“You're constantly changing, and you're constantly evolving.”

Building a bridge between entrepreneurs and investors was one of Shelly Hod Moyal’s goals when she co-founded iAngels. She had investment experience and many contacts in the Israeli tech ecosystem, and she saw the need for better partnerships based on trust and transparency. Hod Moyal explains that, as a women-led VC, iAngels also seeks to bring more women into the ecosystem as founders and investors. Supporting more female leaders seems to be paying off as the company has grown a lot in seven years. Hod Moyal shares that she enjoys continuing to learn every aspect of the business. She is fascinated by looking back at how her ways of thinking have changed over the years and how people evolve, but she doesn’t dwell on mistakes of the past. Hod Moyal focuses on what she can control today and on continuing to learn.

 

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Shelly, tell me a little bit about yourself.

I actually started my career in investing. I started at UBS, and then I worked at Avenue Capital as a trader and analyst. Afterwards at Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking division. I always saw myself as an investor.

I founded iAngels eight years ago with Mor Assia. We built iAngels as a startup. We weren't looking to build a VC in any way. We felt that there was a real need for entrepreneurs to connect with the world and for serious investors looking for relevant opportunities and high caliber entrepreneurs. We saw an opportunity to connect between these two worlds because we came from these two worlds. We both had experience working with investors, and we were also from a burgeoning generation of entrepreneurs.

We started making phone calls, traveling the world, and speaking with people. We built a product and brought on engineers and product people. Basically, we created a really easy way for people to build their own VC in a way that's professional and investment-grade.

In those early days, what was the vision?

When we started, the mission was mainly to provide capital, awareness, and access to the Israeli tech ecosystem. When we were traveling the world, there were a lot of deals in Israel that weren't successful because the communication wasn't successful.

Before we started iAngels, our chairman, David Assia, had a portfolio of many startups and he kept chasing them for updates. The startups that were successful, he never heard from them. The only ones that he did have the chance to follow up were the ones that kept asking for more capital. It was very difficult to keep track of. There was no standardization of how KPIs are presented, how information is presented, or the deal structure that makes sense for everyone.

The vision was to change all of that and to really empower an ecosystem that's partnership-driven and win-win-driven. This is what we're all about. For our entrepreneurs, we build strong relationships with them that are based on trust, communication, and responsiveness on one hand. And on the other hand, from the investor perspective, also transparency, fairness, and the ability to get all the information and make educated decisions.

It was eight years ago when it started, right?

The ideation phase started eight years ago. Seven years ago, we started investing. That first year, we invested $500,000. In the second year, we invested a million dollars. Today, we're actually managing over $350 million. We've invested in a hundred startups. We've had 23 exits. We've built a VC fund and a crypto hedge fund. Now, we're raising an opportunities fund.

What role does iAngels play if you look from a bird's eye view at the tech ecosystem?

I think that the most significant thing that iAngels provides is a new approach and a new way of doing things: a process that is structured, that is methodological, that at any point you know what you can expect.

From the portfolio company's point of view, we're incredibly flexible. We can answer many of our entrepreneurs' financial needs. We try to be the best investor that we can for entrepreneurs. The type of investor that we want for ourselves.

Being the female-owned and -led VC, how significant was that from the beginning? Was that a part of the mission?

Not at all. First of all, we encourage many women to join the ecosystem. We see ourselves as a springboard for women. Part of our agenda is not to be the only women-led VC, but rather to bring in more women to the ecosystem and empower more women to be doing what we do.

I didn't mean only. I meant a female-led VC.

But one thing I noticed, by the way, is that without even trying, we end up investing in a lot of women. I think that we're not gender blind. We're less biased, to be honest.

We're doing this video for the end of the year because we had an incredible year. We had 11 exits and many big rounds, unicorns. Then I noticed, "Wow. There are a lot of women in this film, a lot of women founders and CEOs.”

Which part of this whole process does Shelly really enjoy?

I really love everything. I really love all the work, building iAngels, just riding this incredible wave, learning, and being involved in all aspects of the business.

You have eight years as a pioneer in what you do and you're poised to constantly think about, "Am I doing the right thing?” What's happening in the ecosystem perhaps that you think we need to improve on?

I accept what is and try to make the most of it. In every situation, I see benefits and I see disadvantages. A lot of people, for example, ask me, "Are we in a bubble? Is this good, the valuations?" As an investor, it does make things more challenging. There are good things about it as well. When there's a lot of money and there's a lot of interest, this also brings a lot of talent. That trickles down also to students, for example, who are deciding what their career paths should be. Regarding iAngels, if we could or couldn't have done better, I don't think about these things. It's not something that I have any control over. The only thing I actually can control is what I'm doing today.

Where do you see the biggest growth for you personally in the last eight years?

The experience of building a business is very broad. It's very humbling. Over the years, I learned how much I don't know and really come to appreciate that. It's very helpful to be thoughtful and try to learn quickly from mistakes. I think it made me a better listener.

Was founding iAngels a similar journey to what some of your founders are experiencing with their startups?

I'm sure there are similarities. Because when Mor and I started, it was just the two of us. You read every single contract; you're on every single call. You're making sales pitches. For someone who for my whole life I was behind Excel spreadsheets, that was very enlightening.

There was a second stage where we raised a little bit of capital. We brought in our first employees. How do you adjust to that? How do you become a manager?

And today, we're experiencing other issues like scaling, how do you make things better and more efficient, how do you build a culture, and how do you create a DNA where people want to stay. I think many of our founders go through the things and the questions that we go through.

Growing up in Petah Tikva, what sparked your curiosity?

When I was in sixth grade, I had my first deep conversation with a friend, and I felt so empowered. Every few years, I’ve looked back at myself then, and I said, "Wow. I can't believe I thought that way then." It happened to me literally every single year. It still happens sometimes.

It really made me realize that you're not really you. You're just you today. And you're constantly changing and you're constantly evolving. That's something that fascinated me.

What are a few words that Mor or any of your entrepreneurs or investors would think of when they hear the name Shelly Hod Moyal?

I'm relentless. I'm a learner. I love to read. And adventurous.

Michael Matias, Forbes 30 Under 30, is the author of Age is Only an Int: Lessons I Learned as a Young Entrepreneur. He studies Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University, is a Venture Partner at J-Ventures and was an engineer at Hippo Insurance. Matias previously served as an officer in the 8200 unit. 20MinuteLeaders is a tech entrepreneurship interview series featuring one-on-one interviews with fascinating founders, innovators and thought leaders sharing their journeys and experiences.

 

Contributing editors: Michael Matias, Megan Ryan