EPISODE · Feb 6, 2026 · 48 MIN
Cyberstarts: Inverting the idea stage
from The Physics of Startups · host Rob Snyder
Cyberstarts (VC focused on cybersecurity) has an insane hit rate - its first fun turned $50M into $2B within 3 years investing in 9 founders. Founded by Gili Raanan, their approach (which they call "Sunrise") inverts the pre-idea / pre-product stage. Instead of choosing a market / technology to bet on, they invest in founder teams pre-product, use a network of CSIOs to identify demand, validate by selling, then begin to build the product. In this episode, Rob breaks down Cyberstarts' approach from the lens of PULL and customer demand - including why Cyberstarts' approach has an advantage over other VCs, what can be learned from both a founder and a VC perspective - and a few areas that he would approach differently.Invest like the Best interview with Gili Raanan: Spotify, transcript, Cyberstarts webpageRob's Substack post here, "Inverting the idea stage": LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
What this episode covers
Cyberstarts (VC focused on cybersecurity) has an insane hit rate - its first fun turned $50M into $2B within 3 years investing in 9 founders. Founded by Gili Raanan, their approach (which they call "Sunrise") inverts the pre-idea / pre-product stage. Instead of choosing a market / technology to bet on, they invest in founder teams pre-product, use a network of CSIOs to identify demand, validate by selling, then begin to build the product. In this episode, Rob breaks down Cyberstarts' approach from the lens of PULL and customer demand - including why Cyberstarts' approach has an advantage over other VCs, what can be learned from both a founder and a VC perspective - and a few areas that he would approach differently.Invest like the Best interview with Gili Raanan: Spotify, transcript, Cyberstarts webpageRob's Substack post here, "Inverting the idea stage": LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
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Cyberstarts: Inverting the idea stage
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