Dov Moran On Inventing The USB Memory Stick And Then Selling His Company For $1.6 Billion To SanDisk

Today, we’re interviewing Dov Moran, Managing Partner, Grove Ventures. Dov Moran’s remarkable entrepreneurial journey is a testament to the transformative power of determination and innovation. Born in a vastly different Israel, Dov’s story is one of resilience, adaptability, and the drive to learn continually.

His funding agency, Grove Ventures, invested in notable startups like RapidAPI, TriEye, Wiliot, and Wing Cloud. Grove supports founders in Israel, the US, and other locations in verticals like enterprise applications and artificial intelligence, among others.

In this episode, you will learn:

• A story that underscores the power of resilience in overcoming early setbacks and turning them into opportunities for growth.
• The fate of Modu teaches that even the most groundbreaking ideas must align with market readiness for them to succeed.
• The turnaround of Tower Semiconductor showcases the importance of adaptability and strategic thinking in navigating through challenging business situations.
• Grove Ventures’ emphasis on investing in people over just ideas highlights the significance of human capital in entrepreneurial success.
• A military background instilled a sense of discipline and the ability to innovate under high-pressure circumstances.
• A family legacy of entrepreneurship served as a foundational influence, emphasizing the impact of familial values on one’s entrepreneurial spirit.
• Well-learned advice to never stop learning and always seek improvement reminds us that success is an ongoing journey, not a destination.

Clarification: This interview was recorded prior to Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on October 7th, which took the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis.

SUBSCRIBE ON:

For a winning deck, see the commentary on a pitch deck from an Uber competitor that has raised over $400M (see it here). 

Remember to unlock for free the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.

About Dov Moran:

Dov Moran is a Co-Founder & serves as a Managing Partner at Grove Ventures. He serves as a Board Member at Quantum Source and Advisor at Onnivation.

Dov serves as Chairman at Ramon. Space and Particula and the Board Member at NeuroBlade and Consumer Physics. He is a Co-Founder at GlucoMe and serves as its Board Member.

Dov serves on the boards of Rapid API, TriEye, Wiliot, Spry Health, Kiralis and was previously the Chairman of Tower Semiconductors (NASDAQ: TSEM).

A well-known technology entrepreneur, inventor, and businessman, Dov was the Founder and Chairman of M-Systems and invented the Disk-On-Key (USB Flash Drive), the Disk-On-Chip, and other similar devices.

In 2006, M-Systems was sold to SanDisk for $1.6 billion. Following the sale of M-Systems, Dov founded Modu, whose modular phone concept patents and technology were sold to Google.

Dov was also the chairman of Tower Semiconductor, a top-tier semiconductor developer and manufacturer, and successfully steered the struggling company toward profitability.

In the course of his entrepreneurial work, Dov has filed more than 40 patents and helped to establish over ten companies. He served as Chairman at Geneformics.

Dov holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and a Doctor of Honor from Technion, Israel, and Moscow University of Radio and Technology.

Dov received many awards including the Edward Rheine Award (considered as Nobel prize of technology). He is the Founder & serves as Chief Executive Officer at M-Systems.

Connect with Dov Moran:

• Bloomberg
• Crunchbase
• PitchBook
• LinkedIn

Read the Full Transcription of the Interview:

Alejandro Cremades: Already hello everyone and welcome to the dealmakerr show. So today. We have a really amazing founder. We’re going to be learning quite a bit you know about everything everything on the operator side on the also on the investment side. You know on how he built scaled and sold his company that at the time you know was the largest exit. You know that was ever done in Israel. Obviously there’s been. You know many companies that have achieved multiple outxits you know and with higher amounts since then ah, but again, you know we’re going to be quite inspired with his journey remarkable individual and and yeah with without further ado. Let’s welcome our guests today Dove Mor and welcome to the show. Thanks.

Dov Moran: Um, thank you very much my pleasure.

