ICON - Israel Collaboration Network

That was quite a ride! Yesterday’s US VC Road Trip panel was an absolute #FullHouse with over 150 founders coming together to sharpen their fundraising strategies. Missed it? Here’s a quick recap of the key takeaways (and a refresher for those who didn’t): Barak Schoster Goihman compared selecting an investor to a “#Catholic marriage”—a lifelong commitment. His advice? Start building relationships with potential investors long before your funding round. They should feel like true partners. Amit Karp advised checking in quarterly to stay on their radar. We debated the value of smaller U.S. design #partners vs. larger Israeli ones. Amit Karp stressed the importance of securing U.S. customers as you approach advanced rounds. VCs want to see sophisticated clients who truly value your product rather than your university buddy. Shay M. urged founders to choose VCs focused on their sector. Cybersecurity? Fintech? Pick a specialist for tailored connections and insights. Since we #LOVE learning from others' mistakes, Ayala ( Aya ) Peterburg shared that she prefers founders to tell their story without relying on slides during the first meeting. A clear, engaging narrative helps create a stronger connection and keeps the focus on you. Aaron Rinberg also highlighted the importance of respecting competitors—claiming "we have no competition" is a #red flag. Did we mention our very own Noa Topaz moderated the panel brilliantly? A huge THANK YOU to our partners, Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the collaboration, our speakers, and all the founders who joined. P.S. Speakers are offering exclusive #1:1 office hours for attendees. Check your inbox for the application form! Yasmin Lukatz I Jessica Hare I Noa Topaz I Heli Pomerantz Gerber I Liat Miller I Yaniv Benji I Noa Eilon | Shani Yavin | Ravit Sasson | Lian Swirsky | Tav Spector-Levi | Becky Riji

Huge news to kick off the weekend! Our very own SV101 by ICON alum, Yaniv Nissenboim, co-founder & CEO of Hexagate, has achieved an incredible exit. Blockchain giant Chainalysis has acquired Hexagate in a $60M deal—and we couldn’t be prouder! A huge congratulations to Yaniv and the entire Hexagate team on this remarkable achievement! Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dZFtHQRx

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp became CEO of LEGO at 35 and pulled off one of the most legendary turnarounds in business history. I had the chance to sit down with Jørgen for a fireside chat, where we talked about his leadership journey, LEGO’s cultural shift, and how the company keeps evolving. Jørgen’s curiosity and love of learning are contagious — it’s a big part of why I am inspired by him as a leader and honored to call him a close friend. Check out the full chat here: https://lnkd.in/ggPsmjFc Special thanks to our incredible partners Yasmin Lukatz and Noa Topaz at ICON - Israel Collaboration Network and Idan Netser at Sidley Austin LLP for co-hosting this event with us at Innovation Endeavors. the LEGO Group

When your first interaction with your future boss starts with: “No one has ever spoken to me that way”, It’s a powerful start. Shortly after, at just 35 years old, Jørgen became LEGO’s CEO. Now, the full Fireside Chat with Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, former LEGO CEO, is available! Interviewed by Dror Berman, Founding Partner at Innovation Endeavors and ICON’s Steering Committee member, Jørgen shares his leadership journey and invaluable insights. Here’s a glimpse of one: “When moving from idea to product, there’s no analytical answer—only an experiential one. You try, you test, and you learn.” That’s just a taste of this ICONic session. We won’t spoil the rest - swap out your usual podcast and hear the full recording below. https://lnkd.in/dkEDsxdX Yasmin Lukatz I Jessica Hare I Noa Topaz I Heli Pomerantz Gerber I Liat Miller I Yaniv Benji I Noa Eilon | Shani Yavin | Sidley Austin LLP

It’s that time of the year We are now accepting applications for SV101 by ICON batch 17.   We’re looking for founders who are all in—the kind of people who don’t let anything stand in their way. #Founders across all verticals who have raised at least $1M or built significant revenue are exactly who we want to meet. SV101 is about more than just a program - it’s about #connecting with people who’ve been there, done that, and can actually help. It’s for founders who want to engage with the sharpest minds in Silicon Valley and push their startups forward. Applications close on January 18, 2025 (No, it’s not a typo. You have one month to apply.) For more details and to apply: https://lnkd.in/dmWypAzT In the photo? One of the best parts of being part of the SV101 alumni founders network - experiencing ICONic #retreats together. Yasmin Lukatz I Jessica Hare I Noa Topaz I Heli Pomerantz Gerber I Liat Miller I Yaniv Benji I Noa Eilon | Shani Yavin

From Dog Food to Disruption: The Birth of Taskrabbit 🐾 It all started with a simple need - Leah Solivan needed dog food but couldn’t spare the time to fetch it herself. Back in 2008, when Meta was really popular and Twitter was just emerging, Leah recognized a unique opportunity. She saw how social, location, and mobile technologies could come together to create a robust service networking infrastructure. And thus, TaskRabbit was born! In our upcoming Fireside Chat, we’ll feature Leah Solivan, Founder and former CEO of Taskrabbit, interviewed by Elizabeth Weil, Founder & Managing Partner at Scribble Ventures. In the early days of Taskrabbit, Leah rolled up her sleeves and completed tasks herself. Her dedication and vision fueled the company’s impressive #growth. This success ultimately led to a strategic partnership with IKEA, culminating in a successful exit to the Swedish furniture giant. We’ll hear the full extraordinary growth journey. The event will take place on January 13th at 6 PM at OFJCC in Palo Alto. Apply here to join: https://lnkd.in/dBS3HegJ Read more about our speakers here: https://lnkd.in/d5HvWrqH

