The Art of Approaching Investors: Startup Fundraising in the Age of AI
Most founders arrive at an investor meeting prepared with a deck. The problem is that investors do not invest in decks. In this post I explain the right thinking before you reach out, what each type of investor is really looking for, and how AI can shorten the process and give you deeper insight before and after a meeting.
What Is Technological Disruption and Why Is It So Hard to Implement?
A triptych illustrating technological disruption: a vinyl record player next to a man holding a Spotify app on his smartphone, a yellow New York taxi alongside a red Tesla electric car on a Manhattan street, and an old rocket image contrasted with a SpaceX Starship launch at night.
The Mental Price of Entrepreneurs Leading Disruptive Innovation
Disruptive innovation is not just a business challenge – it’s a mental one. The entrepreneurs who succeed are not always those with the strongest idea, but those who can hold it long enough for it to mature.
Crises Are Part of Growth
Every founder and every company that is truly growing goes through crises – not because someone failed, but because that is what growth looks like from the inside. Gaps between expenses and revenue, painful organizational changes, layoffs, and growth so fast it threatens to break what was built. The crisis is not a fault on the road – it is the road. The real question is not whether a crisis will come, but whether you can hold on mentally when it does.
When People Bring Chairs From Home: What We Learned From Starting a Community Pub
We told people they could bring chairs from home. They showed up with beach chairs. In that moment we understood something different was happening here. What we learned from three years of social entrepreneurship in Mazkeret Batya, and how a pub becomes the whole community’s “baby”.
A Startup Mentor: Why Experience Is the Founder’s Force Multiplier
Founders usually look for someone who will open doors for them, but the real value of a mentor lies in the ability to read the map. On a startup journey, experience is not a luxury – it is a force multiplier that can tell the “foam” from the “current”. A post about navigating board crises, dangerous organizational silence, and the mental backing every leader needs.
The Inside Game of Entrepreneurship
What really happens on the inside when you’re building something from nothing? Aviv Ratzman shares a raw, personal story about fear, self-doubt, thousands of rejections — and the mental tools that kept him going. A talk for founders, executives, and builders who want more than a success story. They want the truth behind it.
One Startup. One Conservative Industry. Zero Guarantees
How do you sell something that doesn’t exist yet? How do you convince an industry to change what’s been working for a hundred years? Aviv Ratzman shares the unfiltered story of building a global tech company – with all the nos, pivots, and breakthroughs along the way.
From Business to Purpose: One Entrepreneur’s Journey Into Social Impact
After a decade of building a global tech company, Aviv Ratzman found himself asking a question no spreadsheet could answer: what actually matters to me now? This is the story of the transition from startup founder to social entrepreneur – and why the tools that build a business are the same ones that can rebuild a community.
How to Approach Building a Strategic Partnership
A strategic partnership can accelerate growth, open new markets and lead to future investment or acquisition opportunities – but only if you choose the right partner. The key is identifying who holds the decision-making power, understanding the mutual value, and being aware of risks such as conflicting interests and over-dependence. A strategic partnership is not just a deal – it is a long-term relationship that requires planning, fit and careful choice up front.