How can values create value? Join Venture Capitalist and Author Michael Eisenberg as he speaks with global business leaders to explore the values and purpose behind their businesses, the impact of technology on humanity, and the humanity behind digitization. Michael Eisenberg is Co-Founder and General Partner of Aleph, an early-stage venture capital fund with $850M under management in Tel Aviv, Israel. Aleph is an early stage venture capital fund focused on partnering with great Israeli entrepreneurs to build large, meaningful companies and impactful global brands.
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How can values create value? Join Venture Capitalist and Author Michael Eisenberg as he speaks with global business leaders to explore the values and purpose behind their businesses, the impact of technology on humanity, and the humanity behind digitization. Michael Eisenberg is Co-Founder and General Partner of Aleph, an early-stage venture capital fund with $850M under management in Tel Aviv, Israel. Aleph is an early stage venture capital fund focused on partnering with great Israeli entrepreneurs to build large, meaningful companies and impactful global brands.
Benchmark GP Sarah Tavel on What She Learned at Bessemer, Greylock, Pinterest and Benchmark, Being an Operator vs. an Investor, and How to Create an AI Moat
Invested by Aleph
1 hour 13 minutes
7 months ago
Benchmark GP Sarah Tavel on What She Learned at Bessemer, Greylock, Pinterest and Benchmark, Being an Operator vs. an Investor, and How to Create an AI Moat
On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts Sarah Tavel. Sarah is a General Partner at Benchmark, where she invests in network effect businesses and applications leveraging AI. Sarah currently sits on the boards of Agentio, Chainalysis, Hipcamp, Rekki, Glide, Cambly, Medely, and 11x. She is also a founding member of All Raise, the nonprofit organization working to accelerate the success of women in the venture capital and VC-backed startup ecosystem. Prior to Benchmark, Sarah was a General Partner at Greylock Partners, where she led their investment in Sonder ($SOND) and Gixo (acquired by Openfit), and represented Greylock on the board of both companies. Sarah joined Pinterest in 2012 after co-leading the Series A investment while at Bessemer Venture Partners. There she was the product lead for search, recommendations, machine vision, and pin quality at Pinterest. As one of the first 35 employees, her first order of business was to launch Pinterest internationally and close the Series C financing. She also led three acquisitions as she helped the company scale through a period of hyper-growth. Sarah graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Philosophy.
Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!
KEY TOPICS
[00:00:00] Intro
[00:04:45] Differences Between Bessemer and Benchmark
[00:09:11] Silicon Valley: Upside Mentality vs. Downside Protection
[00:11:55] Underestimating Market Potential
[00:14:53] Using AI to Reduce Friction and Unlock Market Size
[00:18:02] Operator vs. Investor Mindset
[00:21:05] Lessons from Building Pinterest
[00:24:04] Transitioning from Operator to Investor
[00:26:50] Female Partners and Their Perspective in VC
[00:29:58] Equal Partnership Culture at Benchmark
[00:37:00] Every Company is an AI Company
[00:41:59] AI’s Economic Value and Market Shifts
[00:51:00] What Sarah Wants to See an AI Company Build
[00:55:04] Competing and Winning in Crowded Markets
[01:01:12] Branding’s Role in Venture Capital
[01:09:10] Identity, Growth, and Personal Reflections
RESOURCES
Follow Sarah on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahtavel/
Follow Sarah on X - https://x.com/sarahtavel
Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested
Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc
Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/
Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg
Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/
Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg
Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/
Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/
CREDITS
Executive Producer: Erica Marom
Producer: Yoni Mayer
Video and Editing: Ron Baranov
Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar
Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring
Design: Rony Karadi
Invested by Aleph
How can values create value? Join Venture Capitalist and Author Michael Eisenberg as he speaks with global business leaders to explore the values and purpose behind their businesses, the impact of technology on humanity, and the humanity behind digitization. Michael Eisenberg is Co-Founder and General Partner of Aleph, an early-stage venture capital fund with $850M under management in Tel Aviv, Israel. Aleph is an early stage venture capital fund focused on partnering with great Israeli entrepreneurs to build large, meaningful companies and impactful global brands.
