Moneta VC

ADORAM GAASH & MEIRAV HAR-NOY

Co-founders of Moneta VC

A.G.: Adoram is a serial investor and entrepreneur who brings vast knowledge and experience to Moneta.

Adoram started his career by co-founding 3 successful ICT startups, all of which had major exits. He went on to found and co-manage Stage One, a top quartile VC fund that created 7 exits, before moving to Silicon Valley where he worked as a Technology M&A Banker.

Adoram’s experience covers the full life cycle of a tech company; ideation, funding and growth. Notable names among the many successful exits that Adoram has contributed to, either as a member of the founding team or as an investor, include Radwiz, Octalica and Trivnet.

M.H.: Meirav brings to Moneta two decades of experience as an investor with some of the world’s leading VCs.

Meirav had pivotal roles in international investment funds such as Intel Capital, Apax Partners, and more recently served as CEO of Iris Ventures, a technology incubator that is supported by the Chief Scientist. Meirav’s most successful investments include Panaya, Storwize, Fiberxon and Aeroscout.

Meirav grew up in Silicon Valley until her senior year in high school, when she moved to Israel to join the IDF.

Meirav holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA from Ben Gurion University, with a major in corporate financing.

Q Can you outline your background prior to entering the world of Venture Capital?

M.H.: I began my career in the investment world as a Strategic Investment Manager at Intel Capital, the Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) arm of Intel Corporation. I immediately fell in love with the excitement of identifying potential in a young company and helping it to grow. Following my time at Intel, I joined Apax Partners, a global firm which has raised and managed approximately $60B to date. At the time of joining Apax Partners, the firm had a complete focus on Venture Capital before converting into Private Equity. I then took a position at Tamares Ventures, a single family office with significant interests in real estate, technology, manufacturing, leisure and media before moving to a Government sponsored incubator where I gained significant hands-on experience mentoring and working alongside our portfolio companies. With an overview of the vastly different fields of investment, I always felt a pull towards Venture Capital. The thrill of experiencing an exit from a company that only had 2 employees and a concept when you met, is unparalleled.

A.G.: My entry into Venture Capital was not as direct as Meirav’s. I began my career in the trenches of operational companies. With a degree for Computer Engineering, and following a military career in 8200 (the elite technology unit of the Israel Defence Forces),, I started as a system-engineer and after a few years crossed the lines to Sales and Marketing at a NASDAQ listed Hi-Tech company. After a decade of engineering and marketing I felt prepared for the real challenge - building my own company. I led a startup from ideation all the way to an Exit in Silicon Valley; later I was deeply involved in 2 other startups who were very successful as well. The years working with these startups gave me a broad perspective that prepared me for my next career as a Venture Capitalist. As we know, markets can drop as well as rise, and my previous operational experience helps me to understand where and when to make cost cuttings and what other key decisions are needed in the portfolio in order to help them weather any storms.

Q What gave you the idea to form Moneta?

A.G.: We were looking for our investment thesis for a new fund for 2 years, so we decided to build a specialty fund and not a general purpose VC firm. We also knew that the next decade would belong to AI and Big Data, and our fields of interests were around these areas. Our opportunity came when the largest bank in Israel invited us to conduct a strategic research project on the expected impact of Fintech on incumbent banks. By the time we concluded this project, which took approximately one year, we had already fallen in love with the Fintech domain. We were very lucky to launch our first fund (with the bank becoming our largest investor) in 2015 which is the year that many people believe started the golden-age of Fintech globally.

Q If there are any readers out there looking to make their own VC, how much capital do you require?

A.G.: It really depends on the stage. Our seed stage funds are around $50m, and the later stage funds are around $100m each. It all depends on the average cheque size that the fund wishes to deploy into investments.

Q Are you an expert in the fields that you invest in, prior to the partnership?

M.H.: We have expertise in multiple areas. Our main expertise is in the industry verticals that are our primary focus; fintech and insurtech. Because we understand the world of finance, credit, payments, core-banking, investment, insurance underwriting and claims, etc, we can speak to our portfolio teams in their language. We understand what they are trying to achieve, we understand the needs of the companies they are selling to and we understand the competitive landscape, so are able to advise our portfolio teams from a position of knowledge. Because we are so well established in the fintech and insurtech worlds, we can guide our teams and direct them to resources that they would not generally have access to.

A.G.: I agree with Meirav, but I would also add that we have vast experience and knowledge of Enterprise Software ventures. We know how to help with management team building, with GoToMarket plans, and we know and usually guide our portfolio teams towards fund raising in their next funding rounds. We always try to identify and address issues before they escalate and become harmful to the business.

