Most people, in Israel and worldwide, see traffic jams as an annoying delay. But for Roy Katz, Director of Brand at cybersecurity company Wiz, Tel Aviv traffic jams are a source of inspiration.
"I strongly believe in signs from above, and when I need inspiration, it comes to me in traffic jams. Suddenly, a song on the radio tells you something, or some store sparks an idea. Then I go to ChatGPT to help me illustrate what’s in my head and persuade others who may be less creative. It’s an amazing persuasion tool that saves a lot of time."
A high level of persuasiveness is part of Katz’s essential skill-set. Cybersecurity companies typically use scare tactics in their branding, in red and black. Katz preferred to discard this palette, and instead inject lots of pink. "At industry exhibitions, other booths give out black or gray logo socks. In contrast, our first giveaway socks were pink with a unicorn riding on a rocket, celebrating our having reached unicorn status within 15 months," he recalls.
"We didn’t know how people would react, because our ‘persona’ is probably a white American male around 40 years old. But the craze it generated-you could see men in serious suits going around in pink socks-became the foundation of everything we’ve done since. We started with 5% pink, saw how it contrasted with confident masculine blue-a sudden femininity, softness, and playfulness-and today we have much more pink."
How much does your role contribute to Wiz’s success?
"Branding is very important to a company’s growth. I’m very proud of Wiz’s branding, because I believe it significantly contributed to the growth of the way we’re perceived. I also see it in the data. As soon as we started doing themes at conferences, we got 3.5 times more leads than at events where we didn’t do themes, because more people came to our stand."
"Redoing everything"
Katz, who is only 29, doesn’t hold an academic degree in marketing or branding, but it was always clear his path would be creative. "I dreamed of being a set designer, my mom supported me, and we built a theater at home. That shaped me and led me to where I am today," he relates. "At 12, a friend showed me Photoshop for the first time, and I was in total shock. I went home, downloaded the software, and practiced.
"After finishing military service, I went on my big post-army trip and decided that when I returned, I’d be a designer. But when I came back, Covid hit. I sent hundreds of resumes to all kinds of companies, and every recruiter told me everything was on hold. So, I worked at Wolt and connected with the marketing team that worked with an external agency. That’s how I started doing design work, while freelancing at a few small places.
"One night, at 11 pm, Assaf (Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport) called and said he needed a small favor because he was launching a new website. It was all half-baked, with minute-to-minute startup vibe. That’s how I became a freelancer for Wiz. A few months later, I officially joined the company. For two years, I was a graphic and creative designer, and then there was a restructuring, and I got the chance to build a branding and design team."
What had you done in that respect until then?
"There was an attempt with a global Tier 1 agency, highly respected, but the results were poor and not connected to the market. When I took on the role, we decided to redo everything and challenge all the fear-based seriousness. We tried to push boundaries as much as possible and do things completely unconventional for this market."
What was considered unconventional at that time?
"Every cloud security website was red and black. That makes sense because fear works in the security industry-it motivates companies, shifts budgets, and makes people act. But we realized that it doesn’t work well in the long term. A person can’t look at alarms for years; they become desensitized to danger.
"Also, Wiz was founded with the understanding that it isn’t enough for a good product to be innovative; it also has to be fun and easy to use. The vision was to present things in the most enjoyable way, with no panic or fearmongering. So, we decided to translate the user experience of control and clarity into a branding experience."
The first two years were trial and error, "and we didn’t break through. For example, we tried professional and technological directions that looked like bank branding. These are important values but not ones that make you stand out in a sector with very established companies with strong brands, and many startups coming in every month."
Why did you still decide to keep the work in-house?
"Marketing is the place for all experimentation. Plus, AI makes everything fast and easy," Katz explains, giving an example. "For one exhibition, we created a supermarket with 30 food and cleaning products, all based on in-jokes in the cybersecurity industry, down to the details on the packaging and small print. For an external agency, it would have been borderline impossible to achieve that level of connection with customers, because it’s not something you can achieve through research alone.
"I know the market because I’ve been in it for four years, and I sit here with the employees. For example, when I was missing a product, I sat with the team and asked for an idea for cans (like Andy Warhol’s), and they suggested ‘Acronym Soup’-a term describing the jumble of letters and acronyms in cloud security. That’s a brilliant insight. You sit with them at lunch, hear the jokes that make them laugh, and create the connections. Then I know for sure it will make the customers laugh."
A magical time
Wiz, founded in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Roy Reznik, and Ami Luttwak, provides security solutions for cloud computing systems. Its platform allows organizations to identify, prioritize, and address security vulnerabilities in their cloud systems without the need for software installation. Five years after its establishment, its annual recurring revenue (ARR) stands at $700 million, and a few months ago it was reported that tech giant Google planned to acquire it for a staggering $32 billion.
To illustrate the company’s uniqueness, Katz uses a seatbelt metaphor borrowed from Rappaport. "When you look at the market, you see that everyone focuses on the danger. But a seatbelt allows you to enjoy driving. That’s a crazy insight: a compass that helps me know where to direct focus in everything I do. Thanks to the illustration style we chose, I can talk about risk without inducing panic, and simplify a lot of complexities."
Wiz’s supermarket is just one example of Katz’s creativity, which reaches a peak at the industry's major exhibitions-RSA in San Francisco ("the Super Bowl of cloud security") and re:Invent in Las Vegas. The first major booth he designed was inspired by The Wizard of Oz, and called "The Wizard of Wiz" because company employees call each other "wizards." "We built the Yellow Brick Road and brought actors to play Dorothy and the Tin Man," he recalls. "We got amazing feedback on creativity, but something didn’t feel connected enough to the product."
