Omer Goldschmidt

I sat down with Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Managing Partner at Team8, a global Venture-Creation and VC Fund with over $1 billion in AUM, that creates and invests in companies focusing on Fintech, Cybersecurity, Data & AI, and Digital Health. Since launching in 2014, Team8 has built 20 companies and achieved over two billion dollars in exits. Prior to Team8, Rakefet was the CEO of Bank Leumi בנק לאומי, which she drove to become the largest company by market cap in all of Israel. In this Fintech Leaders episode, we discuss: - Team8’s process to incubate and launch massive companies   - Why embedded fintech will drive the future of financial services   - Transforming and building a company’s culture   - How great talent is the most important ingredient behind achieving great results… and a lot more! Full Story -> https://bit.ly/4f6ClsC

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✨ Breaking: APY Ventures Announces New Fund.- APY Ventures APY Ventures launched the "Next-Generation Technology Venture Capital Investment Fund" with a size of TL 1 billion

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Well thats interesting! There is a lot of talk in Tel Aviv about the local eco-system being far behind in AI R&D along with plenty finger pointing and self-berating. This mornings Dealroom.co newsletter (highly recomended btw) contained a Europe & Israel’s Founder Factories – GenAI edition, their latest report with Accel analyses, on the startups, corporates and universities that are producing Europe's and Israel's burgeoning Generative AI talent, inc. DeepMind, McKinsey and Ecole Normale Supérieure. 💡 London (27%), Tel Aviv (13%), Berlin (12%), Paris (10%), and Amsterdam (5%) are the top five cities for GenAI startup creation across the region. ⚙ 25% of GenAI startups have a least 1 founder with experience at Amazon, Apple, DeepMind, Facebook/Meta, Google or Microsoft. 📚 38% are founded by people who hold or have held positions at academic institutions. If you are an AI startup in the very early stages of your journey, join our upcoming event: 'Pre-Seed Funding in Israel (and EU), featuring Zugi Ventures, Meet.Capital, GlenLuna Ventures & more to come . Check out our speakers:  https://lnkd.in/d2Jev9Kz The Founder Institute is the world’s most proven network to turn ideas into fundable startups, and startups into global businesses. Since 2009, our structured accelerator programs have helped over 7,000 entrepreneurs raise over $1.75BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 100 countries, our mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide. #accelerators #startups #founders #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneur #incubators #buildyourdream #entrepreneurs #founder #leadership #keystosuccess #businesslifecycle #bossmentality #entrepreneurthing #successinbusiness #ownyourownbusiness #ceomindset #businessbuilding #acquisitions #techstartups #innovate #buildingmybusiness #nomatterwhat #mentorship #femaleentrepreneur #angelfunding #funding #vc #venturecapital #preseed 

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"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

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"Embracing the Pivot: How Investors Support Startups in Transition" Exploring the crucial role of adaptability in startups As investors, our role extends beyond funding—we must provide strategic guidance during these pivotal moments. Read more about navigating pivots in today's dynamic startup ecosystem: lool ventures Yaniv Golan Maya Azoulay Dina Walker Lena Young Roy Katzenelson Yair Kfir Maria Osipov

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Ever wonder what its like to run a Private Equity fund? Now you have the chance to follow along with successful investment managers by participating with Fund Launch Partners. Join me and Lincoln Archibald and next week for the Third Thursday @ Three to hear about direct investment opportunities with General Partnerships in the one of the fastest growing portfolio investment sectors. Pick up a free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/dd2yzxDd #HolyGrailofInvesting #GPOpportunities #FundLaunch #Alternatives

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Taavet Hinrikus and I made the Financial Times Due Diligence email. https://lnkd.in/ez2AuGQx One 'unintended consequence' is that if there is a 45% tax on carry and CGT (raising £40m per year, remember) it for all intents and purposes closes the door on new VCs in the UK. Especially started by teams from non-traditional backgrounds. To meet the GP commit, you need to be already part of the 'wealthy' as you cannot rely on the value you create - nearly half of it will disappear - to fund it. We have both had extremely successful startups which are few and far between. The smaller number of new VCs will therefore more likely increasingly be for people who have inherited the capital or can draw it from their already rich family. Probably not want they have in mind with this policy.

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https://lnkd.in/dXeCRxmQ "State of the Cloud 2023 The cloud economy has entered the multiverse—we share insights for SaaS founders as they navigate today’s difficult financing climate and welcome the dawn of the AI era. If we thought the pandemic years were an era of dramatic cultural and digital transformation, think again. 2023 is the year of the “multiverse,” where technological and macro changes continue accelerating at stunning rates leaving SaaS builders, founders, and investors breathless. On one side of the cloud economy, founders and CEOs are weathering some of the most challenging storms since 2000 and the ‘08 Recession. Rising interest rates have evaporated the cheap equity of recent years forcing startups to reduce burn and drive towards efficient growth. The Silicon Valley Bank crisis drove even more uncertainty into an already fragile environment. But amidst the anxiety and turmoil, the tech ecosystem has witnessed something potentially as world-changing as electricity: a string of AI advancements that may prove to define technology and society for generations to come. The Large Language Model revolution is one of the most significant developments in computing history. We believe artificial intelligence will not only multiply software and human capabilities, but also completely transform and expand the cloud economy in the process."

