This Entrepreneur Raised Over $100 Million To Build A Cloud-Native Data Security Platform (DSP/DSPM) To Help Organizations Discover, Classify, and Secure Sensitive Data In The AI Era
Yoav Regev’s entrepreneurial path began with 25 years in the military and culminated in the founding of a category-defining cybersecurity company, Sentra. Today, he stands at the crux of resilience, people, and an obsession with solving one of the most basic problems in technology: securing data.
Yoav’s story—from Israel’s elite military ecosystem to co-founding Sentra, a company at the forefront of data security posture management—offers a powerful lens into how world-class founders think about building, scaling, and navigating uncertainty.
From “Startup Nation” To The Frontlines Of Cyber
Like many founders from Israel—often referred to as “Startup Nation”—Yoav’s journey began in an environment shaped by responsibility at an early age. He was born in Israel and raised between quiet northern regions and the bustling Tel Aviv area.
Yoav entered mandatory military service in 1997, expecting a typical few-year commitment, though this duration typically depends on the position. Instead, he stayed for 25 years in the “cyber” area of computers, today referred to as cybersecurity.
What kept Yoav there wasn’t routine—it was two things: challenges and the people. The Israeli military system, particularly in technical and intelligence roles, places individuals in high-stakes environments early. Here, they work with the best people in the sphere.
Yoav explains—you’re not just solving theoretical problems; you’re dealing with real-world consequences of important missions—often under pressure. Over time, this creates something far more valuable than technical skill. It builds resilience.
At the end of every three-year stint, as Yoav recalls, he would encounter a new challenge he wanted to dive into.
Resilience: The Hidden Asset That Transfers To Startups
For Yoav, resilience wasn’t something innate—it was built through years of operating under pressure, making decisions where outcomes truly mattered. When you’re working in environments where mistakes have real consequences, you develop the ability to operate under uncertainty, he says.
Yoav learned to be comfortable with high-pressure decision-making, to handle challenges in new environments, and to combine his personal capabilities with teamwork.
Ironically, despite spending decades in intense military environments, Yoav discovered that entrepreneurship introduces a different kind of pressure. In startups, the pressure never turns off. You’re thinking about the company 24/7—even when things are going well.
That constant mental load is one of the defining differences between founders and everyone else. Founders are constantly thinking about what they can do better and faster, Yoav discovered.
Knowing When To Turn The Page
After 25 years, Yoav reached what he describes as a “peak” moment. He was leading exceptional teams, working on meaningful missions, and operating at the highest level. So he asked a simple but critical question: “Is there a better next step for me here?”
When the answer became “no,” the decision was clear. It was time to move on. What’s interesting is that, at the time, starting a company didn’t feel obvious or inevitable. It was only in hindsight that the dots connected.
This is a recurring theme in founder journeys—clarity often comes after the fact, not before.
The Birth Of Sentra: When A Category Doesn’t Exist Yet
Sentra didn’t start with a fully formed product idea; it began with a conviction Yoav and his three cofounders shared. The foursome, Yoav, Asaf Kochan, Ron Reiter, and Yair Cohen, strongly believed that data and security are the two pillars of the modern world.
Before AI became mainstream, Yoav and his co-founders realized that any meaningful technological advancement would depend on access to data and the ability to secure it. From there, they explored multiple directions until one moment stood out.
While brainstorming in Tel Aviv, Yoav’s co-founder, Yair, suggested: “Let’s build DSPM—Data Security Posture Management.” There was just one problem—the category didn’t exist. When they searched for “DSPM,” nothing came up.
Today, DSPM is a recognized space and a very basic requirement. But at the time, the cofounders were operating in a vacuum—no clear competitors, no established demand, and no validation.
That moment—when you define something before the market does—is rare. It’s not just about building a product; it’s about shaping a category. The four cofounders realized they were going to solve a major problem in data security. They felt like they had hit on the product-market fit.
The Early Days: Rejection, Doubt, And Persistence
As Yoav points out, in conventional startup building, you start with two key parameters. One, you define a problem that a potential customer is seeking a solution to. The second is checking out the solutions competitors are developing.
When you combine the two parameters, you have a real business that has real competition and real customers. At this point, you can discuss the problem, the solution, and product-market fit. However, building Sentra was an entirely unusual scenario.
