.
AI redefines the game: AI’s ability to predict and prevent attacks is matched by its potential to launch sophisticated, large-scale offensives, making traditional defenses obsolete.
Unprecedented danger: The speed and scale of AI-driven attacks signal a more dangerous world than just a few years ago.
Key Quote: Gili Raanan "We live in days where it's actually the perfect storm in cybersecurity for various reasons."
Gili Raanan “We live in days where it's actually the perfect storm in cybersecurity for various reasons.”
2. The Cyberstarts Thesis: Betting on Talent and Pain Points Over Products
From $50M to $2B: Cyberstarts’ first fund grew from $50 million to nearly $2 billion in three years, yielding a portfolio worth over $25 billion, including Wiz and Fireblocks.
Focus on founders: Raanan avoids market or product questions at the seed stage, instead betting on resilient talent with a clear thesis.
Simplified decisions: By ignoring traditional VC metrics like competition or pricing early on, Cyberstarts zeroes in on the person, not the pitch.
3.The Sunrise Methodology: Building Solutions That Matter by Chasing Pain
Reverse-engineering success: The Sunrise process starts with customer pain points, identified through dozens of interviews with CISOs at large organizations, before any code is written.
Smart questions: Asking "Who’s the vendor you hate the most?" reveals true pain, while observing actions (not just words) validates urgency.
Wiz’s pivot: Originally Beyond Networks, Wiz shifted to cloud security after Sunrise feedback, proving the method’s power.
Key Quote: Gili Raanan: "The idea behind Sunrise process is that you're going to chase pain and identify pain."
“The idea behind Sunrise process is that you're going to chase pain and identify pain.”
4. Resilience: The Key Trait in Founders Who Overcome Adversity
Adversity breeds strength: Raanan seeks founders who’ve faced personal challenges, like Fireblocks’ Michael Schaulow, who immigrated as a child and thrived despite early setbacks.
Beyond IQ: High intelligence matters, but the ability to push through hardship is the real predictor of startup success.
Real-world example: Schaulow lost six of ten design partners to bankruptcy during a crypto winter but persevered to build an $8 billion company.
Key Quote: Gili Raanan: "The most important thing in my view is the adversity and the ability to overcome it."
“The most important thing in my view is the adversity and the ability to overcome it.”
5. Lessons from Wiz: Urgency, Product-Market Fit, and Passionate Talent
Urgency wins: Wiz pivoted from an important but non-urgent idea to cloud security, hitting an urgent pain point that mapped to one decision-maker—the CISO.
Single-person fit: Success came from aligning the product with one person who had the problem, budget, authority, and ability to deploy it.
Talent edge: Wiz hired engineers who code as a hobby, boosting productivity and driving rapid growth from $1M to $25M ARR in four quarters.
Key Quote: Gili Raanan: "Focus on the urgent, not the important."
“Focus on the urgent, not the important.”
6. Personal Resilience and the Future of Cybersecurity: Finding Purpose in Adversity
A personal tragedy: Raanan lost his 19-year-old daughter before founding Cyberstarts, channeling grief into building a legacy.
Purpose through others: Supporting young founders and solving real-world problems kept him going, proving resilience’s power.
Optimistic outlook: With evolving threats, talented founders, and AI’s impact, Raanan sees cybersecurity’s future as ripe for growth.
Key Quote: Gili Raanan: "I managed to find the power and the strength to keep on going, build Cyberstarts, and focus on building that organization and legacy."
“I managed to find the power and the strength to keep on going, build Cyberstarts, and focus on building that organization and legacy.”