“I thought you were a VC; not a startup”
It’s a reaction we often get from visitors to our offices, an open-plan shared workspace in an edgy tech corner of the Sarona quarter of Tel Aviv. Anyone expecting the oak paneled walls and hushed deliberations of a traditional VC is a little taken aback by the lack of protocol, by the no-holds barred discussions, and by the all-aboard culture that has little respect for formal seniority and where nothing goes unchallenged.
Ours is an informal, mission-oriented spirit that many of us brought with us from our military intelligence backgrounds, and one that’s found far more in start-ups than in conventional VCs. Most of us wouldn’t think of working any other way, and in practice we’ve found that it makes for a different kind of relationship with the young companies we invest in. It’s a relationship that can be intense and brutally honest, but above all, it’s characterized by a sense that we are on the same side of the table as genuine partners in a shared mission.
For all its brashness and chutzpa, a startup culture also means having a sense of humility, and recognizing that there are competencies beyond our skill-set that we need to find partners to help us with. Increasingly important among these is having a developed network of relevant international connections. If traditionally startups thought they could hone their product before reaching out to international markets, today it is clear that to remain market-relevant, these relationships need to be cultivated from the outset. For their part, the large international corporations are realizing that innovation is not an added luxury that might broaden their market share; rather, it’s a critical element to staying relevant which is crucial for survival.
Recognizing this, we’ve placed an emphasis on partnering in order to build up a network of actionable international connections. In this we’ve been helped enormously by our international LPs, who bring connections with hundreds of C-level contacts in key multinationals, especially in Europe and the U.K. To date, every one of our companies has benefited from this network, some of them within a few weeks after initial investment.
So yes, we are a VC but our DNA and our culture are startup. And if anything, the past few months have shown us how important and valuable that is.
Covid-19 has presented challenges to our partner companies on almost every level, creating a world of flux where strategic decisions need to be made and remade in real time. For some the new environment is creating opportunities for acceleration; for others it is requiring adaptations of different kinds. Having the deep and intimate relationships that come from a shared culture and mission has enabled us to help each one find the right approach to riding out the storm, whether it is leaning in to gather momentum or tacking against unexpected currents.
Our approach has helped us in making our pitch to investors too. They too realize that innovation of the kind the Israeli tech ecosystem can provide is going to be ever more relevant, especially when coupled with a real-time finger on the pulse of the international market. Most recently we’ve seen this on our closing of a new $77M fund, raised entirely between March and July of this year, during the Corona crisis.
So, are we a VC or a start up? We’re both, and proud of it.