Yoav and his cofounders faced skepticism early on. Prospective customers told them, “I’m not sure I need this,” “I don’t think you can solve this,” and even, “This isn’t a real category; it’s ridiculous, it’s irrelevant.” Some of those conversations were blunt—even dismissive.
But this is where founder psychology matters. Yoav highlights a critical principle: You will hear countless “no’s”—your job is to filter, adapt, change yourself to the right specific position, and keep going. Listening is important. Adjusting is necessary. But losing conviction is fatal.
And as one of Yoav’s investors told him: “You won’t need to ask when you have product-market fit—you’ll feel it.” Customers start pulling the product instead of you pushing it.
Raising $100M+: Every Round Resets The Game
From the outside, raising over $100M can look like a smooth trajectory. In reality, each round is a completely new challenge. Yoav frames it simply: Everything you haven’t done is hard. Everything you’ve done feels easy—afterward.
Each stage comes with different expectations, but Yoav underscores the importance of working with the best people, employees, colleagues, founders, and investors.
At the s eed stage, founders must p rove the team, prove the problem, and show potential—the ability to solve it. · The Series A is an entirely different ballgame. Questions center on execution, defining growth strategy, and explaining decisions. Once again, founders must prove they have the right teams and are building the right company. · At Series B and beyond, investors expect founders to demonstrate traction with real metrics, provide customer validation, and show scalability
Every round resets the bar. You’re constantly preparing for the next challenge, as Yoav points out. Today, Sentra has scaled to a workforce with over 100 employees.
Storytelling is everything that Yoav was able to master. The key is capturing the essence of what you are doing in 15 to 20 slides. For a winning deck, take a look at the pitch deck template created by Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley legend (<a href=" target="blank" rel="noopener">see it here</a>), where the most critical slides are highlighted.
Remember to unlock the pitch deck template that founders worldwide are using to raise millions below.
The Vision: Making Data As Safe As Aviation
Asked about his vision for Sentra, Yoav believes that organization needs to leverage data, which is the new asset, the new oil, and the new money. He wants organizations to manage their data speedily, but also very responsibly.
As Yoav underscores, in today’s world, data faces many challenges, such as breaches and other blockers. He describes Sentra’s long-term vision through a compelling analogy. In aviation, safety is non-negotiable.
Airplanes don’t fall out of the sky because systems were designed with safety and security at their core. He wants the same for data. Organizations should be able to move quickly, leveraging their tools and environment, without worrying about data.
Sentra can enable organizations to fully understand, manage, and secure their data. At the same time, security shouldn’t slow you down—it should enable speed.
AI: Threat Or Accelerator?
AI represents a fork in the road for most companies. According to Yoav, there are only two outcomes. Either AI destroys your business, or it accelerates it. For Sentra, it became a major tailwind. That’s because AI is fundamentally a data problem. As organizations adopt AI, they face new challenges.
From the onset, Sentra has integrated AI into its product, resolving AI issues for customers and developing AI readiness, which is the main driver and accelerator for attracting them. As Yoav explains, discussing AI is an uncomfortable issue for customers.
They are unsure whether they should deploy more AI agents and whether those agents are secure. Understandably, integrating AI comes with risks. Through Sentra, Yoav and his team assist businesses and other organizations with positioning AI agents strategically to enhance operations.
Building A Company Across Cultures
Sentra operates across Israel and the US, which presents a common yet often underestimated challenge: culture. Many founders try to enforce a single, uniform culture. Yoav learned that this doesn’t work. He stresses that every office has different people and different interactions.
At Sentra, they ensure unity and consistency as the culture evolves, and this evolution is never-ending. Yoav doesn’t believe his Israeli background should set the tone for Sentra's culture. For example, there is a huge difference between the go-to-market and the R&D in Israel and the US.
In the US, G2M teams are predominantly remote—not all of them operate within the office premises. But R&D teams in Israel may operate in an in-office, highly collaborative environment. The magic happens when you understand the very specific cultures of each of these teams.
The only uniform principles across the board, regardless of location, are winning and transparency.
Advice To Founders: Move Faster Than You Think
Looking back, Yoav offers two pieces of advice to his younger self.
Run Faster: Even if you think you’re moving fast, you’re not. Speed is a competitive advantage in every dimension. There’s nothing to lose. It’s better to fail fast, adapt, and not overthink. · Build Around Leaders: Without strong leaders, scaling breaks. With them, it compounds. Scaling a company isn’t just about product; it’s about the right leaders who can help you scale.
