An Interview With Dr. Sonya Reddy

Being a CEO is fundamentally different because it’s a 24/7 sales and driving job. You’re constantly “selling” to employees, investors, customers, partners, and even to yourself.

As a  part of this series, we had the pleasure to interview Gidi Cohen.

Gidi Cohen is a serial entrepreneur and seasoned software executive with a deep passion for innovation and building world-class organizations. As CEO and Co-Founder of Bonfy.AI, he brings decades of experience in leveraging advanced software technologies — including AI/ML, analytics, modeling, and simulation — to solve complex enterprise challenges. Widely recognized as a pioneer in cybersecurity risk management, Gidi has a unique track record of developing cutting-edge solutions that empower global enterprises to proactively manage and reduce their attack surface. He is a respected thought leader in the security analytics space and a sought-after speaker at industry conferences worldwide, where he shares insights on how sophisticated analytics and unprecedented network visibility can transform enterprise security. Prior to Bonfy.AI, Gidi spent over a decade leading Skybox Security as CEO and Founder, where he was instrumental in helping security leaders prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities with precision and speed. His visionary leadership and technical expertise continue to shape the future of cybersecurity and enterprise resilience. Gidi holds a BSc and MSc in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most fun is actually to start closing customer deals. It’s basically the entire concept of coming up with an idea, implementing it, and actually making other people see value and priority in that, and again, the existence that translates to a deal. It’s kind of like you’re closing the loop from the idea to recognition by the end users you’re selling to. I don’t know, there’s not a lot of fun stuff about startups; it’s just a lot of hard work.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I think back, the biggest mistake in my first startup was believing I truly understood the customer just because I tried to put myself in their shoes. You think you understand customers because you assume they think and behave like you, and that’s a huge mistake, even if you know the space very well. The realization was about product‑market fit: I imagined the product fitting me rather than the market. That was the real lesson: your own perspective is not a substitute for truly understanding your customers.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’m probably most grateful to my wife. Taking a career path in a startup is a huge risk. Nothing is guaranteed, and it’s not just about your own career; you’re essentially putting your entire family at risk. In my case, we moved from Israel to the US, shifted the whole family across the world, and took significant financial risks, all while having young kids. There’s a huge load on the family when you’re traveling a lot, under constant pressure, and often away from home. You can’t really do this well, and for a long time, without the support and buy‑in of your family. That’s the bottom line.

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