![Building Successful Startups in Israel: An Interview with LightSpeed Venture Partners [Israel Media Tour]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/078xKkLxjY3GZvOUvaTZpd2/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647017231.bmp)
Company Name: Lightspeed Venture Partners
Founded in Israel: 2006
Israel Location: Herzliya Pituach
I had the chance to interview Yoni Cheifetz, a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a global VC fund investing in Israeli startups. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Lightspeed has offices in China, India, Israel and the US. Recently Lightspeed raised an $800 million fund and introduced a new partner, David Gussarsky, to their team as a Managing director.
Two years ago Lightspeed partnered with Gemini to create the Internet Lab, a venture designed to give seed funding to early-stage Israeli startups. They have invested in six companies so far as part of the Lab. The first of these companies was Outbrain, creator of a content rating and recommendations widget. Through the Lab they have also backed StyleShake, a do-it-yourself fashion company headquartered in the UK that allows users to design their own clothing and have it sent to them; Vestopia, a resource for investors; and Bahu, a social network for people under 25.
In our interview below, Yoni and I discuss the Israeli startups Lightspeed has invested in as well as what he considers important for startups to be successful.