Alejandro Cremades: Originally born in Israel I know that there you have the army. You have all the all the good stuff that it’s mandatory, but but give us a walk through memory lane. How was life growing up how was life growing up in Israel.

Dov Moran: Can repeat did I ah life in a going in Israel you know, first of all I was I was born sixty eight years ago this was different Israel from today Israel was small at my time I remember. Reached 3000000 people. This was wow we are a large large country. Ah, ah, many people came from their diaspora from their diaspora from the holocaust. Actually they were survivors. My parents were survivors and when you live in a and an ecosystem of survivors. This influence sometimes somehow you might you are becoming a sort of survivor and but you know a lot of love to the country. A lot of willingness to to to progress to do things for the country. Everybody went to the Army Navy Air Force ah and a lot I would say a lot of a excited of the future of us ourself and the country and what can be done.

Alejandro Cremades: Now in your case, you know how did you get into the whole engineering thing and and and computers you know like what got you into that problem you know solving and and especially you know early on.

Dov Moran: So my grandfather my grandfather was an entrepreneur at Poland before the world war two and he did a lot of stuff he he established his machinery place and he’s. He built a bank and he imported technology from italy to Poland to an opened and they built a factory for silver for you know Fox Bones and and even was involved in ah in oil I did digging equipment. And he came to Israel after losing 6 of his 7 children. He still wasn’t entrepreneur. He still did a lot of things and I was living at the same room with him and by the way we weren’t rich I don’t think that people in Israel were rich these days living with you grant father. The same room seems say that’s part of life I can admit a lot of what a am came from him because I believe that team is the last last years eighteen years that we we live together from I was born till he died. His mission was to educate me as Entrepreneurne so where he always I knew from very young aged I’m going to be engineer he was engineer I’m going to be an engineer I’m going to build stuff I’m going to invent stuff. But anyway he has invention I went to polling I saw a sign I saw actually the tool he did the.

Dov Moran: He built a very unique tool for a oil not for for water pumping in Poland re patent that he got for that and it is you can go to Poland to a museum. It is a city ah, and.

Dov Moran: A basically E a I was I wanted to be like him to be an inventor to establish stuff. Adjaunt.

Alejandro Cremades: So then so then in this case, you know obviously that that definitely influenced. You know your thinking you know and your approach and and push towards problem solving. But I guess the ah the question here you know that comes to mind then is how do you get into? um you know.

Dov Moran: Ah, John Deo you seei. Hello hello.

Alejandro Cremades: Let’s say you know University before the military.

Dov Moran: Hello hello.

Alejandro Cremades: Can you hear me though of.

Dov Moran: Hello Hello hello.

Alejandro Cremades: So obviously having your your grandfather there you know and being able to learn from him. You know, really got that drive. You really is where you got that drive for problem solving now in your case you know like I say everyone there in Israel you know the army is mandatory but rather than going to the army you decided to go and.

Dov Moran: Okay.

Alejandro Cremades: And get the studies in order before doing so so how was that transition from being at tech on all the way to perhaps being in the army because you were in the army too for 8.5 years I mean that’s right.

Dov Moran: Well it it looks naturally because I I knew that I’m going to study in order to become engineer into the army. Actually I had a very very unique army service my day of drafting for the basic training is October sixteen nineteen 73 this is the the middle of the yom kippur war and instead of going to do a short training and then go to serve go to study and then back to serve. We actually were went into a full, not a full a money almost one year of servicing. thanks so I went to thanks I went to technion back to the army next train navy as engineer and you know many people in Israel not many, but there are quite a lot of people in Israel at are doing that every year the army needs engineers. It’s a good pass because you have the ability to study. A practical staff at the Army Or Navy before you go to the commercial market and you come to the commercial market with a lot of experience because when you are at the Army Air Force Navy you get to learn a lot. You get to a lot of means to develop your staff to be innovative to actually become a manager when you are relatively very very young. So I the period of time at this this eight and half years at the navygy were fascinating. These were the first days of myposors. So my department.

