He's the ultimate guy in finance. Hear from the VC that once launched Goldman Sachs in Israel, doing 17 years of M&A there as an investment banker: Amit Pilowsky then low-key started a tier-1 growth fund (Key1 Capital), backing the likes of SuperPlay (a $700M exit). Today, he's also got a hot new defense fund, Ace Capital Partners. 

If you’re an Israeli startup founder, you want to hear what Amit has to say on how to get acquired with grace. Plus, the window for startups to become acquirers now, and his take on private equity in the Israeli tech ecosystem. 

Inside:

• Getting on the acquirer radar – what investment bankers can do for founders, even informally (!)
• When startups should consider outbound M&A—and how to fund it
• The pros and cons of private equity firms as acquirers of Israeli startups and how startups can connect with these financial buyers.
• What investment bankers actually do, why they won’t take 90% of deals, and why founders should care

Navigate the show:

(00:00 ) Show intro

(02:05 ) The role of investment bankers for startups

(07:25 ) Engaging with investment bankers

(09:43 ) Building brand awareness in front of acquirers

(12:33 ) Investment banker landscape

(16:30 ) Investment banker business model

(28:30 ) Value provided by investment bankers

(32:23 ) Outbound M&A by startups

(47:54 ) Mistakes in startup-on-startup acquisitions

(56:33 ) The case for private equity in Israel

With hosts Sophia Tupolev-Luz and Zeevi Michel.

This episode is in Hebrew with English-only subtitles.

Transcript here.

Get Amit’s writing for founders considering outbound M&A: https://www.key1capital.com/blog

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About:

Israel’s tech M&A show delivers unfiltered conversations with key players from the startup lifecycle. This is a podcast for startups about the path to mergers and acquisitions—and their aftermath. We’re here to go behind the scenes to look at how transactions go terribly wrong or terrifically right.

Our goal:

To give founders new perspectives from the buy-side, sell-side, and investors—so they can better plan for their own endgame.

Produced by: Sophia Tupolev-Luz

Location: Google for Startups Campus Studio, Tel Aviv