Mind the Tech NY
"When you invest in early stages, you're betting on the entrepreneur"
Rachel ten Brink, general partner at Red Bike Capital, was speaking at the female entrepreneurship panel at the Calcalist and Bank Leumi New York 2026 Mind the Tech conference; Dr. Gal Noyman Veksler, partner at LionBird, added that investors want entrepreneurs "with a real understanding of the field in which they operate."
Female entrepreneur panel (from right): Hila Rom, Rachel ten Brink, Dina Pasca-Raz, Dr. Gal Noyman Veksler, Ally Golan, Kira Vanderwert
(Reyan Preuss, Tomeriko)
"Sometimes you hear a founder who is eloquent and focused, with an amazing pitch and great technology, but then it turns out there is no real problem he is solving," said Dina Pasca-Raz, Partner and Head of Technology at KPMG Israel, at a panel held as part of the Yazamiyot (female entrepreneurs) event at the Calcalist and Bank Leumi New York 2026 Mind the Tech Conference.
The panel was moderated by Hila Rom, Founding Partner at FutureFirst, and also included Rachel ten Brink, General Partner at Red Bike Capital; Dr. Gal Noyman Veksler, Partner at LionBird; Ally Golan, Managing Partner at Trust Capital Partners; and Kira Vanderwert, Partner at Outsiders Fund.
Let's talk about the X Factor. Everyone has a different angle. What makes you decide that an entrepreneur has what it takes to invest in them?
Noyman Veksler: "We are a specialized fund that invests in digital health, and there is no single recipe that defines what is most important. When we talk about the X Factor, we check which cycle we are in the world of entrepreneurship. We are looking for entrepreneurs who know what they are talking about, and especially those who know what questions to ask when building their solutions.
"In the last three years, we have learned that one of the most important things is resilience. We want entrepreneurs who come not only with experience from previous fundraising, but also with a real understanding of the field in which they operate. We need entrepreneurs who really know the business they are building, and we want those who have the best fit."
Rachel ten Brink : "The reality is that when you invest in very early stages, you're essentially betting on the entrepreneur. I ask myself if this person can build what they promise to build. I was an early stage entrepreneur myself, and I know that it takes resilience to break down walls, but also enough wisdom to know how to get around them and get to the next stage.
"That ability, that personal resilience, that drive and that commercial sense are important. So is the ability to be energy and capital efficient, and to take the business to the next level. To me, those are the qualities, that X factor, that founders need to get our focus."
Anyone who has founded a company knows that there is a huge difference between writing the checks and being a partner in building the story. How does that work with your founders?
Vanderwert: “When we lead deals, we commit to being partners with the entrepreneurs. One example that comes to mind is a company we backed that took a long time to build their product, which was very technical, and at some point they started running out of money. They were trying to raise money and were struggling, and we urged them to hire investment banking services.
“During this process, I heard them pitch the company. The entrepreneur was great technically, he had a vision and he was really building something innovative, but he was terrible at telling the story of his business. So we abandoned the banker-finding process, and we went through a process with the company to refine their story, and now they’re pitching a real business to a whole new set of investors.
“We went very deep into the process, reworked their model, and I rewrote some of their documents. They ended up having an oversubscribed round.”
Golan: "In our core, we invest in early stages, and many times our entrepreneurs have advanced technology but a very preliminary product. We started working with a portfolio of companies long before we invested in them, and we brought in a large media company to do a pilot with them. This gave them an advantage in building the strategy, and it was a game changer for the company.
"The way I see it, the entrepreneur is in the driver's seat, and we are in the passenger seat. Our role is to support the company and the entrepreneurs, and help them increase revenue as part of their journey."
Sometimes we listen to an amazing pitch, everything sounds fantastic, but something still feels wrong. Can you tell us about any red flags you've encountered?
Pasca-Raz: "Full disclosure, I don't invest, but we usually see the founders at a very early stage. The Israeli entrepreneurs come with great ideas and great technology, and they have an amazing pitch and you say: 'Wow, the technology is amazing.' But then you discover that they have a solution that's not necessarily a real problem that they're trying to solve. There's no pain and no real audience.
"So sometimes you hear a founder who is extremely eloquent and focused, but then you think about it and say: This is a great plan, all the boxes are checked, but there is no problem or pain. And then who is your customer? It's kind of a glitch. So you have to be super sharp about the scope of the problem you're coming to solve. It has to be a problem that keeps someone up at night, and you're the one who's coming to help them, and they'll be willing to pay for it."
Noyman Veksler: "One of the most important things to pay attention to, especially in the healthcare field where there is a lot of regulation, is the small details. When we look at entrepreneurs, and this sometimes happens even six months before we invest in them, we want to see their thought process and the process of translating thinking into action."
"Ultimately, the founder chooses you, and you in a sense choose them. We want them to ask the right questions, especially in an industry that sometimes seems illogical, like healthcare in the US. We ask how deep they go in their thought process. Flexibility is also important. If they're not moving fast enough, you have to ask how they're going to be able to meet the real task of building success."
Watch the full panel discussion in the video above.
