Summer 2017

Hi-tech
&technology
Holistic
digital
marketing
"A" or "the"
start-up
nationProject-
based
learning
Defining the path iAngels is an investment firm that gives global investors
By Terrance Mintner
I
srael is one of the hottest sources of in-
novation in the world for investors. But,
if youre looking at Israels start-up scene
from overseas, how can you get close
enough to tell whether youre investing in a
value proposition with real potential and not
just a good story?
Thats the question that iAngels co-found-
ers, Mor Assia and Shelly Hod Moyal, set out
to answer for discriminating investors.
If you look at Hod Moyals and Assias CVs,
youll see that theyve each had more than a
decade of experience vetting early-stage start-
ups and tech deals in New York before they
joined forces and founded iAngels in Tel Aviv.
Hod Moyal vetted investment opportunities
for investment firms, corporates and private
individuals at Goldman Sachs, Avenue Capital
and UBS. Assia vetted promising acquisitions
for tech giants like Amdocs, SAP and IBM.
Before they formed their own start-up, Assia
and Hod Moyal both earned reputations for
being rigorous, show-me-the-facts analysts
10
who assisted their corporations in making
smart decisions.
Assia explains that while they had started to
develop promising careers in New York, they
always knew they wanted to come back home
and make their mark in Israel. The combination
of our international experience and upbringing
in Israeli tech led us to believe we could be an
important bridge between whats going on in
Israel and the global community of investors.
I asked the two of them how the bridge was
constructed and Hod Moyal explains that it
starts with transparency and alignment of in-
terest. Our platform provides sophisticated
investors who are used to a certain standard
when investing, detailed information, insight
and reporting as well as the opportunity to
invest alongside us personally and the local
VC community under the same terms. Our
platform allows investors to be as active as
they choose with regard to their portfolio and
indeed about half of our investor base are
angel investors who confidently go online and
choose their own investments, whereas the
other half choose to engage our team of pro-
Photos by Raz Avraham
fessionals in creating and managing a highly
diversified and well-rounded start-up portfolio
on their behalf.
iAngels has been in business for just over
three years. How did you get established?
Assia answers: We have partnered with
several of the most acknowledged angel inves-
tors and entrepreneurs in the Israeli industry,
who invested in us, some of which joined our
investment committee. This gave us the ability
to take off. Now we have a working platform,
have grown to a team of 20 professionals on
Rothschild Boulevard in the heart of hi-tech
Tel Aviv and have attracted thousands of in-
vestors worldwide.
Weve raised over $70 million, and the
momentum is growing. Assia explains: Our
discipline and careful analytics are paying off.
Weve already experienced over 25 rounds at
higher valuations seven just in the last two
months with first in class VCs including Besse-
mer, Sierra, Vertex and others. Having so many
portfolio companies excel at value-creation is
a success metric that reassures us were on
the right track, even before these companies
to hi-tech success
an access gateway to leading Israeli innovators
have scaled to the point where they are ready
to bring us successful exits.
This month, Hod Moyal adds, for the first
time iAngels offered investors in two companies
a secondary option to liquidate before there
was an exit within a year since they invested;
one at 2.2x and another at 5x within a year
representing more than 100% and 400% re-
alized IRR. iAngels is the only curated angel
investment platform that has enabled this fea-
ture to date and we couldnt do it if we didnt
invest in companies who perform well enough
to create this kind of value for investors.
Remember, Assia adds, we started off as
analysts and rely heavily on analytics and
rigorous research when we decide to take a
deal and bring it forward to our network of
investors. Our portfolio companies also learn
from our process and often they thank us for
raising ideas and considerations, improving
their strategic thinking.
Hod Moyal and Assia have lived and worked
abroad and have surrounded themselves with
a team of seasoned advisers who have also
lived and worked in Silicon Valley, Toronto,
Hong Kong, Berlin, London, Sao Paulo, Sydney
and other innovation and investment centers
in the world.
Tell us what inspires the iAngels philosophy?
We have been very deliberate about the
culture weve built at iAngels, says Hod Moy-
al. This includes the mindset of the people
weve brought into our team and the way we
use diverse perspectives genders, nationali-
ties, professions, generations to sharpen our
thinking and improve our decision-making.
Our value proposition is based on three core
values: transparency, alignment of interests
and informed data-driven decision making.
We recruit people who are as excited and
committed to value-creation based on these
values as we are.
This blend of inside-Israel, being deeply
rooted in the start-up scene, and their global
perspective, clearly makes iAngels alert to fu-
ture trends. We asked Assia and Hod Moyal,
Whats on their agenda lately and where they
see opportunity to profit from innovation.
We believe Blockchain is an important fron-
tier, Assia says. While volatile in the near term,
www.iangels.co
and while it may even experience a correction
in the coming months, we anticipate this will
become a trillion dollar industry over the next
few years as the Internet transitions from a
place where people exchange information to
a place people exchange value.
Like many new frontiers, this one is a land
grab now and we are seeing Israeli companies
and Israeli/non-Israeli collaborations that have
the potential to become the leaders in this new
world, just like Mobileye became the leader
in smart automobiles and Waze became the
leader in smart GPS navigation systems.
Hod Moyal adds: Weve been posting webi-
nars to educate our investors about this asset
class because, true to our values, we find that
the more sophisticated and informed an inves-
tor is, the more they appreciate the analytics
we present and the deal terms and governance
we put forward.
Without a doubt, this uniquely placed duo of
power women have built a potent platform and
are making huge strides in changing the way
overseas investors can now access with confi-
dence the exciting Israeli high tech market.
11