Final Thoughts
Yoav Regev’s story highlights a pattern seen in many exceptional founders. High-pressure spaces create resilience; category creation requires conviction before validation; product-market fit is felt before it’s measured; and scaling depends more on people than on the product.
And perhaps most importantly, the difference between success and failure often comes down to how fast you move—and how long you persist.
Resilience is built under pressure, not inherited. · Category creation often begins before the market has language for it. · Product-market fit becomes obvious when customers start pulling instead of founders pushing. · Rejection is part of the process, but conviction must survive feedback. · Every funding round resets the proof that founders must deliver. · AI is either a threat or an accelerator, depending on how well companies manage data. · Scaling depends on speed, strong leaders, and a culture anchored in transparency.
Original Version
Alejandro Cremades: Alrighty, hello everyone and welcome to the DealMaker Show. So today we have ah another founder, you know, from Startup Nation. You know, we're going be talking about going from the army where he was for 25 years to becoming a founder, to really pushing, you know, big time on the cybersecurity, you know, side of things and really combining not only the data side of things, but then also the security side of it. We're going to be talking about resilience, building, scaling,
Alejandro Cremades: financing, hitting product market fit, getting the first customers, all of that good stuff that we like to hear. So brace yourself for a very inspiring conversation. And without further ado, let's welcome our guest today. Joab Regev, welcome to the show.
Alejandro Cremades: So I wanted to ask you, originally born in Israel, in startup nation, give us a walk through memory lane.
Yoav Regev: Oh, it was fantastic. So I was born in Israel and very fast my parents took me to the north in a very quiet place like nowhere. That was a great time.
Yoav Regev: And then we came back to the center of Israel, Tel Aviv area. And you know, the rest is history. And when I started and the the army, I thought it's going to be a very short time like any Israeli. They're part of the mandatory service.
Yoav Regev: So the mandatory service is three years. And part, it depends on the position. i was in a position because the cyber area computers, by the way, we didn't call it cyber.
Yoav Regev: When I started, it was 1997. It was something different. There was no award like cyber. And it's between three to six years. And after 25 years, I decided the the right time to move on.
Alejandro Cremades: That's how amazing. Now, what do you think kept you for so long there? Because, I mean, you were for 25 years. That's not a long time. That's like five times the typical mandatory service.
Yoav Regev: Exactly. So if I need to choose, I would like to choose two two two things. Number one is a challenge. And number two is the people.
Yoav Regev: Because in Israel, it's a very, very unique system for the army, you serve with the best people. So for 25 years, and of course the others, there you know, new people every year, you work together.
Yoav Regev: with the best people. And this is something that you cannot compare to any other organization, country. it's It's like very unique.
Yoav Regev: So that's that's, and now, you know, you can connect the dots only backward. I'm not sure I could tell you that like 30 years ago, but now for sure I can tell you that like the people, and when you combine it combined that with the biggest challenge and so important mission,
Yoav Regev: Every time I asked myself every few years what I really want to do, I decided let's take the next challenge for the next two three years. It wasn't like I didn't think about it like from the beginning.
Yoav Regev: But every few years I found found it as a fascinating and great place to be. And you know, when I feel that this is the end, I say, okay, let's move to the next challenge.
Alejandro Cremades: So how do you think that being in the army, especially for so long, built the resilience side of things?
Yoav Regev: Oh, that is a great question. So resilience is something that from one hand, like you you get it and people say sometimes you're born with that.
Yoav Regev: But I believe that it's something that you build it along the way. And now we can see it on the other people, but specifically when you do, or when you start to do something in that age,
Yoav Regev: that it's so important and sometimes you know it's about life. And you know that if you don't do it in the right way, it's gonna be a big mess, big messy situation. And you understand it. And along the years, you understand how to deal with such kind of pressure and such kind of mission and how to combine your personal capabilities with some others like team works, all that's you know under pressure and sometimes 24 seven, all the things that we are very familiar from the reality and from the movies that when you combine for a long time, that's something that stay with you.
Yoav Regev: And maybe this is the, the Number one thing that I took from the army, beside the people and the network, is the resilience to deal with such kind of pressure and new environments and new challenges.
Yoav Regev: And I can tell you, I thought before i ended my service that I was under pressure and it's it's the whole world. But when I moved to the startup area and to be entrepreneur, and maybe this is like the huge difference between between the founders and the entrepreneurs is and to the others is is that, is that you leave, like you leave your company 24 seven.