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In addition to building our own VC practice at AAF Management Ltd., we’ve invested in 37 VCs since 2017. Here is what, I believe, it takes to build a multi-vintage, early-stage, venture franchise: 𝟭- 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: hyper-focused GPs build longevity and consistency in their businesses. If you pitch LPs saying you will invest in early stage consumer but end up doing late stage consumer that’s a massive red flag. Stay germane to your mandate and strategy. 𝟮- 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: the market is crowded with venture firms, articulate your differentiated value proposition to LPs and founders. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus on 1-2 value propositions to your stakeholders and execute them with excellence and defensibility. 𝟯- 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆-𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: we tell stories everyday. Raising capital for a fund and building your venture firm requires that same story-telling skillset. Tell consistent narratives to the market to help build your own brand as well as your firm’s brand. 𝟰- 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: if you possess subject-matter expertise in a certain vertical, domain or industry, you already own a defensible moat. Accentuate that to your advantage when building your firm, raising capital from LPs and winning deals from founders. 𝟱- 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: early stage venture is a highly collaborate asset class. Keep your ego at the door, you will never be able to do everything it takes to build a firm alone. Leverage LPs, partners and founders for deal flow sourcing, diligence and overall industry best practices. 𝟲- 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗙𝗶𝘁: in quintessential startup vernacular, ideally find your product-market-fit by the time you launch your second fund. You need product-market-fit before you scale your AUM, grow your team and carry more fiduciary responsibility. 𝟳- 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: early stage VC investing is a marathon. Patience will reward you personally, professionally and financially. Build mental, physical and psychological stamina to endure the inherent ebbs and flows of your entrepreneurial journey. 𝟴- 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺: early stage VC investing is the archetypal long-term financial asset. Think in 10 year increments for your firm’s grand vision, think in 4 years for a given fund’s investment period and think in quarters when reporting material updates on your portfolio to your LPs. 𝟵- 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻: if instant gratification, short feedback loops and a constant need for reaffirmation is what you are looking for in a career then early stage VC investing will not fulfill you. Have fun building, and as Naval Ravikant once said: "𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣." Finally, and most importantly, be authentic and true to yourself. #firmbuilding #entrepreneurs #VC

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✨ Breaking: Kogito Ventures Announces New Fund.- Kogito Ventures Backed by PFR Ventures, Kogito Ventures has launched its second fund, focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage companies. The fund targets Polish startups and Polish founders abroad, maintaining a generalist approach across industries. Kogito Ventures plans to invest between PLN 0.5 million and PLN 5 million per company, reserving nearly half of its capital for follow-on investments. Their first fund invested in 18 companies and achieved a successful exit with PsiBufet, demonstrating their ability to identify and support high-potential startups. https://lnkd.in/dResQRqf Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups #Venturecapital

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Thinking 🤔 out loud - one of the biggest beneficiaries of GenAI in the enterprise and agentic worfklows will be software PE firms There are so many beaten down SaaS 🦄 they can buy on the cheap and with a GenAI playbook can now reduce costs even more dramatically And as the AI gets better and moves from just the easy stuff like support and code to more complex workflows, the profitability created is going to be 📈 We are going to see a ton of PE buyouts in the months ahead...

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WSJ reporting Foundational Model company Mistral is raising $600mm at a $6 Billion Valution. For VCs goes to show Foundational Models are a big boys game with hundreds of millions if not Billion + needed to be raised to be competitive. But I wonder longer term if these are + ev bets or simply a way for the blue chip VC firms who have raised billions for their new AI funds to deploy massive amounts of capital in low-risk low-return bets. The more interesting companies are still worth $50 million or less but; 1. Finding them is hard 2. Check sizes are by definition smaller so for big VCs won't move the needle 3. The risks of failure are extremely high But that is where the highest expected value lies.

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Thanks to the last Israel VC Forum Deal Terms event last week, we now know for a fact that the Israel VC ecosystem is resilient.  Check out the 4 ingredients of the Israeli resilience secret sauce. ☝Seed tickets are up & valuations slightly down which means there are better deals to make for VCs 🤘SAFEs are the best alternative to down rounds 👌Longer Closing Periods = Better Deals (but don’t forget to close ;))  🤫 In comment two Insider insights from Goldfarb Gross Seligman to Keep Your Eye On ☝𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩 & 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧  As of H1 2024, average pre-money valuations have adjusted (down from $20M in 2023 to $15M), while average ticket sizes are up (from $6M to $7.5M). Cyber (1st), AI, and Fintech deals are leading these higher ticket amounts. Compared to 🇺🇲 trends: the median Seed Round in the US is flat around $15M (according to Carta Q2 2024), with a median investment of $3M. In Israel, the median pre-money valuation is $12M, but the median investment is twice as big at $6M. => Bottom line, VCs can invest in Israeli companies at more reasonable prices, while taking greater stakes for further involvement and performance. 🤘𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 VC funds are now opting for long-term support rather than pay to play for their performing portfolio companies, investing through internal SAFEs rather than down rounds. Why? 1. to prevent down rounds that crush early investors and founders ownership 2. to support thriving startup portfolio facing short-term financial squeezes   3. to help startups avoid venture lending with high-interest rates 4. the critical pay to play investment were largely made in 2023 👌 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐬 = 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 (𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 ;)) The hectic 2-3 day “due diligence” timeframe from 2020-2021 is over. Now, 60% of due diligences take 1 to 2 months, allowing VC funds to find the best long-term opportunities. 3 reasons for this extension: 1. More companies fundraising than investors looking to invest => power is back with VCs 2. Many Investors and founders are on military duty 3. Lead investors seek co-leads to share risks Congrats to the speakers Ayal Shenhav, Guy Gordon, Guy libzon and Nitzan Tuvya for putting this great presentation together! and to the Israel VC Forum team including Danielle Ardon Baratz, Michael Safdie, Eran Bielski, Daniel Roditi, Ilan Regenbaum for providing the greatest insights on the Israeli VC market. And looking forward to the next event! #nomatterwhat #resilience #startupnation #israel #venturecapital