Dov Moran: Dealt with micro processsors and for me department that dealt with it theoretically nothing in. But in particular we saw I saw ah how myposors are entering into almost any device in the Navy. Ah, and things are happening and it’s a new world and software and hardware and many ideas and a lot of really good stuff that could be generated with such sophistication that the bykovve processors bought into this market.

Alejandro Cremades: I mean eight and a half years you you kind of like extended it quite a bit because how how many years is typically the mandatory. So.

Dov Moran: Eighteen half years indeed

Dov Moran: So sales are mandatory. But if you go to this to study before joining the navy whywi you have to 8 3 So it’s six years and after 6 years the time hey you can’t live now you have to stay stay another year say okay I send another year.

Alejandro Cremades: Wow.

Dov Moran: And then I was always finishing saying no no, no, you know if we want you to do this stuff as well. Please please please stay six months more I stay six months more they dragged it until finlia said I’m living.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah, my god I mean 8.5 years there I mean that’s how that’s a long time. So what happened you know when you came out.

Dov Moran: Well I saw that I’m smart I opened my first company m systems or prem systems. We later on gave you the name of m systemste but I was I thought hey I know I understand everything I know how to do software I know how to know hardware. I know how to manage people what’s acquired. That’s that’s enough and I went to establish the company even before we are 9089 we made it we we changed your name and actually made it a company because before 1989 I even didn’t bother to make it. The.

Alejandro Cremades: But that was that was that was 1989 I mean anyone is.

Dov Moran: Company I walked like a private person I was giving salaries to my employees for my personal account because I went to a lawyer to a account and I told him he was my friend from high school I said I want to open a company eagle. You got what you saying he said? Okay, ah. Have two choices if you open a company you have to pay five thousand shekels whatever number told us every year for the annual report. But if you do it as a personal pay pay pay person you know private person it will cost you only two Thousand shekels so okay ill make it like a personal a you know private private person. So it my bill of of the bed. The of the bank it was paying to the grocery store paying to the salaries buying computer buying a software to my home hey personal I was so stupid I didn’t have really. Any clue about how you open a company but I learned and by the way these times this wasn’t only me the israeli ecosystem. There were very very few startups that were established in Israel before 19 before 9090.

Alejandro Cremades: I mean at that point there was like almost no ecosystem right? nothing like today. So I guess at what point did you end up professionalizing the operation and what ended up being the business model of m systems.

Dov Moran: So in 1980 end of 191988 so 1988? Yeah I yeah ah I took a decision which was very important in my life I said anyway we are developing products but. The market is not an east israeli market the israeli market is small I I want to sell in America I want to understand american market I want to improve my english which is not great as you can see but it’s better than it was then. And I have to go to America I’ll keep my company I’ll put somebody to run it and I’ll go to to America and I’ll try to run it. You know from fire far away and and that’s what I’ve done and somehow I learned about this need. Of it taking flash memory and makeout of free something that replaces hard drives and we changed the name of the company to m systems and which was memory systems maybe Moran systems. There’s a story funny story about that and and we actually became. Ah, real company. This was actually at 1989? yes.

Alejandro Cremades: So then tell us about how was it like to ultimately develop a company at that point where you know obviously you had no sales you didn’t know what was the difference between sales and marketing. There were no vcs. No no money being raised. Yeah.

Dov Moran: Boy must yeah, very tough, very tough very very tough. There were times in my life where I didn’t have enough money to eat I took his seriously I did not have money to whether I can tell a story where my my wife.

Alejandro Cremades: So how was it like that.