Yoav Regev: You think about it all the time. And you're kind of under pressure, even everything going well. And if you have the best. It's something that you skip like the growth mode and you move to the next step and what's going on and what we can do more and better and faster.
Alejandro Cremades: So then what do you think after 25 years needed to happen for you to be like, maybe there's something else for me that I need to explore? Maybe now is the time for me to turn page here.
Yoav Regev: So without getting into the details, when i during my last position, understand this is like the peak. I run amazing people, great missions. And I asked myself, could I find a better position here?
Yoav Regev: And whenever I understand that no the answer is no, said, let's move on to the next one. And again, retro retro retrospective and when you connect the dots backward also for the second time, um for sure, easy to say startup and to to fund a company that was trivial. And I can tell you it wasn't. Like in real time, when I started, I said there are so many different things to do, so many positions, so many places to go.
Yoav Regev: But now I can understand that I felt that is the right thing to do.
Alejandro Cremades: So then talk to us about Centra. Why Centra? Obviously, four co-founders, the idea of security, data, everything coming together. How did everything come together as one?
Yoav Regev: So from the beginning, first of all, it's about the people. So we started as the four founders. We understand we want to do something together. That was the first decision. And we knew that it's going to be something around data and security because those two there This is the pillars of the world.
Yoav Regev: At the end, if you think to yourself, if you want, and again, that was before the AI, if you want to build something important for the world, you need data and you need to secure it.
Yoav Regev: And again, very easy to just to say now, but we thought about so many things and what to do, but we love data and we love security.
Yoav Regev: And sometimes we even have the debate until today, What are we? More like data or more security? And we find o ourselves exactly in the meeting point in between. So this is the pillar. If you want to push the world, to push the technology, to push AI, you need data security.
Yoav Regev: And just like to to to to think about it AI is a data problem. And again, I can say it now, I couldn't say that like four or five years ago. And now we can see exactly what we could think, what we could imagine.
Alejandro Cremades: So then what was that moment where you are like, okay, you know, let's let's say this is the a specific problem and and also the moment where you are like, this this is it, this is the business model. And I guess even before that, so that people get it, what ended ended up being Centra? How do you guys make money today?
Yoav Regev: So I start with the first one is about, because it's great question. i almost forgot it, but you know, we we we say to ourselves, we are going to do data security. We didn't know exactly what, and, um I was with my co-founder, Yair, he's the VP product.
Yoav Regev: And we we we were in Tel Aviv and we thought together what we are going exactly to do and how to solve it and what we are planning. And Yair, he came with with the idea, we are going to do DSPM, Data Security Posture Management. By the way, that was the beginning today. It's like a platform and we we we we had ah like a few adjustments, but...
Yoav Regev: He said, let's do DSPM. I told him, you know, that is a great, great thing to do. What is it? And we run to Google and we wrote DSPM, nothing came up.
Yoav Regev: That was the early days of data security platforms that now it's like very basic, very easy to say. And on that moment, and you know, I have the WhatsApp group with the other founders. Yeah, he wrote, okay, we are going to do the SPM and we asked ourselves, it's going to be a trademark?
Yoav Regev: No, for sure, it's going to be a category. Let's do that. So that was the wow moment for us. So the first definition of Centra, data security, posture management, or now platform.
Yoav Regev: And since then, I think I can't, I can't, ah You can't understand that moment until you understand it was it was like that. And that's the wow moment for us.
Yoav Regev: And it was very easy since then to understand we are going to solve huge problem for data security.
Alejandro Cremades: So what was that moment where you guys really felt like you hit it on product market fit?
Yoav Regev: I believe the best moment to describe was when we closed the first let's call it a big logo like a name it's not like someone you know before not someone that you get a kind of a warm intro not as someone that maybe he needs it maybe not let's try someone that defines a problem someone that told us i need it let's see if you can achieve it and That's the the first parameter, let's call it. And the second one, when you combine it with competition. So it wasn't just us.
Yoav Regev: I can tell the first customer of Centro, it was us. He checked us, he said, okay, that's good. Let's move on. But with the d moment is against competition when there are two three companies that try to do the same and the car and the customer tell you, you know,
Yoav Regev: you are the best. So when you combine that it's a real business, it's a real competition, it's not only you, with a real customer, that was the moment. You know, you can go to celebrate, I'm here. And when you see it again and again, that's the product market fit. That's the thing that you, you, you,
Yoav Regev: and and during that moment, you stop to speak about the problem. You speak about the solution. At the beginning, I can tell you the first few meetings, I really don't want to share it. People ask us, what what do you do? What are you going to do with that?
Yoav Regev: Number one, I'm not sure I need it. Number two, I'm pretty sure that you cannot solve it. And you know, like a pretty, some insulting meetings, I can tell you, i can't I can't forget the names of the people.
Yoav Regev: And you know, if you, and and again, one tip for entrepreneurs, you're going to hear so many no's. So many people will tell you, this is not a business. This is not a category. This is ridiculous. This is irrelevant.
Yoav Regev: This is only a feature. But you need to believe and understand that you have something always to listen, always to adjust, always to change yourself to the right specific position. And then when you get it, you feel it. One of my investors told me, because I asked him,
Yoav Regev: When I know i have the product market fit, how can I define it? Because, you know, I feel it now. I feel that people really want. He told me, you don't need to ask that question. You are going to feel it.
Yoav Regev: It's going to be easy to you. There is no definition because you're going to understand. People will run after your solution. You are going to feel the urgency. So that's exactly the moment.
Alejandro Cremades: And then, and and and I guess for you guys too, you know, as you've been pushing the operation with Centra, I guess, how has it been to the journey of raising money? Because you guys have all also raised over $100 million.
Alejandro Cremades: So what has been to the journey of going through the cycles, also being a first-time founder too, like going through all of those motions to raise that money and the different cycles that you guys have to go through?
Yoav Regev: Sure. So I combined with one thing that i I could learn during the journey. So everything you didn't do, it's very hard. Everything you did, very easy.
Yoav Regev: Now I can tell you very easy, a round, B round, very easy. I can tell you the day before, it's not easy at all. Even though it looks from the outside, yeah, for sure, they raised a lot of money. It was easy for them, great investors. I can tell you every time you need to prove yourself.
Yoav Regev: At the beginning, you need to prove the team, you need to prove the problem, you need to prove the ability to solve it. That was the first. And always I'm looking to work with the best people, employees, colleagues, founders, investors. After that you say, wow,
Yoav Regev: Seed round was easy. What about the a Okay, A round, it's something very, very different. And it is. And again, now they ask you much more question about, hey, why did you do that?
Yoav Regev: How are you planning to do that? What about the growth? What about the pace? And you need to prove again from the beginning that you are the right team, the right company to do it.
Yoav Regev: Winning, transparency, those kinds of things are so important to everyone. So the basic is for all of us. On top of that, there are very different cultures.
Alejandro Cremades: So let’s say, Joaf, I put you into a time machine and I bring you back to that moment where you were leaving the army, which was all you knew at the time.
Alejandro Cremades: And let’s say I give you the opportunity to show up and give that younger Joaf one piece of advice before launching a business. What would that be and why, given what you know now?
Yoav Regev: So I’m going to take it to two. One thing is going to be run fast. People told me about it, but now I know that you need to execute even faster.
Yoav Regev: So that’s tip number one. That’s the most important part to do. Run fast. And I would like to say run faster because, even if you think you run fast, you need to run faster. That’s number one. It’s a bit generic, but there is nothing to lose. It’s much better to fail fast and change than to think about things too much.
Yoav Regev: Run fast. On top of that, if I have one more, it’s about the leaders. You need to find the leaders that will run with you everywhere.
Yoav Regev: Those are the most important people because, with them, you can scale. At the end, it’s the question of scaling. It’s not a question, although yeah, you need to build an amazing product. Yeah, you need to find product-market fit. But to scale, to take it, that’s a huge, huge challenge.
Yoav Regev: And that you can tell only if you scale your people, if you find the right leaders that can help you scale.
Alejandro Cremades: I love that. So, for the people that are listening and would love to reach out, say hi, and learn more about Centra, what can you tell them?
Alejandro Cremades: You got it. Or to learn more about Centra.
Yoav Regev: Okay, the best is you have at central.io. Please send me an email. I would be more than happy to talk. And, of course, you can go to our website if it’s from the other part and learn more, contact us.
Alejandro Cremades: Amazing. Well, Joab, thank you so much for being on the DealMaker Show today. It has been an absolute honor to have you with us.
