The Peel(@ThePeelPod):Israel's entire startup industry was kicked off by one government decision in 1993. From @orenzeev: "The real game changer was, believe it or not, the government. In 1993 they decided to kick off a venture industry. But they didn't try to pick managers or invest directly. Instead, they sponsored eight funds of $20 million each. The government put in $8 million, and gave the other LPs an option to buy the government's stake five years later at cost. A free kicker. But the managers still had to raise $12 million themselves. So the market decided who was real, not a bureaucrat. No corruption. Those eight funds are the basis of the whole industry today."

2026.10.25 20:04

Israel's entire startup industry was kicked off by one government decision in 1993. From @orenzeev: "The real game changer was, believe it or not, the government. In 1993 they decided to kick off a venture industry. But they didn't try to pick managers or invest directly. Instead, they sponsored eight funds of $20 million each. The government put in $8 million, and gave the other LPs an option to buy the government's stake five years later at cost. A free kicker. But the managers still had to raise $12 million themselves. So the market decided who was real, not a bureaucrat. No corruption. Those eight funds are the basis of the whole industry today."

Turner Novak 🍌🧢@TurnerNovak

2026.10.23 14:48

New @ThePeelPod with @orenzeev He manages $2.7B across 11 funds with no team. He has no meetings, doesn't write investment memos, and has never shown an LP a single slide from a deck. We get in to the 30-minute conversation that turned into his first fund, why most partners add negative value, the days his calendar is empty enough to surf on a Tuesday, his fund that had only five companies (and why diversification is a lie), how Navan went from a $90M run rate to zero in a month (and survived), why he does cross-fund investing, refusing DPI when LP's want it, and the 30-year history of Israel's startup economy. Full episode here + links below. Timestamps: 0:00 Running $2.7B with no team or partners 1:58 How one person can beat a team 4:43 Omission beats commission: why committees miss 7:13 What really fills a partnership's day 9:23 The returns business, not the production business 10:58 A week in his nearly empty calendar 16:49 The mistakes new solo GP's make 19:34 Eleven funds, zero slides 22:09 No thesis 24:28 Why diversification doesn't work 27:14 The fund with only five companies 30:44 TripActions insight: everyone hates their travel software 34:59 Paying employees to spend less 37:34 COVID: $90M run rate to zero 39:24 How Navan survived 41:34 A $100M round with no way to price it 44:29 Keeping the team: the real test of leadership 46:04 What Oren looks for in founders 50:39 Cross-fund investing, and "trust me, bro" 53:59 Always his own biggest LP 55:14 The DPI stand that cost him LP's 58:54 Decart, and the Anthropic deal 1:03:54 Inside the 30-year rise of Israel's tech ecosystem 1:07:19 The Yozma program that built an industry 1:11:59 Why Israelis build now instead of selling early 1:14:39 Moving to the Valley in the 2002 nuclear winter 1:17:19 Audible, and why the first home run matters 1:19:29 Leaving Apax, and going solo 1:22:04 Peter Thiel and a fund raised in 30 minutes 1:24:24 The second fund: 48 hours, still no deck 1:25:49 ICON: helping Israeli founders crack the Valley 1:30:29 The leader he admires most: Anwar Sadat

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