Dov Moran: To go to Israel and we used all the money we have to buy a ticket for her and I stayed alone and hey there’s no money how can I survive ah and but I survived as you can see. Ah, but yeah, it was difficult and but you know over the time you learn you learn that there are investors you learn that you can get money from strategic investors you learn that you learn what to do and and you know one thing which I can say about about me. I’m I’m not the the best one I’m not the great I’m not the smartest I I never was actually I’m exactly the opposite of all of it when if you think about the race and everybody’s standing there ready to one if you have to imagine this race imagine me I’m the guy that. The beginning of the race. Don’t really understand which direction we have to run and once the race is out and everybody is running only then a okay, a a yeah yes I have to run this way. So I’m running. Everybody’s a healthy but then people are break up and people. Don’t really learn many people don’t don’t learn. Don’t study. Don’t they try enough. Don’t improve themselves while I’m improving and and and then I’m okay I will say I’m that I’m the first one but I’m okay so I see that the phenomena what happened to me after this very very stupid.

Dov Moran: Beginning of my first company I really began to understand the market understand how to do understand. what’s what’s marketing what’s the the american customers need I became public in a very relatively very early I learned how to waste money. Ah, yeah, and clearly we came with the investment of the Usb flash drive and others and it within several years. We became a company with revenues of over a billion dollar which is not bad for israeli companies.

Alejandro Cremades: Wow! Not bad at all and how do you think that you also developed yourself as a founder as a manager you know and going through all the different cycles of um, you know of a company. So.

Dov Moran: You know I like very much to talk with young students and sometimes even from high school because my message today is guys. Ah, don’t think that they inventors are the guys who were. Pow the smartest I by the way I look at the guys who were the smartest at my studies in technone I wasn’t bad I wasn’t a I was above the average clearly. Ah, but the the guys who were really number 1 2 3 4 5 I don’t think that they created a big success and. You know a bit because if you look at the olympics you know who’s getting the first tip the first the golden medal at the Olympics. Not the guys who were born the best these are the guys that made they weren’t bad but they maybe they were supposed to be number 10 or number 45 but they. Tried harder. They constantly learned and improved themselves and didn’t didn’t give up didn’t give up on what they are doing so I don’t give up and I learn all the time I just want to tell you I may I did the I did investments a. You’ll have to go on the quantum computers I have no understanding on by way. It’s so difficult so weird all this issue of quantum but they took nights to really read and learn and you can do it by internet easily yeah, learn about quantum physics.

Dov Moran: And Quantum computers who are the competitors. What are the different methods and I’m now looking at companies I like very much anything related to to healthcare. Yeah, so and I like materials and I learn a lot and I I walk many many hours. Doesn’t come to me easy. But I learn all the time and I think that that’s a difference between creating success and not creating success.

Alejandro Cremades: And I love that because Michael Jordan didn’t make the high school team Tom Brady was one of the last you know to be picked you know for for the Nfl and and the rest is history. You know. so um so I love that that that analogy that you were putting in there now. For you. Obviously you know we say am systems. You know you were there for 17 years What do you think? kept you so long you know with a company. So.

Dov Moran: Well I do hope that what I’m doing now while there do even more than seventeen years I love what I was doing we you know this is seventeen years it’s not 17 years of doing the same at the beginning we we tried we. We had many challenges in technology and then we had the challenges of goal. And then we added the Usb flash drive which took us into market of either way was b two c we actually made it b two b two c but it’s consumer product and and then we the market changed and when we went into mobile and we had at the time a solution where. Almost every phone manufacturer was using our solution by the way it is used till today. It is a huge cost saving and a higher fish higher efficiency higher functionality of storage in the forms of which people are not aware that. Our contribution there. But it’s a new market. So yeah, again, you have to talk with other companies and then you have to deal with scale and you have to deal with billion dollarlar sales is a lot. You can’t just buy components in the market which we used to do at the beginning so you have to go to strategic agreements with ah toshiva. And samso and Hynix and Michael and you have to get to to know these people who is wrong who are running these companies so every year was a different year every activity was still a challenge There was a lot to learn.

Dov Moran: And when I sold it I didn’t feel the tay I know everything not interesting I saw it unhappily actually I didn’t want to sell. It’s a long story wider cell. But I sold it at the feeling that hey there is a lot for me to be done. And and to go and succeed with so 17 17 years. It went like just like that.

