Top 50 Most Promising Startups
Wiz and the long game of building global companies
Cyberstarts founder Gili Raanan on independence, scale, and shaping markets.
On Independence Day, it is customary to describe Israel as a “startup nation,” but this concept is sometimes reduced to the number of exits and the size of deals. The story of Wiz, which was sold to Google for $32 billion, offers a deeper interpretation: not just the ability to start companies, but the ability to build companies here that shape global markets. The achievement of Wiz’s entrepreneurs and their talented team does not belong only to the company or its investors. It sets a new benchmark for the entire Israeli ecosystem.
The Israeli high-tech sector has become accustomed in recent years to measuring success in terms of dollars and exit timelines. But while the market celebrates numbers, the more interesting question is not which company will exit - however large or fast - but which has the DNA to build a company that defines an entire category. The Wiz deal is not just a financial milestone, but a reminder of how great companies are built, and what it takes to get there.
In the past, the typical path of many Israeli cyber companies was to identify a specific problem and then be quickly acquired by a technology giant that would integrate the solution as a feature in a larger system. Wiz has broken this paradigm. When Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon Costika, and Roy Reznik set out in 2020, they were not looking to build another patch for the chaos of cloud security. They set out to build the platform itself. From day one, their ambition was not to integrate into the market, but to redefine it.
For the entrepreneurs featured on the “50 Most Promising Startups” list, the road to such status is fraught with dangerous temptations. One of the biggest pitfalls young companies face is what might be called “the giant customer bias.” Naturally, every startup at the beginning of its journey seeks validation and credibility from large international corporations. But the desire to close a first major deal with a Fortune 100 company can be blinding, and therein lies the trap.
The "Boutique Consulting" Trap
Large, well-known clients often come with extensive lists of requirements tailored to their specific needs. A young company, eager to satisfy the client and generate early revenue, begins to adapt itself accordingly. Without noticing, instead of developing a scalable global product, the startup becomes a kind of development services firm or consulting boutique for that corporation. The product’s identity is lost, along with its true growth potential.
The key lesson for Israeli startup leaders is the ability to maintain a fine balance between listening to customers and preserving a clear product vision. In many cases, this also requires knowing how to say “no.” At the same time, it is equally important to recognize when the needs of a large client actually reinforce the company’s strategy.
When the requirements of a major strategic customer align with a company’s roadmap for the next year or more, that customer ceases to be merely a source of revenue. It becomes a catalyst, pulling the company into the center of the market and helping it set the standard for others.
In Wiz’s case, this choice was deliberate from an early stage. Rather than being pulled toward specific customer demands, the company focused on building a unified product that provides organizations with a comprehensive view of cloud risk, even at the cost of foregoing certain customizations.
Beyond Wiz’s headline numbers, the real lesson is not only what to avoid, but how to build correctly. It comes down to a set of strategic decisions that distinguish companies that respond to the market from those that shape it. One common mistake is choosing a problem that is too small. Many entrepreneurs begin with a concrete, real “pain point,” but one that is limited to a narrow function or a marginal step in a broader process. Solutions to small problems rarely expand beyond them. Companies like Wiz did not aim to fix a glitch, they targeted an entire layer of organizational architecture.
When the problem is systemic, the product does not become just another feature. It becomes a standard that redefines the system.
Successful companies do not only build products, they build the engines that drive their growth. The Israeli myth that “the best product will win” is misleading. Early-stage entrepreneurs often fall in love with their technology and assume that if it is good enough, the market will discover it.
In reality, companies that define categories think about their growth engine from the very first lines of code.
This means embedding sales and distribution into the product’s DNA: How does the user experience it in the first five minutes? How does the product “explain itself” without a salesperson?
When user experience and branding operate in synergy with technology, growth becomes an inherent part of the product. At Wiz, this was reflected in a product that delivers immediate value - rapid cloud integration and fast insight generation. This onboarding experience is not merely a product decision; it is a strategic one that enables rapid adoption across organizations.
It is not enough to identify a market need, you must recognize when that need becomes inevitable. Wiz acted at precisely the moment when cloud adoption shifted from a trend to an unavoidable organizational reality. Companies that identify such structural changes in how organizations use technology are no longer offering solutions, they become the default.
Part of this strength lies in the ability to decide who not to sell to. Choosing a specific target audience is not a limitation; it is the only way to deepen market penetration and become the standard.
Speed is not everything. Control is the true advantage. Uncontrolled growth is often a recipe for failure. Aggressive expansion, in hiring or market entry, creates managerial and technological complexity that can overwhelm a company from within.
The companies that endure for decades are not necessarily the fastest, but those that know when to slow down and allow their systems to mature. Pace is not a byproduct of success; it is a strategic management tool.
The ability to accelerate matters is important, but the ability to stop at the right time is what separates sustainable growth from disintegration.
Managing the Pace with an Iron Fist
The real challenge for the entrepreneurs featured on this list is not only to succeed, but to avoid the small decisions that lead to mediocrity. Do not compromise on product vision for the sake of short-term harmony with large clients, and do not chase superficial growth simply because it looks impressive.
The central lesson is not just to aim higher, but to act with greater precision: to choose meaningful problems, build effective growth engines, and manage pace with discipline. The difference between an excellent company and one that truly changes the world does not begin with technology, it begins with the courage to make the right decisions at every crossroads.
Gili Raanan is the founder of Cyberstarts and one of the first investors in Wiz.