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🌟 Interesting yet unsurprising findings from the latest VC performance report: 📈 Established European venture capital funds (fund 5+) are delivering 2x the IRR of New (fund 1-2) and Developing (3-4) funds. 🌍 European VC funds consistently outperform their US counterparts, underscoring Europe's strength in the global investment landscape. Read the article at sifted https://lnkd.in/eZYF4THT

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𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐦𝐲 2024 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (Thanks to @Coauthor.studio) 🚀 Amidst uncertainty and even flying missiles, #Israeli founders flourished. At M-Fund Club didn’t just watch; we invested, supported, and believed. 2024 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 ✅ We invested in 8 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬, including 5 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐨𝐧𝐬, alongside incredible co-investors: Aleph, Zeev Ventures, Battery Ventures, Left Lane Capital, JLL Spark, 10D , Random Forest VC, Ocean Azul Partners, 91 Ventures, Grove Ventures, Jibe Ventures, q fund, Emerge Ventures, Zell, Axon Ventures, and Insight Partners. We’re wrapping up the year with a 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 that will benefit all our portfolio companies (stay tuned…). ✅ We secured Israel Innovation Authority backing, establishing our angel club as a leading investment platform to support Israeli startups and #deeptech. ✅ Our team expanded, and we welcomed 15 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 into the angel club, including exited founders and private investors like Yehuda Niv, Alan Bekker, PhD, Roy Gottlieb (also portfolio CEOs), Ronen Lago, Arie Toledano, Meir Feder, Eran Schindler, Tal Dayagi, Eyal Hillel, Kyle Blank, Ian Rostowsky from Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co. that has represented us from the early beginning, and more. A special thank you to Ian Rostowsky, whose professionalism and dedication have been instrumental to our growth and success. 2024: 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 At M-Fund Club, we’re proud to have achieved performance that far exceeds top-decile VCs. Still, the true heroes are the founders who built, innovated, and pushed forward through unprecedented challenges. 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲: 1️⃣  𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 Proving that responsibility drives returns. "Venture capitalists must have a sense of responsibility by definition. It’s tricky, as we are paid to take risks, but we can only thrive by striking the right balance.” 📈 https://lnkd.in/dJ8H5xiy 2️⃣ 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 $16𝐌 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀 A testament to the power of long-term partnerships. "From brainstorming product strategies to navigating growth challenges, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a director while working closely with Yehuda on this remarkable journey." 📣 https://lnkd.in/dA5cH6kZ 3️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 Reinforcing that true investing transcends transactions. "True friendship is measured in times of crisis." This post resonated with over 35K views, but more importantly, we’re grateful to the many entrepreneurs, investors, and even strangers who reached out with heartwarming messages. 💬 https://lnkd.in/dtef3Pza ✨ To every founder who kept building, every investor who stood firm, and every team that refused to back down: this is our moment. ✨ #ConnectingTheDots #VC

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We had a fantastic session with Ash Rust, Managing Partner at Sterling Road, during Monday's weekly Pear Persian Founder Circle (PFC) event.  Ash shared some great advice on how to pitch to VCs, and here some takeaways: 1- Follow the right order when making introductions, and always try for a warm intro.  2- First impressions count. It’s worth investing in a designer for your pitch deck. 3- You can learn to pitch well in just 72 hours if you’re committed and you practice, including recording yourself and watching it back. Then do it again and so forth. 4- Keep things simple at first. Share the big, important numbers—save contextual details in the appendix for when they ask. 5- Persistence pays off. Keep following up until you get a clear answer. Thanks, Ash, for an insightful and motivating talk with our founders! 

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What Dave McClure is building resonates well what we are doing with our Siena Secondary Fund. Although one focuses on fund stakes and the other company positions, the journey is the same - need to educate the market about what is #VC #secondary and how to benefit from it...

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Bolt's crazy #investmentterms seem to be all over the news today. More details were just sourced from The Information and Erin Woo. Any #investor that signs up for this set of terms, and valuation, should have their heads examined! What do you think? #management #venturcapital #privatequity #capitalmarkets #fintech

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