Pitching Venture Capitalists can be a very daunting task. The venture capital industry is full of sharks, and it’s essential to know what you’re doing before shooting your shot. In this interview series, I am going to talk to leading Venture Capitlists, in order to hear from them, firsthand, on how they want to be pitched.In this interview, I talked to Meir Cohen a leading investor from Greenfield Partners.
About Meir:
Originally from New York, Meir moved to Israel in 2012. Following his military service as a Paratrooper, he pursued an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Finance from IDC Herzliya (Reichman University).
After spending some time on the investment team at TFRG Capital, a boutique real estate investment firm, Meir shifted his focus to venture capital and joined Greenfield Partners, an early growth stage VC.
How do you prefer to be contacted by an entrepreneur?
I don’t believe there’s a single method of getting in contact. Some of the most amazing entrepreneurs I’ve met have been through cold outreach, mutual friends and connections, or even striking up conversation with an entrepreneur sitting next to me on a plane. No matter the context, I’ve always appreciated the conversations and relationships I’ve had the pleasure of building. Feel free to reach me at
What is the first thing you notice about an entrepreneur?
Their passion – some of the best entrepreneurs are able to communicate their vision and excitement beyond the pitch deck. It’s a challenging task keeping your long-term vision front and center amidst the turbulence of a company’s early stages, but the ability to use that vision and excitement as their north star to successfully navigate and scale their company always impresses me.
How long does it usually take you to make a decision regarding an investment?
At Greenfield, we’ve always placed an emphasis on our deep due diligence process, it’s baked into our DNA from our private equity roots. Furthermore, we are looking to develop long-term partnerships and therefore want to make sure that both our team and the company’s team know each other well and want to work together in the long run. At the same time, we’re very mindful of the entrepreneurs’ timeline and the rate at which they’d like to close. We get to our initial go/no-go in a matter of days and if we move forward, we’re capable of putting forth a term sheet in two weeks’ time.
What do you wish entrepreneurs knew before meeting with you?
As an investor, I believe that the relationships with entrepreneurs are just as important, if not more so, than any business plan or KPI. Plans often change and the road to success is a bumpy one, making it even more important to surround yourself with the right people who will support you throughout the journey.
At Greenfield we value cultivating relationships with entrepreneurs well before they reach our investment stage. On average we have 26+ touchpoints with entrepreneurs prior to kicking off any investment process. So, if you’re an entrepreneur, we would be happy to build a relationship with you and see how we can be helpful with anything along the journey, whether or not your company is at our investment stage.
What tech verticals are you most interested in?
That’s a tough question since the Israeli tech scene is incredibly exciting across many different verticals. If I had to choose one, I would say cloud related technology: everything from Infrastructure Management to DevOps and the adjacent areas such as, CloudOps, AIOps, and Observability. Another topic I’m passionate about is the RevOps tech stack and technologies that aim to bridge the gap between the historically siloed operations of the marketing, sales, and customers success teams.
What has been the most memorable pitch you remember?
I’ve had the pleasure of listening to so many, it’s difficult to choose just one from the amazing pool of talent in Israel. Using one of our portfolio companies as an example, I vividly recall the first time I met with the team at Coralogix. The company’s founders, Ariel Assaraf and Yoni Farin, have an amazing ethos; they only bring in people who are, hungry, humble, and smart (in that order). It was such an exciting conversation that I still reflect on, and remains a defining characteristic of the company today.
How do you handle the stress of being an investor?
Even before the pandemic, Israel’s tech ecosystem has and continues to generate a lot of global excitement. On that account, there’s an endless amount of work to be done in the industry. Being an investor is often a mix of spreadsheets, meetings, and investment committees, while the typical day to day is usually busy and sometimes stressful. I find the best way to navigate the stress is to take a moment and reflect on my surroundings – there’s an exceptional community of visionaries, entrepreneurs, investors, and other great individuals that add so much meaning to the work. Thinking back on the interactions I’ve had makes me feel fortunate to be a part of this community.
What books or movies do you recommend to entrepreneurs?
Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson – it’s far more than just ‘the survival guide’ to fundraising. It effectively levels the playing field and contextualizes the interests of all stakeholders in the fundraising process such as the founders, board members, VCs, and others.
Entrepreneurs are incredibly busy and lead demanding lives. When they need to kick back, relax, and enjoy a movie, I highly recommend The Shawshank Redemption. Aside from being the best movie of all time, there’s a lot of lessons in strategy and patience that entrepreneurs and investors alike can learn from Andy Dufresne.
About Greenfield Partners
Greenfield Partners is an investment firm focused on exceptional early growth stage technology businesses. With a dual presence in Tel Aviv and New York, the Greenfield team fuses deep local Israeli roots and an expansive global network to support entrepreneurs in their quest to build thriving technology companies. For more information, please visit www.greenfield-growth.com.