Building Wiz: the fastest-growing startup in history | Raaz Herzberg (CMO and VP Product Strategy)
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Intro
In this chapter, the evolution of a startup's pivot to cloud security is explored through the eyes of its first product manager. The discussion highlights the initial challenges, customer interactions, and the crucial signals that guided the transition to a successful product-market fit.
Raaz Herzberg is the chief marketing officer and VP of product strategy at Wiz. Wiz hit $100 million ARR within 18 months (the fastest growth in startup history) and, five years in, is generating over $500 million ARR. It also serves over 45% of the Fortune 100. Raaz was one of the first five employees at Wiz, joining as the first product manager, and helped the team pivot to what may be the most intense PMF in history. Before Wiz, Raaz led security products at Microsoft, including Azure Sentinel. In our conversation, we discuss:
• How Wiz pivoted from their initial idea and found deep product-market fit
• What Raaz learned about listening to customers
• Why she moved from product to marketing, despite no prior experience
• How she thinks differently as a marketer with a product background
• Lessons learned from scaling a hypergrowth startup like Wiz
• Much more
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-wiz-raaz-herzberg
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Where to find Raaz Herzberg:
• X: https://x.com/raazherzberg
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raazh
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Raaz’s background
(02:54) Early challenges and Wiz’s essential pivot
(06:41) Finding product-market fit
(11:31) Lessons from early customer interactions
(14:54) The power in speaking up when you don’t understand something
(17:46) How Wiz pivoted from their initial idea
(23:52) Marketing and leadership insights
(34:12) The challenges of being a marketing leader
(28:05) Following the “heat” in your organization
(30:22) How Raaz found success as CMO
(34:01) Common CMO mistakes
(36:23) Creating noise and standing out
(40:28) Embracing failure and taking risks
(44:53) The importance of clear communication
(48:32) The “dummy” explanation
(51:00) Building trust and company culture
(53:45) Contrarian corner
(56:34) Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/
• An inside look at Deel’s unprecedented growth | Meltem Kuran Berkowitz (Head of Growth): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-deels-unprecedented
• Velocity over everything: How Ramp became the fastest-growing SaaS startup of all time | Geoff Charles (VP of Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/velocity-over-everything-how-ramp
• Assaf Rappaport on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/assafrappaport/
• How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen
• Shardul Shah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shardul-shah-3589062/
• Doug Leone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-leone-a2714/
• Jeff Horing on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhoring2009/
• RSA Conference: https://www.rsaconference.com/
• Microsoft acquires Adallom to advance identity and security in the cloud: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2015/09/08/microsoft-acquires-adallom-to-advance-identity-and-security-in-the-cloud/
• Imposter syndrome: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/imposter-syndrome
• Careers at Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/careers
• Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business: https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table-Transforming-Hospitality-Business/dp/0060742763
• No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention: https://www.amazon.com/No-Rules-Netflix-Culture-Reinvention/dp/1984877860/
• Gong: https://www.gong.io/
• The Wire on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-wire
• Raaz’s pen holder recommendation: https://www.paper-republic.com/products/le-loop-penholder
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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