Q A lot of people who read Game Changers have great ideas. What makes a great pitch?

M.H.: I don’t think there is one specific item that makes a great pitch; for me, a pitch has to hit a certain number of targets. For instance, we focus on ‘People First’, so the CEO and other members of the pitch team need to be impressive. They should have either a proven track record with previous startups, an impressive education, an outstanding military career - there needs to be something that makes them special. We also look at the interaction between the team members. If the CEO is passive in a meeting and is not the main speaker, they are likely to be passive in managing their team. If the conversation is stilted or the team talks over each other to get the point across, again, this will raise a flag with me. When I meet a company for a pitch meeting, I want to see a team that is relaxed and comfortable with each other, where conversation flows effortlessly and where each member of the team brings their own perspective of the same story. For me, the product offering is less important in the first meeting.

A.G.: If I am going to invest in a startup, I want to know that they are world experts in their field. I want to see that they have already identified who their competitors are, I want them to understand what is currently on the market and then explain to me how their product is different and why companies would stop using one product in preference to theirs. I want to know that they have a clear idea of the direction in which they are heading and an understanding of the pitfalls and issues that may be in their path. If they can prove to us that they have considered every pitfall, that builds the initial trust. Of course once we have confidence in the team, then we need to check the technology!

Q Can you spot style over substance on a pitch??

M.H.: I’ve been working in Venture Capital for a very long time and I’ve seen and heard it all. You very quickly develop a sixth sense for something that is mainly hot air. Again, this is another area where understanding people is critical. Observing how the team responds to questions, whether they are answered calmly or whether there is a desperate need to push a certain point of view is telling. Remember, we know the markets in which we operate, so cannot be ‘sold’ on a product if we do not believe it will be adopted in those markets.

A.G.: I would add that we are experts in identifying buzz words and name dropping, etc., when used instead of cutting to the chase and discussing the product, vision and proposed execution in detail.

Q Is there a win/loss ratio you have to adhere to to stay sustainable?

A.G.: We believe that in the early-stage about 50% or more of our companies should be successful (raising at higher valuations and achieving an Exit)

Q When you invest in a new brand, what qualifies as a success in the first year of a partnership?

A.G.: During the first year we measure 2 things: operational efficiency which is the ability to execute within a pre-defined budget; GoToMarket which is the length of time it takes to book the first clients, and fund raising which is the ability to fund the startup in a further round.

Q When do you know is a good time to cut your losses on a project?

A.G.: When things are either not happening as planned or taking a lot more time than expected…

Q Do you have a hands on relationship with the brands you partner with, such as having your people in key roles?

M.H.: While we do have a hands-on relationship with our portfolio companies, we do not generally place members of our team into key roles in their teams. We are certainly available to assist with identifying recruitment needs and assisting in the search process, but we do not fully embed ourselves in our portfolio companies.

A.G.: I would add that, as part of our hands-on approach, we work with the portfolio team to understand their roadmap, what their development plans are going forward, and how they will achieve these plans. Part of this also includes understanding future hiring needs. If we can identify these early on, we can assist our portfolio teams at the right time in the right way while still allowing them to run their companies autonomously.

Q Is part of VC also about mentoring how to run a functional organisation?

A.G.: That’s the difference between an average VC and an exceptional one. At Moneta, we believe in people first; it’s even there on our website homepage. You can develop the best technology that solves the world’s biggest challenges, but if you can’t convey that fact or scale your product, you will never succeed. Our added value is that we work closely with our portfolio companies on multiple levels to help them achieve their goals and ours. We are also entrenched in the fintech and insurtech community globally and have made significant introductions for our portfolio companies, whether that leads to further investment, identifying design partners, potential clients and even acting as a town crier to get their message across.

M.H.: In my opinion, mentoring is crucial, and it serves two purposes. Obviously, the most important principle is coaching and assisting our teams to help them achieve their targets, but no less importantly, it helps build a closer relationship. The closer the relationship we have with our portfolio companies, the more likely we are to be able to act as and when required to assist or adjust certain approaches. Our portfolio companies also know that we are always available to them whatever their needs.

Q Can individuals also invest in the entities you back via your brand?

A.G.: Unfortunately not.

Q Is there a way that people can invest in start ups without getting burnt?

M.H.: In Israel, there are Venture Capital firms that allow individuals to invest directly into their funds. Here individuals can benefit from investing in a VC that will meet hundreds of startups each year, of which only a handful will receive investment. An individual would never be able to carry out the due diligence required on that many companies themselves. Obviously, investors should carry out their own due diligence and check the firm’s track record both in times of economic uplift and downturn.

Q What’s the best way for people to contact you?

We can be contacted via our website at www.monetavc.com