Jon Medved: Equity Crowdfunding, Venture Capital & Angel Investing | SALT Talks #92

TL;DR

Jonathan Medved, founder and CEO of OurCrowd, discusses the democratization of venture capital and the opportunities in the UAE following the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE.

Transcript

hello everyone and welcome back to salt talks my name is john darcy i'm the managing director of salt which is a global thought leadership forum and networking platform at the intersection of finance technology and public policy salt talks are a digital interview series that we launched during this work from home period with leading investors creat... Read More

Key Insights

• ♿ OurCrowd aims to democratize access to venture capital, providing opportunities for accredited investors who may not have had access to this asset class previously.
• 🤗 The normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE opens up significant investment opportunities, particularly in joint ventures, investment, and research and development.
• 😋 The pandemic has accelerated certain trends and created new opportunities in various sectors, such as telemedicine, food tech, and supply chain optimization.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does OurCrowd onboard investors and ensure their accreditation?

OurCrowd has a relatively frictionless onboarding process using a third-party vendor to verify investor accreditation. It is a one-day process, and investors gain access to the platform and investment opportunities.

Q: What is the geographic focus of the deals on OurCrowd?

While OurCrowd is headquartered in Israel, it aims to be a global platform. Currently, around 54% of the deal flow is from Israel, with the remaining 46% from outside of Israel, including the US, China, and Europe.

Q: How does OurCrowd source highly competitive deals?

OurCrowd's network of investors and portfolio companies is a significant source of deal flow. Entrepreneurs bring deals to OurCrowd due to their trust in the platform's added value, which includes strategic introductions and networking opportunities.

Q: What are some second and third derivative effects of the pandemic that OurCrowd is investing in?

OurCrowd's pandemic innovation fund focuses on investments related to both the direct medical aspects of the pandemic (diagnostic testing, vaccines) and the new normal (telemedicine, food tech, supply chain optimization). For example, companies like Ripple (plant-based milk) and Tovala (smart oven and prepackaged food) have seen increased demand during the pandemic.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• OurCrowd is a global equity crowdfunding platform that provides access to venture capital investments for accredited investors, aiming to democratize the asset class.

• The normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE opens up significant investment and business opportunities, with a focus on joint ventures, investment, and research and development.

• The pandemic innovation fund by OurCrowd focuses on investing in companies addressing the challenges and opportunities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, such as telemedicine, food tech, and supply chain optimization.