Why I Founded EntryPoint, and Why Now

MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service (VMS) is the gold-standard startup mentoring program – over the years it has supported more than 3,500 ventures, which collectively raised over $10.4 billion in funding. I’ve been a lead mentor at VMS for the past decade, and seeing its impact firsthand gave me a strong desire to offer a similar support structure tailored for Israeli startups. In Boston, I watched many promising Israeli companies complete an accelerator or initial seed round and then struggle with the post-seed, post-accelerator gap. They had innovative technology and early validation, but no local network or playbook to scale in the U.S. market. I founded EntryPoint to fill that gap with hands-on go-to-market (GTM) support for Israeli startups entering the U.S. market.

The Timing – A Changing Funding Landscape

So why now? The timing is critical given today’s startup climate. The recent AI boom has flooded the seed stage with capital and new startups, yet Series A funding has become significantly harder to secure. Venture data confirms this imbalance: seed financings have been plentiful, but far fewer startups are making it from seed to Series A. In fact, only about 20% of the companies that raised a first seed round in 2022 progressed beyond seed (historically it was over 50%). Investors have raised the bar for Series A – it often takes two-plus years to reach an A round in the current market. To break through, founders need to show meaningful traction, defensibility, and a scalable GTM plan.  

In other words, Series A is all about proven execution. Simply having a great product or idea isn’t enough. This “Series A crunch” means many seed-stage teams with decent products are getting stuck because they need to build a U.S. customer base or repeatable sales strategy to demonstrate clear traction at scale.

The Israeli Go-to-Market Challenge

For Israeli startups, these hurdles are compounded by the leap into the U.S. market. As Startup Nation Central and others have noted, Israeli founders expanding to the U.S. face a lack of local networks and structured commercial support. They might enter with a strong product and some pilot customers, but likely have no local reference customers, no brand recognition, or established sales channels. Too much time and capital ends up being spent on just trying to understand an unfamiliar market – figuring out who to talk to, which events to attend, how to pitch U.S. customers – all without the right support system. I experienced this myself in prior roles as a founder, GM, and BizDev executive, and it’s a common story.

Israeli startups cannot rely on domestic “sandbox” customers to build credibility. Historically, the most successful Israeli tech companies had to win their first customers abroad (often in the U.S.) before even selling in Israel.

A well-known case example: Why would any Israeli hospital buy a new diagnostic software from a tiny local startup until that product had proven itself with successful installations in U.S. or German hospitals? As one analysis put it, no local hospital administrator will take that risk until the startup has strong U.S./EU references – incumbent giants like GE and Siemens make sure of it. In short, you must quickly gain trust and traction in the U.S., but doing so from halfway around the world is daunting. Without connections, even getting in front of the right pilot customer or hiring a reliable U.S. salesperson can feel like a catch-22.

This is why having a local network and on-the-ground credibility is so vital. A trusted U.S. partner or investor can be game-changing – their reputation opens doors that cold calls cannot. As one veteran venture investor noted about startups from overseas, having respected allies in your target market is “priceless” because they bring clients just as much as they bring capital. Recognizing this need, the community has even created programs like Homrun, a network of North American executives, CEOs, and community leaders dedicated to providing contacts and opportunities for Israeli companies selling abroad.

All these efforts underscore the same point: Israeli founders need more than funding when entering the U.S. – they need local relationships, reference customers, and a guided GTM execution plan to bridge the cultural and commercial gap.

EntryPoint – Filling the Post-Accelerator Gap

This is the gap EntryPoint was built to fill. We provide targeted, hands-on GTM support at the stage where founders need it most – right after an accelerator or seed when you’re trying to scale into the U.S. market. I’ve brought together a team of senior executives who are not only experienced operators in scaling businesses, but who are also deeply passionate about Israel’s success. We don’t operate like a typical advisor network or a pre-seed accelerator; we roll up our sleeves and become an extension of your team. Our focus is on execution and tangible outcomes: for example, getting your startup in front of the right first reference customers in the U.S., helping you secure those beachhead deals, building out a repeatable sales strategy, and preparing you for fundraising by ensuring you have the traction and customer proof-points that Series A investors expect.

Our model is built to align with founders – when you win, we win. We work side-by-side on things like refining your product positioning for the U.S. buyer, opening our own networks to connect you with decision-makers, and guiding your go-to-market hires. In essence, EntryPoint exists to give Israeli founders a better path to scale in the U.S. market. We’re not a pre-seed incubator teaching Startup 101 or a short bootcamp that ends after a demo day. We partner with companies that already have early traction and great products, and we help them take the next level by providing practical, on-the-ground support from people who have walked this road before. We’ve been through it ourselves, so we understand what it takes to land that first Fortune 500 customer, to iterate on sales messaging until it clicks with American clients, and to build a pipeline that impresses U.S. investors.

For Israeli founders, I truly believe EntryPoint offers something unique: a team that knows the terrain and is committed to bringing success to all the companies in the program. We want companies to focus on what you do best – building an amazing product – while we help pave the road into the market, get those vital early wins, and accelerate the growth curve. My mission with EntryPoint is to ensure that no great Israeli startup falters just because it lacked the local network or know-how to navigate the U.S. scene. We’re here to be that bridge for you, from Startup Nation to scaled-up success in the United States.