Alejandro Cremades: So then I want to talk about that because tell us about how sun disk because you know and it ended up by a really smashing outcome one point six billion of an acquisition. You know at the time 2006 at what point does sun disk. You know come knocking in. And you said that you were unhappy you know selling the business so walk us through you know how these unfolded and and why you know if you were unhappy. Why did you decided to pull the trigger.

Dov Moran: Um, well I thirty for establish about the year and a half before him systems by a smart guy which I love I love him I really love him very much called Eli harari he’s still a friend I just spoke with him about a week ago week and half ago and Eli I is really amazing person. He came from he came from the semiconductors if you notice the name of Sunday Sun Sun is silicon silione is the material. The basic material. Semiconductor we were m systemste. We came from the system from the software approach software computers. It was more on the the stuff of cameras stuff like that but he always kept the contact with me. And and they were before the last last ah last offer before thatquisition. There were 6 so 7 times he offered me to acquire acquire me. So a he a and I yeah a I listened and I said no one time after the other and the the story is that they pay at the lust before we were acquired.

Dov Moran: Was a time that I won’t go into the whole story. It’s a complicated story but there was time that people used to talk about backdating there was backdating and Alexandra we were exactly the opposite we we were not doing. Backdating the day we we actually gave new employees options every months we we kept the procedures but we had a problem giving options to our board members which is truly pure technicality issue related to the fact that our lawyer came from America. And the laws in Israel America are a bit different. But anyway since everybody was so much into a packating backdating. Um my call by my board members were highly concerned and when they they went into panic and I was so angry with them I was. Unhappy with the attitude because a we instead of dealing with the subject resolve it move along. Ah they actually tried to hide this issue ah talking about technicality of did we have conference call here. And then Eliie and I called me one day when I there dealing with my board with this stupidity and he said Heydolf isn’t it the right time for us to merge together I said you know what fuck let’s do it and and we.

Dov Moran: We went to do it and everybody you know that was a phenomena a very strange phenomena because everybody was celebrating this acquisition a sun were happy. My employees everybody was ah the the newspapers in the in Israel were full of head of you know the the headlines were mc stamps. and and I really went into it very with a very very bad feeling. What was a it was because I I didn’t see this ah I see something like a lost like a not like a like a failure of mine but you know that’s sometimes you know failure success. Can define what’s a failure What’s a success.

Alejandro Cremades: Absolutely well hey you know in the end you know I’m sure that they it felt good. You know also to have some liquidity in the bank. You know why? not? So I guess that they you know gave you an amazing financial freedom and they are.

Dov Moran: I know I I couldn’t see the company was public I could sell chefs and I I did sell shells before the acquisition. So it wasn’t an issue of financial I could sell ah I was the only guy I was the only guy I was the only guy who went into a lockup in agreement because.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah, but I mean in your case hey amazing. Oh come.

Dov Moran: I could sell shells before but once there was agreement c service came said hey you they a 2 years lockup you can’t sell shells and and then I couldn’t sell shells and then came 2008 where the the stocks drop down ah significantly.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah.

Dov Moran: So financially it wasn’t the the most amazing deal that I could dream about.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah know I hear you but then but hey an outcome is always an outcome and in this case, you know, amazing. You know the outcome to and what you have built from the grown up now the next day you know, go out. It was with mo and they mo obviously you know was. 1 of your biggest lessons, especially when it comes about focus so tell us about what happened with model. Yeah.

Dov Moran: Well a module was a company that I established to do a modular false and the model comes from a module mode mood modedusdi This is where life and coincidentally that’s Moan. My nickname is dobi so moan Dobi M o. And the idea was hey phones are going to be very important part of our life. We saw the picture the picture was phones are going to be with a lot of functionality and we said we can do we can have it with a lot of Flexibility. We want to make a very small phone. Can I show you one I’ll show you.

Alejandro Cremades: Let’s hit.

Dov Moran: Um, that’s a fold that’s a version that’s version. 1 of the phone. You don’t see how so it is so or take a regular a regular phone I do see the difference of sizes. Yeah yeah.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah, oh yeah for the people that are now tuning in and listening is like 1 Fourth.

