Gili Raanan

There are other ways to identify pain. For instance, one of my most favorite questions is, who's the vendor you hate the most? Because if you don't like a vendor, that's a big motivation for you to displace that vendor. Another reason Important observation is words are cheap. So don't look at what the customer says.

There are other ways to identify pain. For instance, one of my most favorite questions is, who's the vendor you hate the most? Because if you don't like a vendor, that's a big motivation for you to displace that vendor. Another reason Important observation is words are cheap. So don't look at what the customer says.

Look at what the customer does, which means if you are running security for a large bank, you probably manage budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. And if you claim that there's one thing that's inflicting a lot of pain for you, you worry about that. You think that your bank is at risk and you haven't done anything about it, probably not as important as you claim.

Look at what the customer does, which means if you are running security for a large bank, you probably manage budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. And if you claim that there's one thing that's inflicting a lot of pain for you, you worry about that. You think that your bank is at risk and you haven't done anything about it, probably not as important as you claim.

So you probably have done something. You downloaded an open source package to try it out. You took consultants to develop a temporary solution. You had real conversation with Palo Alto Networks or WIS to see if they can solve that issue for you. You've done something. So we are asking them not about their opinions, but what they actually did to try and deal with that pain point.

So you probably have done something. You downloaded an open source package to try it out. You took consultants to develop a temporary solution. You had real conversation with Palo Alto Networks or WIS to see if they can solve that issue for you. You've done something. So we are asking them not about their opinions, but what they actually did to try and deal with that pain point.

Eventually, we reverse the power balance in a conversation because we are not asking for favors. We are telling those organizations, hey, this is a new cyberstats team. That new team would spend about $100 million in the next three years on engineering alone to build one solution. That's the average for a cyberstats company, $100 million R&D budget for three years.

Eventually, we reverse the power balance in a conversation because we are not asking for favors. We are telling those organizations, hey, this is a new cyberstats team. That new team would spend about $100 million in the next three years on engineering alone to build one solution. That's the average for a cyberstats company, $100 million R&D budget for three years.

What is the one thing that you care about that you'd like us to solve with our $100 million? You don't need to spend anything with that. We are giving you essentially $100 million of balance sheet to solve one pain point for your organization. And I found out that when you give people $100 million virtually, they listen and they think.

What is the one thing that you care about that you'd like us to solve with our $100 million? You don't need to spend anything with that. We are giving you essentially $100 million of balance sheet to solve one pain point for your organization. And I found out that when you give people $100 million virtually, they listen and they think.

And then you take those answers and you're not having one conversation or two conversation. I think that to have a meaningful, a statistically meaningful outcome, you need to talk to dozens of organizations. You speak with dozens of organizations and you make a choice. This is the one pain point I'm going to go after.

And then you take those answers and you're not having one conversation or two conversation. I think that to have a meaningful, a statistically meaningful outcome, you need to talk to dozens of organizations. You speak with dozens of organizations and you make a choice. This is the one pain point I'm going to go after.

And then you do another round of conversations, assuming you go after that pain point and ask them questions, how a solution would look like, because you really like the solution to be loved by the users. And only then, and sometimes it takes six months, only then you start to build software.

And then you do another round of conversations, assuming you go after that pain point and ask them questions, how a solution would look like, because you really like the solution to be loved by the users. And only then, and sometimes it takes six months, only then you start to build software.

And if you think about the typical startup, when they get money from VCs, they start to get pressure to build software and push forward and hire people. And my approach is almost the opposite. Sit tight, don't get too excited. This is your last chance to pick the right problem to go after. So let's make sure we pick right. The outcome is that they build software that solves a major pain point.

And if you think about the typical startup, when they get money from VCs, they start to get pressure to build software and push forward and hire people. And my approach is almost the opposite. Sit tight, don't get too excited. This is your last chance to pick the right problem to go after. So let's make sure we pick right. The outcome is that they build software that solves a major pain point.

It's verified with dozens of real customers, and they've built a solution that people would love because they talked to those people before they started to build code. Now, it doesn't work every team, but as I think I've demonstrated, the success rate is quite high.

It's verified with dozens of real customers, and they've built a solution that people would love because they talked to those people before they started to build code. Now, it doesn't work every team, but as I think I've demonstrated, the success rate is quite high.

It's a standard software building exercise, but perfectly done because you start from the end and walk backwards. It starts with the end in terms of value, what value the customer would like to produce with that piece of software. The science process doesn't end at six months. It's a full simulation of everything you're going to face in the next three or four years as a founder, as a company.

It's a standard software building exercise, but perfectly done because you start from the end and walk backwards. It starts with the end in terms of value, what value the customer would like to produce with that piece of software. The science process doesn't end at six months. It's a full simulation of everything you're going to face in the next three or four years as a founder, as a company.