“Smart money should look at Israel,” said Melanie Sturm, a top-level private investor who visited the country last week on OurCrowd’s Israel Resilience Tour.
Sturm, a high-net-worth individual and the founder of Engage to Win, who has been investing in Israel since 2016, said that “when sophisticated markets are down, and other factors that usually affect market values are fine – resources, talent, ideas –” it is the best time to invest.
She said that during the economic downturn of 2008, she was advised to increase her investments but was hesitant. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when markets faltered, she took that advice and “it has worked out well – very well.”
Look at Israel's survival
So, Sturm said, now is the time to look at Israel.“Our wounds are centuries old, but so are our resilience and strength,” Sturm, herself Jewish, said. We have been through this before. We have overcome before, and we will again.”
She added, “Israelis are smart about using their intelligence to make the world a better place… I want to be a part of that.”
Sturm invested in OurCrowd’s Israel Resilience Fund, which developed shortly after October 7. The fund provides critical financing to companies impacted by the war. Investors benefit from discounted valuations and a no-fee structure. In December, OurCrowd Founder and CEO Jon Medved offered some of the top investors in the fund a chance to take a resilience tour of the country. Sturm said she looked at the itinerary and agreed to come this month.
Tour participants were in the country from March 11 to 13. They took part in onsite demos of start-up technologies solving critical infrastructure, military and security needs, held in-person discussions with start-up CEOs on their businesses and their resilience, and met with high-profile decision-makers who could provide insight into the situation on the ground.“Our investors came from across the globe to bear witness to Hamas atrocities with their own eyes, but also to observe the resilience of the Israeli people, especially its founders and entrepreneurs,” said Alon Tal, OurCrowd partner and senior vice president of investor relations. “The investors came away inspired at the tenacity and strength of the Israeli tech ecosystem in the face of adversity.”Sturm said, “The tour showed that these companies are resilient.”One of the companies that Sturm invests in, Carrar, is located in Sderot, and many of its employees were targeted on October 7. Carrar provides technology that increases the capacity and duration of batteries for electric vehicles. Since the massacre, many of its key staff members have been in the army reserves. Sturm said, “Things are back on track for them, but living and working in their building is not easy. While we were there, all day long, we heard bombings.”The sounds were Israel targeting Hamas, Sturm was informed. But she said that the constant booms were disturbing nonetheless.Sturm and her family have had tremendous investment success in Israel, putting funds into companies like Beyond Meat and Lemonade, which went public in the last five years.“Israel has an extraordinary human capital base, and its people have unique skill sets and acumen. Almost every company we met got their idea from being in the military,” Sturm noted. “I think they make a sacrifice spending so much time in the military, but the payback is they get their acumen and skills. Investing in these companies makes me feel really good.”She said that Israeli technology continues to help the world, powering phones, protecting computers, making farms more sustainable, and more.“The Jewish people have many built-in circuit breakers that enable us to take on the tragedies of life knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Sturm concluded. We will survive. We will overcome.”