I did not invest in Firefly. In fact, the first time I heard of this venture was probably after learning about their CTO/ Co-Founder, Sefi Genis, who tragically lost his life at the Nova music festival on October 7th. Later, I got acquainted with Ido Neeman, the CEO/ Co-Founder, and discovered that Firefly had an ongoing business relationship with one of our portfolio companies. Sefi’s and Firefly’s story touched me deeply on a personal level. As an early-stage investor, when evaluating new teams, we often consider many risks—most of which are difficult to even hypostatize. We think of risks, such as lack of PMF, challenges to achieve traction, etc. However, it's unimaginable to think that a startup founder/ CTO might meet such a tragic fate as Sefi did. I followed Firefly’s journey from afar, occasionally exchanging messages with Ido. The interview Ido gave to Moshe Zilberstein from Next47 was incredibly moving, highlighting not only outstanding personal resilience but also extraordinary business resilience—exactly the kind of strength early-stage investors look for in their portfolio founders. The way Ido explained how they coped after realizing Sefi was gone, and how he and the entire Firefly team grew from such a profound moment of grief, speaks volumes about the essence of the Israeli tech industry. R.I.P Sefi Genis. Am Israel Chai. Way to go Firefly team! Link to the interview - https://lnkd.in/ec2ZgWvC
Ido Neeman
1mo
🙏🙏
James Heron
1mo
Beautifully written, Stav. Even now, over a year later, it's still incredibly difficult to fully grasp everything that happened that day. In such a small, tightly-knit country, where the startup community mirrors that closeness, it’s impossible not to feel how deeply everyone was affected. Yet one thing remains as true today as it was before October 7th—the remarkable strength of the people, embodied by individuals like Ido and the Firefly team. I won’t say too much here, but we have with Firefly, Ido, and Sefi in our thoughts and hearts - alwaysI
Dor Zilbershtain
1mo
I had the pleasure to work with Sefi, such a brilliant soul. Incredibly smart, genuine and humble. May he rest in peace, thank you for sharing Stav P.
Ayala Ples
1mo
Powerful 🙏
Founder @ Cynance, CCL (Cyber Club London) | Tech Entrepreneur and Investor
1moLink to the interview - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/moshezilberstein_on-71023-a-year-ago-sefi-genis-fireflys-ugcPost-7249125688815841281-lLJy/?utm_source=social_share_video&utm_medium=android_app&utm_campaign=share_via