Big News for our SV101 by ICON alum, Astrix Security! Astrix Security has successfully raised $45 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total investment to an impressive $85 million since its inception. A huge congratulations to SV101 by ICON alumni Alon Jackson, Idan Gour, and the entire Astrix team on this milestone. The funding round was led by Menlo Ventures through the Anthology Fund, a strategic partnership with Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude. The round also saw participation from several other venture firms, including our partners at F2 Venture Capital. Read more about their round here: https://lnkd.in/dGYwwkuX

It was so nice meeting you all! Our 1:1 office hours with Yasmin Lukatz, ICON’s founder and executive director, brought together #founders from diverse industries, stages, and fields for personalized, impactful sessions in our office. The one thing they all shared? A #passionate drive to succeed and overcome obstacles. A huge thank you to everyone who applied! Due to the overwhelming interest, we’ll be opening up another round of 1:1 sessions with Yasmin in February. You can apply now right here: https://lnkd.in/dcEUyRhM Lior Wayn | Noam Cohen 🙋🏻♂️ | Noa Srebrnik | Naama Mashiach | Adam Cheriki | Meital A. | Guy Eisdorfer | Shir Papo | Chen Berger | Dana Locker | Meitar Yanai

Meet (Some) of Our Mentors! Our Office Hours are officially live, and we’re excited to introduce just a few of the top-tier investors, executives, and SV professionals who will be part of our program. These are only a handful of the amazing #mentors you'll have the chance to connect with in exclusive 1:1 sessions. Stay tuned to meet them all! Apply here: https://lnkd.in/dYA6G-5G Here we go: 🔹 Adit Parekh drives product strategy and corporate development at Freshworks, focusing on expanding its product portfolio. Adit leverages his expertise in business strategy to accelerate company growth. 🔹 Alex Lazovsky is the General Partner of Palo Alto Growth Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in growth-stage investments in transformative technology sectors, including AI, Cloud Technologies, and HPC (High-Performance Computing). Alex’s expertise lies in partnering with exceptional founders to help scale their companies, navigate complex growth challenges, and drive disruptive innovation. 🔹 Alon Kantor is a Partner at 10D, where Alon focuses on identifying and supporting high-potential deep-tech companies, focusing on Cyber and Defense-Tech. Alon’s extensive experience as an entrepreneur, corporate buyer and investor, enables him to guide companies towards success. 🔹 Angelo Del Priore is a Partner at HP Tech Ventures, driving investments in transformative technologies. Angelo identifies strategic growth opportunities that align with HP's mission of innovation. 🔹 Buddy Arnheim is the Founder and General Partner at Lobby Capital, where Buddy invests in early-stage enterprise tech. Buddy combines entrepreneurial experience with a passion for growing innovative startups. 🔹 Dana Eli-Lorch is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Vesey Ventures, backing the companies that will transform financial services. She focuses on fintech infrastructure and enterprise tech. She has extensive experience helping founders bridge the gap from sandbox tech to enterprise adoption, set up strategic partnerships and GTM strategies within the financial services industry, and drive product innovation. 🔹 Joydeep Bhattacharyya is a General Partner at Canaan, focusing on investments in early-stage enterprise software and cybersecurity startups. Joydeep's expertise in scaling high-growth companies is pivotal in driving their success. 🔹 Nadav Lev is the CTO at YL Ventures, leading technology strategy and innovation to drive growth across the firm’s portfolio. Nadav leverages his expertise in product development to shape impactful tech solutions. 🔹 Ruth Foxe Blader is a General Partner at Foxe Capital, where she focuses on pre-seed stage investments across sectors. Ruth helps her portfolio companies run structured experiments to guide early growth.

The time has come Introducing SV101 by ICON Batch 16! Meet the 13 outstanding #startups selected from over 150 applicants for our upcoming batch, set to take place from January 6-17, 2025 in Silicon Valley. They have no idea what’s waiting for them - but trust us, the best is yet to come! A huge thank you to our dedicated #partners for their invaluable contributions in helping us select our next batch from such a talented pool of startups. A note to all the founders who applied: remember, there’s always another batch! Some of our most successful alumni got in on their second or even third try. Let’s give them a warm welcome. 🚀Asaf Yanai | Alison.ai | Or Israel | Ofir Israel | bananaz | David Talinovsky | Bluespine | Gil Perry D-ID | Sharon Barr | Early | Maayan Salom | Or Avidov | Elementary | Guy Korland | FalkorDB | Elad Schulman | Lior Ziv | Lasso Security | Ely Abramovitch | Michael Gladishev | Legion | Dor Vardi | Samplead | Yehuda Niv | Nir Kenner | Spines | Nir Gazit | Gal Kleinman | Traceloop | Yasmin Dunsky | Wild Moose