“After the war, the founders will be even more eager to change the world”

“I believe even though these are challenging times, people understand that we live only once,” said Dr. Adi Hoorvitch-Lavi, VP of Investments and Growth at Poalim Tech. “After the war and after they come back from being drafted and from the frontline, they will definitely seek to rebuild themselves and will open new startups… I really believe in the Israeli entrepreneur characteristics and I’m sure we will see new amazing startups in 2024.”

Hoorvitch-Lavi made the remarks during a panel discussion at Roadshow+, an event hosted by Calcalist and Poalim Tech bringing together investors and startups looking to connect and network in the hope of investment opportunities. She was joined by Glilot Capital Partners Co-founder & Managing Partner Kobi Samboursky, Blumberg Capital Managing Director Yodfat Harel Buchris, and Vertex Ventures General Partner Emanuel Timor - each of whom shared insights about the state of the ecosystem.

“After the war, the founders will be even more eager to change the world,” said Harel Buchris. “We are really looking forward to welcoming these founders and investing in them and changing the world with them. I think the war was a great reminder for all our founders that it is a team effort… The team effort is building stronger companies and this is what we will see in 2024 and 2025. The ideas will be much bigger and more significant than the war.”

In total, 18 companies were selected out of 220 applicants to present their pitch at the Roadshow+ event, including startups in the fields of cybersecurity, climate tech, fintech, software development, and more. The Roadshow+ event is now in its third year and offers entrepreneurs in stages from Pre-Seed to A a platform to expose their ventures to Israel's leading investors.

Despite the war with Hamas, Israel has continued to persevere with events designed to promote the resilience of Startup Nation. The event temporarily was paused after Hamas broke international law by firing rockets indiscriminately at civilians, forcing participants into an emergency bunker, yet spirits remained high and optimistic for a brighter future.

“I was a young entrepreneur during 9/11 in Manhattan,” explained Samboursky. “For me, there are a lot of similarities. I think for those who have been able to continue to push their businesses, looking back this was a good opportunity because companies that did make it back then became very big today. I think whoever continues to push hard has an opportunity to build strong businesses… I think the companies starting now are pushing forward and will be even better than the companies that started in 2021.”

As 2023 comes to an end, 2024 is expected to see more startups rise from the ashes - but warnings from all the investors encourage a speedy process to make sure they maximize their chances for survival.

“I think this is a special moment, two trains are coming together,” said Timor. “One is the correction in the market, and the second is the war, which does slow down processes. I think the concept of having the government support the ecosystem in two ways (startups and investing in the funds) is a rational decision… The most important thing is to do it fast: To be as efficient as possible. There is a time issue for some companies, and the early-stage companies need that funding fast.”

You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.