Chemi Peres

And I was thinking about a national portfolio of about a thousand companies where 5% of them will generate hundreds of millions of dollars. That would change completely the economy and will allow us to carry on and never get into this crisis that we had. And when I looked at venture, I thought this is the right way to go, to raise money on a global basis, to invest it in the best and brightest and

And I was thinking about a national portfolio of about a thousand companies where 5% of them will generate hundreds of millions of dollars. That would change completely the economy and will allow us to carry on and never get into this crisis that we had. And when I looked at venture, I thought this is the right way to go, to raise money on a global basis, to invest it in the best and brightest and

help them scale their businesses and support the Israeli economy. That was a mission that I fell in love with, and I felt that we need to build the ecosystem in Israel.

help them scale their businesses and support the Israeli economy. That was a mission that I fell in love with, and I felt that we need to build the ecosystem in Israel.

And I also got involved in building the ecosystem by helping to the formation of the Israel Venture Association, which gathered all the funds in a professional way to take care of taxation, regulation, to pass the R&D bill, the new R&D bill, to get tax exemption for foreign investors, to allow mergers and acquisitions and just to let it scale.

And I also got involved in building the ecosystem by helping to the formation of the Israel Venture Association, which gathered all the funds in a professional way to take care of taxation, regulation, to pass the R&D bill, the new R&D bill, to get tax exemption for foreign investors, to allow mergers and acquisitions and just to let it scale.

And I got involved in a lot of activities besides the ones that I did in the fund to take care of the entire ecosystem and make sure that we are building something significant in Israel. I think at that time, people did not appreciate the power of technology companies. Especially banks, when you went to raise money from them to support the companies, they say, show me the balance sheet.

And I got involved in a lot of activities besides the ones that I did in the fund to take care of the entire ecosystem and make sure that we are building something significant in Israel. I think at that time, people did not appreciate the power of technology companies. Especially banks, when you went to raise money from them to support the companies, they say, show me the balance sheet.

Show me your assets.

Show me your assets.

But now banks are technology companies by themselves. So they can fully understand what cyber is and what cloud is and what data is. So they understood the power of technology and therefore they started to get involved in the high tech sector. But it took time to build it. So I've been doing it since the early 90s, which means over 33 years now, 34. And it's still fascinating.

But now banks are technology companies by themselves. So they can fully understand what cyber is and what cloud is and what data is. So they understood the power of technology and therefore they started to get involved in the high tech sector. But it took time to build it. So I've been doing it since the early 90s, which means over 33 years now, 34. And it's still fascinating.

The big challenges first is to convince investors to invest in Israel. They have lots of opportunities around the globe. So we had to explain why Israel is unique, why Israel is important, why Israel can be successful. Why do they need to focus on Israel? It comes from the Middle East. Speak lousy English and don't really understand culture. That was one challenge.

The big challenges first is to convince investors to invest in Israel. They have lots of opportunities around the globe. So we had to explain why Israel is unique, why Israel is important, why Israel can be successful. Why do they need to focus on Israel? It comes from the Middle East. Speak lousy English and don't really understand culture. That was one challenge.

The second challenge was how do you bring people with operational experience into sitting in the backseat and investing and sitting on boards and not being hands-on? How do you build a partnership? How does it work? How do you go through the decision process? Because everybody wants to decide by themselves, right? They want to run the show. But you have a collection of very capable people.

The second challenge was how do you bring people with operational experience into sitting in the backseat and investing and sitting on boards and not being hands-on? How do you build a partnership? How does it work? How do you go through the decision process? Because everybody wants to decide by themselves, right? They want to run the show. But you have a collection of very capable people.

So you need to build a partnership. And what does it mean? And how does it work? And how do you take decisions? And then how do you compete on deals? And how do you support your companies? How do you make sure that you are creating successes if you can? And what else do you need to bring besides money? And how the ecosystem is growing and shaping up.

So you need to build a partnership. And what does it mean? And how does it work? And how do you take decisions? And then how do you compete on deals? And how do you support your companies? How do you make sure that you are creating successes if you can? And what else do you need to bring besides money? And how the ecosystem is growing and shaping up.

And do you need to change your strategy with it? And we've done all that. But I feel that you work a lot. And it may not be stressful as a startup. But then again, it's not fun to get in a problem with a company that you need to resolve it. The human factor is always augmented in situations like this. But I've learned a lot, constantly figuring out where the world is heading.

And do you need to change your strategy with it? And we've done all that. But I feel that you work a lot. And it may not be stressful as a startup. But then again, it's not fun to get in a problem with a company that you need to resolve it. The human factor is always augmented in situations like this. But I've learned a lot, constantly figuring out where the world is heading.