In an interview with CTech, Lee Moser, Managing Partner and Founder at AnD Ventures, talks about her unique fund and what she is doing to support other women entrepreneurs
“I am a female entrepreneur, and I come from a fund where almost everyone is a woman, however, only 1 in 50 applications is a woman entrepreneur. So I thought ‘how can I create awareness'”, said Lee Moser, Managing Partner and Founder at AnD Ventures. “I published a post and lots of people contacted me so I thought, let’s create an event and bring high quality startups and have them meet investors.“
This led to Moser organizing an event last month under the title ‘Wonder Founder’ centered around women entrepreneurs that receive a stage to pitch in front of potential investors. She shared with CTech her philosophy about assisting other women during the event.
Moser comes from a political background, she served as the Chief of Staff to Israel’s Ambassador to the USA, Michael Oren, and then moved on to corporate banking before finally landing at VC fund iAngels. She joined the female led fund as the investor relations manager and eventually became a partner, building an investor community and managing the portfolio for six years. These were the foundations for what would later spur AnD Ventures.
What is the special concept of AnD ventures?
“AnD is a studio based fund that includes 10 employees that support portfolio companies and enable the versatility to look at startups that are not yet VC funded. Not because they aren’t good, but because they are just in the beginning. In the early stages sometimes there are new markets that you are afraid to enter. So we welcome them to the studio and offer help where we think we can help. We work with them for as long as necessary and then we can be the first to invest.”
What is your investment range?
$1-$3 million for the first round and we like following up as well. We like to be the first money in and we like to partner with other funds. The studio takes 5% equity even if we don’t invest as there is a large monetary investment on our part from the team.
The fund is very community based. We have 25 growth partners, amazing people that have either built companies, or are at high level corporate positions of innovation. When we lack expertise, we ask them to come and take a look and so if we invest they receive some of our equity.
“In Israel, people will ask you to help them do due diligence so you help them once, twice and the third time you get fed up. I have a job and a life, so the idea is to bring these people in and offer them the opportunity to make money and build a portfolio as well. We split the equity with an open model. My hope and vision is that the rest will follow. Perhaps not all of them, it might not suit everyone but just like there is a new generation of startups, we want to create a generation of new VCs.”
CTech’s She-inspires series follows the stories of various female leaders in Israel. The interviewees hail from various sectors: some work at high level positions in large organizations, some are founders, and some are key players in industries aimed at changing the world for the better. The goal is to learn where they came from, where they are going and how they are bringing inspiration to an entire sector making its way towards a glass ceiling just waiting to burst.
What tip would you have for your younger self?
“Do not get excited over everything. Things fall and break, there are ups and downs. Just take a breadth. Not that I am breathing today, I give myself this tip all the time. You need to be patient and just breathe.”
Article Credits: Ctech