Dov Moran: Ah, this is smaller even anyway so and very light and very thin you really and idea was that you you can by the way you can use it like if as a phone you can you can dial for me, you can take calls from heat. You can send text messages as well. But you can put around it jackets.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah, so.

Dov Moran: And to make it with a large display and and maybe connect a blood glucose monitor into it if you want to and then and and they if you want and when you come to the car plug it into the car this was before glutose was so great. So the idea was very interesting and it and it failed. It fed despite the fact that we raised over $100000000 for it and whitefed. So there is a excuse and there is a reason if you ask people in Israel a majority of the people we say. Ah yeah, of course modu great idea. But here came. Iphone and Iphone changed the whole market iphone actually caused the situation that great companies. Well established. Well you know very experienced like moolla and siemens and Nokia and Sonny ericsone they failed. They felt and oh clearly a small company from Israel that was new comer couldn’t release make a success versus say the big Apple while the concept was really contradictory Apple came and say hey. this is a this is the phone It’s a display it’s a Pcb battery between that’s it all the rest done by software and we tried to walk on the issue of changing the physical dimensions and the functionality.

Dov Moran: And instead of you know, selling version. A new version every every year Apple one I mean iphone 1 iphone 2 iphone 7 I want 15 what’s an a latest number. Whatever it is ah we share the core is the core. It’s it’s good enough anyway. So you could have more memory. You could have better camera up. Without changing the the call the the idea failed and but I say hey this is this is axis. It’s not a real reason because if we were if we were really good. We I had if I was really good I would have to see that the market is changing. At the time at the right time early and then change a concept change the accounts change what we do and and we did have several ideas. What could we do? Ah, but you know it was too late when we got into these ideas in the sense that it was all the impossible for us to waste money to implement this idea. And then I ask myself hey who doobi that’s my nickname hey Dooby why? Why were you so stupid. Why didn’t you really see the market is changing so why did you accept it or understood it so late there reason and that’s a really reason I believe. The same time I was established a modu el d arali which I mentioned before came to me said of we send this invested in a company in Israel called tower semiconductor tower is the fab fab comes from fabrication. It’s effect away.

Dov Moran: Where you manufacture your chips. It’s a it cost fortune to build such factories at that time tower a before the time tower a raised billion dollar to build a new fab and the and the company was really failed, totally failure. Ah so. And I said hey e I heard about them I I don’t believe said do me favor go to meet the Ceo this is the north and part of the country city called me balamic I went to see that there’s the Ceo which was all the almost a year fully at the company and. This is a guy called rasser. He’s still a ceo by the way and rasselll say listen. Ah we are so close to go bankov say I need somebody german that would have I don’t know english I don’t know ebooi I know english I don’t know he’s american. I need somebody that would help me deal with the government deal with staff giveway you know and be my counterpart and if no one will come then well you know we will shut the company. There are 12 funded employees at the company. Almost all of them are coming from this small village here. Small city town called mcdalama the whole town is going to be unemployed I said okay I’ll come I’ll come no salary. No equity no options I’ll come in my contact I want it it going to be.

Dov Moran: Written very clear that I’m coming to help the company $1 a year and we didt turn around and this was really crazy turn around because at the time I arrived. The company had no money to pay salaway every quarter they had to raise some money to pay the salaries of the previous quarter. There was no way. Had a loan from the banks of $400000000 which was overdue and and took me time to understand it was the obvious that they are selling with the negative gros margin so you cannot say hey let’s double the sales you double the sales you increase the loss.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah.

Dov Moran: Found a way to do it turnaround which is a story by itself I won’t going into it but all of it was a destruction and 1 of the lessons I’m giving entrepreneurs that I come into be is if theying that they can do 2 companies at the same time. That’s a mistake now of course some of them say hey. But Elon Musk is running 3 companies at the same time or Steve Jobs Steve was running Apple and pixel at the same time i’s not exactly running both companies at the same time. But I said it’s very simply your name is what your name your name is Danny you char me. You are not Steve jobs and you alone not alone. But forget about it. Do you know how tough it is to make it a success try to 1 company be focused in what you’re doing It’s a very very tough lesson that I learned.

