Seed Investing in the Start-up Nation | Kellogg Leader Series

In this episode of the Conversations with Kellogg Leaders series, Ron Tamir ’99 MBA, founding partner of Kaedan Capital, discusses how he built a self-financed venture capital firm in Israel from scratch — investing his own capital alongside founders from the earliest stages and growing the portfolio to include three unicorn companies. He explains why Israel produces more start-ups per capita than any country in the world, how he evaluates founders when a company is still just an idea and why investing your own money creates both discipline and flexibility that traditional fund structures can't match. He also reflects on pivoting a portfolio company during COVID, the impact of AI across his investments and what he learned about consumer marketing at Coca-Cola that still informs how he backs digital-native businesses today. The Conversations with Kellogg Leaders series highlights insights from Kellogg alumni leaders on leadership, strategy, innovation and the evolving challenges facing organizations today. #KelloggLeader #BusinessLeadership #KelloggSchool #VentureCapital #StartupFunding