After 30 years of investing in venture funds and companies & 23 years since founding Vintage Investment Partners, I will be retiring at the end of this month to pursue an MA/PhD in the medieval history of Judaism, Christianity & Islam and focus on my 4 non-profit initiatives and my amazing wife, 5 wonderful children (& their 3 spouses) & the world’s 4 cutest grandchildren who I intend to spoil beyond repair.
When I started Vintage, my dream was to build a global technology investment firm based in Israel that would have a customer-oriented culture, a reputation for honesty and integrity & a track record of superior returns. I also wanted the firm to last far beyond my tenure. (See my post about succession from 10 years ago).
Succession is not an event; it is a process. I approached it with intention so the firm would be stronger after than before. The process included a transition to an equal general partnership, not leading new funds from age 63 and retiring at age 65. As I will be 65, G-d willing, next year, it is time to finish the process.
Passing the leadership mantel of a firm one founded would normally seem hard. In this case, it is easy. I truly love and respect my partners as leaders, people of integrity and great investors. I am sure they will do a great job, raising the firm to levels that I could only dream of.
Venture capital may seem like a business of technology and markets, but at its core it is a business of people. It is about relationships built on trust, shared purpose and the belief that human beings can imagine a better world and then work relentlessly to build it. I have been privileged to partner with people who wake up determined to solve hard problems, face every challenge and never give up. Being part of their stories has been one of the great honors of my life.
To our Investors: Thank you for your trust & your belief in the Vintage vision.
To the GPs & Founders we invested in: Your intelligence, dedication and resilience inspired me every single day. Every good investment I ever made related to being lucky enough to partner with outstanding founders and investors who were visionaries and leaders.
To the Vintage Team: You made managing Vintage a joy. Your integrity, curiosity and compassion built our firm’s family culture. I especially want to thank Shoshi Kimchi & my partners and friends: Abe Finkelstein, Asaf Horesh, Amit Frenkel, Shira Eting, Iren Reznikov, Leyla Holterud & Keren Terner. Thanks go as well to the exceptional professionals in our management team: Yonatan Sinuany, Ilan Leiferman, Asaf Ben-Zeev & Atar Sheffer.
I acknowledge the mentors whose guidance shaped my personal business journey: Aharon Dovrat zl, Shlomo Dovrat, Yoram Oron, Eric Johnson, Arthur Fried zl, Dov Friedberg & Alan Lewis zl.
Vintage is in exceptional hands. I look forward to watching as the team continues to invest in great funds and entrepreneurs, support innovation &try in their own way to make the world a better place.
Alan
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