Alejandro Cremades: Very difficult.

Alejandro Cremades: I hear you now in your case you know you got started with angel investing and that ultimately led into building what is today grove ventures but in the process of doing the angel investing you realized that it was hard. It was really hard to ah.

Dov Moran: Yep.

Alejandro Cremades: To make really you know anything you know in in in that regard because you know perhaps you know you didn’t have the power or you didn’t have you know the ammunition to um to really do things and you felt it was a mistake. Why was that the case.

Dov Moran: Well generally. Ah I did my my my investments at some time I tell you the state’s a very nice story I think my son I have a lawyer which I working with for the last twenty five years he’s like my brother is amazing is a.

Alejandro Cremades: Go for it.

Dov Moran: Can I say it name run a learner from a meta office and and ranan one day came to see me until today he start time he just come in. We have a great conversation. We have lot of activities so aant kept to see me said you know though I love you very much I I do see all your investments and. I think that you are a very good investor I see what how you invest I see how you are dealing with the companies which no one else doess but you pick the companies from the guys who are coming to you and these are guys that maybe they are great beam maybe they b plus. Some of them are c or d. Even if you pick the best ones from them. You don’t really get to know or get to meet the guys which are a and in order to succeed in your you need to invest in the guys who are a plus and these guys don’t know about your activity. You know your angel you know, many many people in the country. You know all the people who worked at m systemste and modu and tower and the navy and but it’s not enough so I took a I went to a mountain really I went to a mountain in Switzerland at the offsism where there are no people. But ah and I yeah I went there by by myself. No without my wife and she ran without anybody else I actually I even didn’t choose the 4 almost didn’t use the phone I wrote a book hundred doors.

Dov Moran: And I thought about and every day I did a walking of about 2 to 3 hours ah and first of all, it was amazingly well for me for my I think it for my spiritual health I prepared my food. There was no no restaurants open this was officeea no restaurant. Was the almost the only one at this city. The small day small town called vengen and I thought about a lot about about what I do and how I do it am I happy of what I’m doing is that the right way to succeed I went down from the went back to Israel after the four weeks and said told my guys that I was working with. Let’s let’s make a let’s say let’s make a venture capital found which will be different not ex exact not la like the others. There are many venture capitalal funds in Israel but we want to do something which is early stage dibte. Technology all the hard stuff that other receives don’t like they don’t like semiconductor we are going to invest in semiconductors space will do space cloud infrastructure move on um, physics quantum ah energy and that’s what we are doing. And it works very very well lot of many people were very suspicious. Many people told me hey do you are your entrepreneur. You’re not an inventor It’s exactly the opposite by the way I don’t think it’s the opposite I seen that many of the good and not all but many of the good.

Dov Moran: Investors are entrepreneurers beginners entrepreneurers when so they huddles the difficulties the these appointments the hard life of entrepreneurers and therefore it gives them tools that others don’t have of understanding the entrepreneurs. Understanding the process understanding the needs that the entrepreneurs have of how to go how to get in contact with the right strategic partners. Ah how to establish themselves as their leaders in the market despite the fact that they are not leaders. Are too small to be leaders. But that’s what we are doing in the last years in a very very successful way.

Alejandro Cremades: And now 600000000 under management 35 exits so really remarkable journey 35 investments yeah yeah so 35 investments I now obviously the the question comes to mind is now you’ve been an operator. You’ve been.

Dov Moran: Oh life investment I wish it would be 35 year exit a but we yeah moving. Yeah.

Alejandro Cremades: An investor. Also let’s say if I was to put you into a time machine and I bring you back in time I bring you back in time to maybe 1989 when you were thinking about doing something of your own coming out of the army and. Let’s say you’re able to give your younger self one piece of advice. 1 piece of advice for launching a business. What would that be ny given what you know now.