Using the idea of magic could also be perceived as illusion or sleight of hand.
"True, it’s very risky because magic can be seen as an illusion or something unserious, which is the opposite of the trust we’re trying to bring to our customers and the entire market. We decided to do everything slowly and carefully, balancing between magical and technical. To this day, I thank the founders and (VP Marketing) Raz Herzberg for their courage."
For the next exhibition, he designed a diner. "We gave out donuts, and the products themselves were connected to cloud security jokes. For example, there’s a term called 'Shift Left,' which means security starts at the development stage. So, we made a ‘Shift Left Hot Dog.’ There’s something about someone telling you an inside joke that you know only you understand. If this were a mobile conference, people wouldn’t laugh."
Then came the supermarket, which required "very intensive work, but created high engagement. First, because people came to see the bizarre booth in a conservative expo. Once they realized what they were seeing wasn’t Doritos but an inside cybersecurity joke, they started going through every product and stayed for a long time, which allowed us to talk to them, give demos, and build connections."
Did you stand to one side and watch them?
"Yes, and it’s one of my most amazing experiences at Wiz. My childhood dream was to be a set designer, and this was the first time I said, ‘Wow, I built a set you can walk inside.’ We realized we had a breakthrough and a playbook."
"It’s not about budget"
Last April, Katz presented Wiz’s "CISOtopia - The Cybersecurity Toy Store" at the 2025 RSA Conference (RSAC), which was essentially an expansion or an upgrade of everything he’s done so far. "It started as an April Fools' joke," Katz recalls. "We created an online store offering products with inside cybersecurity jokes, like a giant panic button, a cloud risk map that’s an actual map, and a keyboard with only Shift and Left keys." For the booth, he created a physical "store" with Lego-style games, Monopoly, UNO card games, children’s books, and more.
Does the freedom you get stem from the fact that you’re not a large, veteran company, but a startup?
"I’m sure that’s part of it. But it’s important to say we didn’t start with crazy stuff. When everyone’s doing the same thing, it’s important to think 180 degrees different. We started small and earned trust.
"Sometimes I stand at our booth at a conference, and marketing VPs come to me and say, ‘I wish we had the budget to do a booth like this.’ But it’s not a budget issue. A booth costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the payment is for the real estate-the square you’re given. Whether you make a regular Wiz booth that looks like our website or a booth like a supermarket, it’s the same budget. In fact, our projects that created the most buzz didn’t originate with the budget, but with a different mindset and creative courage."
Will Google go along with your ideas and be brave?
Katz refuses to answer the question, noting that he cannot comment on anything related to Google. However, Wiz is reportedly expected to maintain its independence, including continued support for all cloud providers. That means even customers whose cloud is hosted on Microsoft or Amazon will receive services. If we take another example from the tech world, when Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, it maintained its independence, so it seems Wiz hopes for a similar situation.
"You can say "I don’t understand"
According to Katz, the current war has not affected the company, "because Wiz is branded as a global American company," despite its offices being in Tel Aviv, distributed across several non-consecutive floors in two nearby locations.
What have you learned from the founders, Assaf and Yinon?
"I learn from Assaf every day, but if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be courage. He makes us feel that if we have a good idea, and prove it’s good, he’ll support us. When you look at the moves he makes, there’s insane creative courage, and that’s what’s led Wiz to become what it is today.
"From Yinon, I learn how important simplicity is. He built a crazy, amazing, and innovative product, but what’s most special about it is how simple it is to use, super intuitive, and a fun user experience."
Has Assaf ever told you no?
"Many times. It can even be on small things, like branding for an event that turns out much too sweet and cute, and we don’t want to be ‘much too’ anything. So, you have to go back to the drawing board. There were cases where I felt they didn’t understand my vision, and I went back into the room, and sometimes that worked."
What if you’re asked to do something you don’t believe in?
"I’ll just ask a lot of questions to understand. That’s also part of the organizational culture here: when you hear a founder say in an all-hands meeting ‘I don’t understand’ about something, you feel much more courage to say it too. I say ‘I don’t understand’ a hundred times a day."
What do you know now that you didn’t know when you started?
"At first, I didn’t understand the scope of this role. Today, I work according to three principles, which are very clear to me: 1. Everything must be unique, not something I’ve seen before; 2. You must stay connected to your customers; 3. There must be significant added value; nothing can be just funny or just cute for its own sake."
What is your biggest challenge right now?
"To keep excelling even in this situation that’s new, amazing, and a source of pride. Four years ago, I was inexperienced Roy. Now, I want to figure out how to do it all over again."
Roy Katz's Tips for Effective Branding:
1. Branding is not created in a vacuum.
Branding must work in correlation with the product's user experience; otherwise, it creates a lack of credibility.
2. Maintain connection with the product.
When presented with a new development, it’s important to take the concept and translate it into something visual. For example, when we launched a new sensor, we created the "WIZ Sensor," which looks like a cute robot.
3. Ask, ‘What don’t we know?’
We always ask what we know about the market and the persona, but it’s also important to ask what motivates potential customers outside of work, or what makes them laugh. These questions are our compass for daily activity.
4. Work fast.
Young startups that don’t yet have massive traffic and whose language isn’t fully developed need to test quickly and fix quickly-and that’s easier when most of the work is digital.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 4, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.