Early-Stage Investing with Nicole Priel of Ibex Investors - Product Builder Podcast episode with Eyal David
00:31:57

Early-Stage Investing with Nicole Priel of Ibex Investors

Host: · Guest: Nicole Priel

In this episode

  • Nicole looks for founders with "no alternative" — the kind who will build the company in any macroeconomic climate, not the "wannabe" who just wants to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.
  • The Product Manager role is critical; she recommends bringing in a PM already in the first year, even 6–8 months before the MVP launch, and most founders realize in hindsight they should have done it sooner.
  • Cheap, fast validation is a real proxy for effort: a landing page plus a few hundred dollars of Facebook/Google ads and a form with deliberate friction, or hiring an expert network to reach hard-to-get customers.
  • She's an AI skeptic right now — she halted AI investments when she saw the hype cycle take off after ChatGPT, and prefers to wait for the dust to settle, because much of a company's success depends on timing.
  • Her core advice to founders: continuous communication with the whole network (employees, investors, customers), don't hide behind bad news, and send short monthly updates to stay top of mind.
  • She's sector-agnostic but drawn to moonshots that restore the original meaning of venture capital — revolutionary ideas like Neuralink or extending human life by 30 years.

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Episode Description

Nicole Priel, a partner at Ibex Investors, talks about early-stage investing (pre-seed/seed) with a focus on Israel and Jerusalem. The conversation ranges from how she picks exceptional founders, the critical importance of the PM role, and fast, cheap methods of market validation, to her skepticism about the current AI wave. Her overarching message to founders: communication, communication, communication.

Read the full transcript
Full transcript with speakers and timestamps

Selected quotes

“We can work day in and day out together and we're not afraid to pick up the phone from each other at 2 in the morning when shit hits the fan.”
— Nicole Priel
“I might be the wrong person to ask because I'm an AI skeptic at the moment.”
— Nicole Priel
“So communication, communication, communication.”
— Nicole Priel

Questions & answers

What stages and sectors does Ibex invest in?

The fund focuses on Israel and Jerusalem and invests at early stages (pre-seed/pre-VC). Nicole is sector-agnostic but mostly sees AI, semi, deep tech, cyber, infrastructure and software, and also appreciates B2C companies.

When should you bring a Product Manager into the company?

In her view, already in the first year, and maybe even 6–8 months before the MVP launch. The PM helps prioritize by data and build things the right way, and most founders say in hindsight that they should have done it earlier.

How can you validate an idea cheaply and quickly?

Two examples: (1) a landing page with a few hundred dollars of Facebook/Google ads and a form with deliberate friction that demonstrates real demand; (2) using an expert network — paying to reach potential customers who are hard to get through regular channels.

What's her stance on AI?

She's an AI skeptic at the moment. After ChatGPT came out and the hype cycle took off, she halted investments in the space. She believes in the enormous potential but thinks it's worth waiting for the needs to become clearer, because a large part of success depends on timing.

What's her most important piece of advice for founders?

Communication. Keep in regular contact with your entire network — employees, investors, board members, advisors and customers — don't hide behind bad news, and send short monthly updates to stay top of mind.

venture capital pre-seed investing founders product management validation AI Israel tech Ibex Investors moonshots

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