A weekly spotlight on vc - GIZA‏

Posted by Liat on 22/02/2008

 

contact person

Giza has a number of different contact points. In general, you can contact Aaron Rothenberg, Giza's Investment Manager. Aaron is in charge of finding new startups and making contact with them, gathering their business plans, and bringing them up for screening at Giza. For Internet and New Media companies, Shai Tsur is the best contact person. Shai is an Associate focused mainly on Internet companies and works on both the pre- and post-investment side of things. For Life Sciences companies, contact Noa Korem, Giza's Life Sciences Analyst.

60 seconds on Giza

Giza is one of the largest Israeli VC funds. It is also one of the pioneers of the venture capital industry in Israel as it has been investing in Israeli start ups since 1992. Giza currently manages 4 funds with a total of $500M under management. The fund has invested in over 80 companies and has had numerous significant exits including Libit, Precise, MSystems, and Actimize.

In what areas are you investing?
Giza invests in four major sectors:

• Communications and Semiconductors
• Enterprise Software
• Life Sciences - mainly in medical devices
• Internet and New Media - a category that includes cellular applications and other consumer-facing services

 

At what stage of the company are you investing? Who should we contact?
Giza is primarily an early-stage investor. The majority of our investments are Round A, but we also make seed and even pre-seed/EIR investments. Giza has a special investment track called the Ofek Program. With Ofek, the fund makes initial investments of up to $500,000 in seed-stage companies to fund them for a period of 9-12 months and bring them to proof of concept. We then seek to lead the A round.

 

what should we bring for the first meeting? (executive sumery,business plan, presentation)
Prior to the initial meeting, please send us an executive summary which includes management bios. For the first meeting, please bring a presentation which covers:

• The product
• The market
• Management
• Competition
• Competitive advantage
• Financial forecast
• Funding sought and use of proceeds

What investments did you make 2006-2007, and what are you looking for in 2008?
In 2006-7 Giza made a number of new investments in the fields of Internet and Enterprise Software including:

• Yadata - a technology for marketing intelligence
• Koolanoo - Operates vertical social networks, including one of the largest social networks in China
• CellGuide - which creates integrated GPS solutions for mobile devices
• SemantiNet - Semantic Web applications
• Viral Gurus - a platform for viral marketing
• Double Trump - Creators of a micro-licensing platform for software

In 2008, Giza will continue to expand our portfolio of leading companies in all sectors.

Your tip for an entrepreneur
Come prepared. Know the details of your product, your market, and your business model. Show that you have passion and commitment to the company.

How many women work at GIZA?
Eight, not including administrative staff. Among them are Managing Director Elka Nir, who heads Giza's Life Sciences sector; Linda Hufnagel, Giza's Director of Investment Relations; and Daniela Dinar, Giza's Director of HR.; Vered Digmy, an Associate who deals with Investor Relations and information systems; and Noa Korem, an Analyst in the Life Sciences sector.

How to contact you?
Ramat Aviv Tower

40 Einstein St. , 12 th floor

Tel Aviv, 61172

ISRAEL

Tel: +972 3 640 2318

Website:

http://www.gizavc.com

http://blogiza.typepad.com

Aaron Rothenberg

Investment Manager

+ 972 3 640 2310

aaron@gizavc.com