Assaf Rappaport: 'My God, this guy can probably do anything'
The prestigious American magazine Fortune publishes a comprehensive profile article on Israeli tech entrepreneur Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and co-founder of Armis, which was recently acquired by ServiceNow for approximately $7.75 billion. Among the interviewees, Assaf Rappaport shares insights into their personal history, their first investment exchange, and the role of a Bible quiz in their early connection.
Last April, one of the largest exit deals in the history of Israeli high-tech was finalized when the Israeli cyber company Armis was acquired by ServiceNow in a deal valued at $7.75 billion. This marks the fourth-largest exit in the history of the State of Israel.
In this context, the prestigious American magazine Fortune published a comprehensive profile article on tech entrepreneur Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and co-founder of Armis. Interviewees include Assaf Rappaport, CEO and co-founder of Wiz; Nadir Izrael, co-founder and CTO of Armis; Sharin Fisher Dibrov, venture capitalist and founder of Startpoint Capital; Amit Zavery, President of ServiceNow; former basketball player and investor Omri Casspi; and Jeff Horing, founder of the Insight fund, which held a majority stake in Armis at the time of the acquisition.
The 2,500-word article delves into Dibrov’s life story, from his birth in the Soviet Union (modern-day Ukraine) to his immigration to Israel at age 4 and his upbringing in the Sha'arayim neighborhood of Rehovot. He recounts how growing up in a family that could not afford a car drove his work ethic and ambition, as well as his youthful dream of becoming a professional basketball player.
The interview sheds light on the scale of the exit, the fourth-largest in Israeli high-tech history. According to Fortune, founders Yevgeny Dibrov and Nadir Izrael will divide approximately $930 million from the proceeds. The article also reveals that they will continue to lead the cyber unit of ServiceNow, which will be built upon the foundation of Armis within the $180 billion American corporation. Dibrov will serve as GM of the new division, overseeing approximately 2,000 employees, while Izrael will serve as GVP of Product and Engineering.
The article also highlights the friendship between Dibrov and Assaf Rappaport, his former commander in Unit 81. In 2007, a 24-year-old Rappaport was serving in the elite technological unit of the IDF Intelligence Directorate. He recalls how a mutual friend repeatedly urged him to meet the 19-year-old Dibrov.
"He kept telling me, 'This guy is being wasted there, you need to talk to him,'" Rappaport told Fortune. The friend also mentioned that Dibrov had once placed second in a regional Bible quiz competition, despite not being religious, entering solely to win. "I said, 'My God, this guy can probably do anything,'" Rappaport recalled.
Following a phone conversation regarding Dibrov's ambitions, Rappaport brought him into his unit. Years later, when Dibrov left Microsoft to launch his own company in December 2015, he asked Rappaport to be his first investor. Rappaport provided a $100,000 check for Armis. When Rappaport later founded Wiz, Dibrov invested the same amount in his first round. In effect, the two entrepreneurs financed each other's success twice over.