Dov Moran: Um, and.

Dov Moran: Wow, it’s a it’s a very good question. Ah, first of all I would go to I would choose the and do the exactly the best I was doing I would go to an establish a company. Well if I would go there I would invent the Usb flash drive a bit earlier.

Dov Moran: I did or established a cop in 9089 but the idea of the Usb flash drive came to my mind only 9098 so I would say I would tell do on in bey 98 in a hey you can invent something small. They plug into the Usb hey call it Usb flash drive. Yeah could could be great. Ah, but basically I would say I would tell the young dov moan that he should raise money he should raise money earlier. He should not be concerned of the big monsters intel sand risk he should focus earlier. On the ideas of how to make strategic relations with with competitors or with colleagues with suppliers. Yeah, and and and make it much much early before I did it and but you know I’m sometimes you know giving it. Advices is is not the right thing because there is time for everything and and you have sometimes to learn from your own mistakes.

Alejandro Cremades: Absolutely now for the people that are listening especially for those entrepreneurs that are maybe doing stuff in deep Tech Cloud infrastructure like really complex. You know stuff like Quantum and so forth. What is the best way for them to reach out and say hid off.

Dov Moran: The best way to for them to watch. Well first of all, we do invest only in israeli companies. So not and and let me expand not because we see that all the wisdom exist in Israel I can prove you that this is totally inchoic. Yeah.

Alejandro Cremades: But the the best way for them to reach out and say hello to you or to the firm. You know what is the best way for them.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah.

Dov Moran: Ah, very good proof. Trust me ah our concept is working with the companies I I do meet my my guys but the companies I’m investing in relatively quite a lot I do want to see them face-to-face when I invest in israeli company. The most important. Part of investment by the way not for us for everybody I think it’s people how are the people how good they are how smart they are. It’s not just what’s the iq. It’s more. What’s more What’s the iq or even more important. What’s their aq that diversityity cu how can they withstand all they. Difficulties this long martone ultra ultramartone with those many hus and and and problems and I do not have the ability to read correctly americans or chinese or japanese because it’s different culture. Israel I know the people I can in a very short time tell you whether these are the right people or not and most more important I can very easily get into the I in Israel every interpreter I know it sounds crazy but it’s like I I showed it before. Every de panette. It would come to me I know the entrepreneur or I know somebody who knows the Entrepreneurne so the chain of connection which is treated six j very generally I don’t remember who made this say this number.

Dov Moran: And what research was there but it that’s a number that is known in the world in Israel. It’s one every interpreter there’ll be 1 guy that I know that knows him and I I can easily get to people who served with him in the Navy or the army or walk with him at checkpoint or or Google. And ask how easy and by the way Israel is that’s for good and bad. Israelis are very open. You ask about somebody who worked with you and you can you can get answers like ah he’s a he makes a impression like a very smart guy but he’s stubborning. It’s very different to work with him.

Dov Moran: And you know these kind of things I cannot do when I invest out of Israel that’s a point.

Alejandro Cremades: Yeah, so the the degree of separation I totally hear you well hey dove go ahead. Yeah, it’s some bolio. It’s unbolio so hey so if you’re in Israel you know and they and you want to you know, reach out to do you probably are gonna have.

Dov Moran: Yeah, no one I said one one degree of separation. Yeah.

Alejandro Cremades: To find your way you know and to find the degree of separation but they but off it was a pleasure to have you on such an honor. Thank you so much for taking the time to be on the dealmakerr show today.

Dov Moran: Thank you very much wonderful. Thanks a lot Bye bye.

*****

If you like the show, make sure that you hit that subscribe button. If you can leave a review as well, that would be fantastic. And if you got any value either from this episode or from the show itself, share it with a friend. Perhaps they will also appreciate it. Also, remember, if you need any help, whether it is with your fundraising efforts or with selling your business, you can reach me at [email protected]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | More