Cynthia Phitoussi

Cynthia Phitoussi built the first part of her career in Europe before moving into Israeli venture investing. She founded and managed Consumer Market Research departments inside large FMCG groups (Coca-Cola and Danone) and then founded and ran a corporate-events company in London for roughly six years. She holds an MBA from Paris V University and is a graduate of a leading French business school. In 2009 she made Aliyah, relocating from London/Paris to Tel Aviv, recognizing Israel's emerging startup ecosystem.

In 2010, together with her long-time business partner Audrey Chocron, she co-founded and ran TheHive by Gvahim, one of Israel's earliest startup accelerators, which she led for about three years. Observing strong demand from skilled international immigrants and global private investors wanting exposure to Israeli innovation, the pair launched SeedIL Club in 2013–2014 — a business-angels club that grew to around 65 accredited angels, presenting Israeli startups to investors in Paris and London.

In 2018, building on that network (and in partnership with Technion Drive), they formalized the investment vehicle SeedIL Ventures, a boutique seed-stage fund. Phitoussi serves as Co-Founder and Managing Partner alongside Audrey Chocron. She describes more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship and early-stage investment. A first fund of under ~$10M was followed by an ~$18M second fund, drawing new investors from Europe and the U.S., several entering the Israeli market for the first time.

• Invests at pre-seed and seed in Israeli-founded startups, deliberately keeping a small, "boutique" portfolio to stay hands-on.
• Team-first: "The market is important, with an obvious pain point to solve as well, but the team is essential." She stresses that pivots are inevitable, so founder adaptability and coachability matter most.
• Backs founders who are receptive to coaching and close support; SeedIL positions itself as "federative and non-intrusive," guiding without taking over.
• Sector lean toward B2B software / SaaS, AI, cybersecurity and digital/health tech, with historic activity in big data, automotive and other deep-tech areas.
• Boutique-by-design: "We think of ourselves as a boutique VC because we are really here to support entrepreneurs. We like to keep it small."
• Actively supportive of women founders: "When women founders come to us they're often less confident and too modest, almost apologetic about asking for an investment," noting female founders often show stronger commitment and execution — and SeedIL has backed several female-founded companies.
• Frequently co-invests alongside leading funds and provides portfolio companies with international network access.