3 Lessons I Learned as an Intern at Aleph

I sat in my new swivel chair feeling excited and wildly unprepared for what was to come next. I had arrived at an Israeli venture capital firm for a 10-week summer internship not knowing how to create a cap table or analyze company financials, let alone how to scout deals within the Israeli tech ecosystem.

Tomer Diari, a General Partner at Aleph, met with me on my first day to outline my responsibilities. He immediately put me at ease: my primary goal during my internship was to absorb, learn and add skills to my toolbox. Adding value to Aleph, he said, came secondary.

Now that my internship is over, I can say that I have accomplished these goals to a degree that I didn’t believe was possible as a summer intern. I can discuss the nuances of intellectual property as it relates to synthetic biology; I can relate the importance of a founder’s past experiences to their future success. I learned which spaces are exciting and which are saturated, which industries are vanguards of the old and which are gateways to the new.

My work was not always glamorous. Aside from these observations, I also learned how to log hundreds of items into Ampliphy, Aleph’s operating system. Each project I worked on, however, taught me about a feature of the Israeli tech industry, and each meeting offered insight into my role within its operation.

If you have the opportunity to live and work in Israel for a summer, take it! Derive your own insights and explore what the thriving tech scene has to offer.

Here are three lessons I learned as an intern at Aleph:

The Intangible Gifts of In-Person Work

Earlier this year, my idea of the perfect job straight out of college was one I could do entirely out of coffee shops. To me, in-person work was an artifact of the past, one that would inevitably be toppled by a brigade of tech-savvy and empowered Millennials and Gen Zers. After ten weeks working at Aleph, however, I certainly got a taste of the opposing argument.

The laughs and conversations I had in the Aleph kitchen were some of the most meaningful interactions I had in Israel. The wonderful people that work at Aleph welcomed me with open arms and a box of personalized cupcakes.

Aleph lauds itself as being more than a firm; the original partners — Eden, Michael, and Yael — created it to function more like a family. In the most non-cliche way, joining Aleph felt like joining a tribe. My colleagues knew my weekend plans and asked about them when I returned. They taught me how to read a term sheet, but they also taught me a dozen new words in Hebrew and tips for getting into a crowded bar in Tel Aviv. I was never afraid to ask for help because every request was met with expressions of exuberance and eagerness to take part in my learning.

That fact was put on full display in the last few weeks of my internship. I mentioned during a snack break that I wanted to get Bat Mitzvahed while in Israel. Immediately, two of my colleagues began reaching out to their friends to help me find a rabbi. Sure, I could have mentioned this plan over Zoom, but I doubt the response would have been the same. Instead of the obligatory “Mazel Tov!”, I had a gang of venture capitalists scouring Jerusalem for available rabbis.

I mention these stories because, as I look back on my experience, the most memorable conversations were the ones that took place in the kitchen (Aleph’s version of the water cooler), and ones, by definition, you don’t encounter virtually.

The Importance of Network

There is a saying that every person is at most six degrees of separation from another. In Israel, that number probably lies somewhere around two.

This reality enables Aleph’s greatest superpower: Ampliphy. By mapping and navigating networks, it provides unique access and connections to people, companies and insights. Ampliphy tackles the greatest startup challenges of talent recruitment, follow-on funding and business development — at scale. Using the platform, Aleph can identify and contact those individuals in between you and your desired collaborator.

Here, a network is not a hollow, pretentious term to which people are expected to react to with confusion, envy and admiration. Instead, it is the string that can connect any entrepreneur in Israel to their perfect head of product, corporate partner or advisor.

At Aleph, I learned that a network is not something you pursue but rather something you tap into. I watched this lesson come to life on a Tuesday afternoon while chatting with a guest in the office. The guest mentioned that he used to work at a certain prestigious tech company in New York, the same one my friend was hoping to intern at the next summer. I informed him of her interest, and he offered to help her through the application process and make a few introductions. That was it: a newly created knot in my professional web was adding value to another one of my connections.

Whether a link is made digitally or in real time, the potential value created from these connections is immeasurable and the potential for innovation flourishes.

The “I Will Learn” Mentality

At the beginning of my internship, I made it a goal of mine to have a meeting with each partner. I sat down with Yael, the operating partner at Aleph, and picked her brain about her journey working in venture capital.

Yael likened her career to an activity every third grader knows well: the monkey bars. To move from one bar to the next, she said, a person must feel stable enough in both hands to let go with one hand and reach for the next hold. The same is true for career success. To advance professionally, an individual must recognize when their growth is faltering, and possess the courage to respond by pursuing new opportunities.

This exercise requires two acts of bravery, though. The first is the courage to leave a comfortable environment and assess other options. The second is the courage and confidence to seize opportunities they may not be ready for.

Yael has worked in consulting, credit enhancement, private equity, and now venture capital. Throughout her journey, she pursued openings in which she had little experience. “Always say yes to new opportunities, even if you don’t know how to do it,” she said. “Adopt the mentality, ‘I don’t know, but give me six months and I will learn.’”

I am a perfectionist. As such, question marks scare me. I like to arrive on the first day confident that every box has been checked and that my toolbox is equipped with every tool I will need, Excel proficiency included.

This attitude ensures comfort and preparedness, but it also forces you to remain within your orbit. I will think about Yael’s advice as I begin to search for my next summer internship. An intern’s greatest and most reliable toolbox lies in their drive, spirit and ability to ask for help. If you possess these traits, you might not know everything, but in six months you can learn.

On to the Next

Over the course of the past 10 weeks, I have enjoyed a front row seat to the inner workings of an Israeli early stage venture firm. As an intern, I researched industries ranging from cybersecurity to crypto to a combination of the two. I enjoyed a 10bis card that was my passport to Tel Aviv’s best lunch spots. Most of all, I produced work that was trusted to inform important, high-ranking decisions (a reality that is unlikely to be the case in America).

A special thanks to Tomer for his versatility as a mentor. He walked me through the most rudimentary concepts — what is a SAFE? — to the high level considerations of a partner — what gap in the market should a startup pursue? — all with the patience and enthusiasm that you admire in your favorite teacher.

Aleph was my first ever 9-to-5 internship. My time here marked my first step into the professional landscape. I could not have asked for a better first job. Having left Aleph, the aspect that sticks with me the most is the comfort and inspiration of working at a small firm. It felt wonderful walking through the door on a Sunday morning, knowing that I was about to hear the weekend stories of my colleagues and they were about to hear mine.

For those that are contemplating a summer internship in Israel, I absolutely recommend that you try it. Aleph will always hold a special place in my heart.