Invested by Aleph

On the 3rd episode of Invested, Michael hosts Jeff Swartz, the former president and CEO of Timberland. Jeff Swartz, co-founder and chair of MAOZ, served 15 years as CEO of Timberland, a global brand of footwear and apparel. While at Timberland, Jeff incorporated a social agenda within the business agenda—he led public & private partnerships with several social change organizations, including City Year, where he served as chair for 10 years, Share Our Strength, the Harlem Children’s Zone, and the Climate Group. In 2011, Jeff led the sale of Timberland to the VF Corporation. Since then, he invests all of his energies to advance sustainable socio-economic change aimed to have real impact in Israel and the US. Jeff holds an MBA from Dartmouth University and a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown University. Jeff lives in Jerusalem. He is married to Debbie. They have three married sons and a growing number of beloved grandchildren. If you would like to follow Jeff on social media, you can’t, because he doesn’t have social media. Please enjoy and rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts! Key Topics: [0:00] Why Timberland never created a foundation [00:35] Intro [2:46] How Michael and Jeff know each other [3:55] How Jeff starts his day [7:32] Why Jeff moved to Israel [10:25] How Jeff got home for his grandfather’s funeral [16:20] Why Jeff sold Timberland [18:45] How Jeff felt the day after the sale [20:28] How Timberland values made the business better, social impact [25:25] Timberland’s mission [27:00] Corporate social responsibility [31:25] RiseUp (company) and financial empowerment [35:53] Subscription vs. one-time sales [38:20] Virtue signaling, information disclosure, the environment [50:20] Jeff’s investments - market caps close social gaps [51:18] Being with people in the game [52:25] Being in the oval office [54:50] Philanthropy vs. Tzedaka (charity) [59:30] Allocating between serve and solve - for-profit + non-profit [1:00:30] Food chain [1:01:20] Rappers wearing Timberland [1:03:00] How Jeff feels now about Timberland [1:04:10] Why Jeff is not on social media [1:07:10] What problem Jeff wants to solve [1:10:00] Learning how to learn [1:10:50] How Jeff wants to be remembered [1:11:50] Title of Jeff’s future biography Resources: To learn more about Maoz: https://www.maoz-il.org/en/ For show notes and past guests on Invested, please visit content.aleph.vc Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: aleph.vc For the transcript of this episode, go to https://content.aleph.vc/invested-episode-03 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/ Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/ Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ Credits: Executive Producer: Erica Marom Producer: Andrew Jacobson Video and Editing: Ron Baranov Music and Art: Uri Ar Design: Rony Karadi

On the 2nd episode of Invested, Michael hosts Russ Roberts, the first trained academic on the show. Russ is the President of Shalem College in Jerusalem and the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Roberts also hosts the weekly podcast EconTalk, which he started in 2006—with 875+ hour-long conversations with interesting thinkers to date, with guests including Marc Andreessen, Milton Friedman, and others.  His latest book is Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us. The book looks at the challenge of making big life decisions–whether to marry, whether to have children, what career path to follow–when there is little analytical evidence to help us. Past books include Gambling With Other People’s Money: How Perverse Incentives Caused the Financial Crisis and How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness.  You can find everything Russ Roberts at his website at RussRoberts.info and on Twitter @EconTalker.  Please enjoy and rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!  Key Topics: [0:00] Do economists know what makes people happy?  [1:46] Introduction [3:48] Productivity in the modern age [6:00] Work-life balance, notifications, Shabbat  [11:44] Russ’ 12 rules for life  [12:44] Saying “I don’t know” [15:45] Knowing oneself  [16:53] Is economics important?  [18:44] Tribalism and belonging [20:54] Economists vs. investors – skin in the game  [25:34] Russ’ book ‘Wild Problems’  [27:33] Risk management vs. uncertainty  [30:33] Marriage  [33:08] Is data helpful in making decisions? [37:47] Timberland boots  [39:38] Rationality in economic decision making [43:48] The difficulty of giving good advice [47:06] Shalem College [51:51] The economic value of a liberal arts education [56:01] Restaurant culture in Israel [1:00:06] What Russ would be if not an economist [1:00:24] Russ’ rap videos [1:03:16] Inflation  [1:06:51] Will the EU last?  [1:08:53] How does Russ choose who to interview for EconTalk?  [1:10:46] Parenting and having children [1:18:09] Twitter [1:19:11] The title of Russ’ biography in 100 years Resources: To learn more about Russ Roberts, visit his website: RussRoberts.info Follow Russ on Twitter: twitter.com/econtalker Listen and Subscribe to Russ’ podcast, EconTalk: https://russroberts.info/econtalk/ Learn more about Shalem College: https://shalem.ac.il/en/ Watch Russ’s rap videos on John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek: https://russroberts.info/videos/#rap Read Russ’ book, Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us: https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Problems-Guide-Decisions-Define/dp/0593418255 For show notes and past guests on Invested, please visit content.aleph.vc Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc  Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: aleph.vc  For the transcript of this episode, go to https://content.aleph.vc/invested-episode-02 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/ Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/ Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ Credits: Executive Producer: Erica Marom  Producer: Andrew Jacobson  Video and Editing: Ron Baranov  Music and Art: Uri Ar  Design: Rony Karadi

On this inaugural episode of Invested, Michael hosts Aryeh Bourkoff, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank, advising and investing in transformational CEOs and the companies they lead. Aryeh founded LionTree in 2012, during a time of unprecedented disruption across media and technology. Dubbed “media’s hottest dealmaker” by Hollywood Reporter, Aryeh is known for advising on some of the largest transactions in the space, including the recent spin-off of Warner Media from AT&T to create Warner Brothers Discovery, and the sale of MGM to Amazon. You can find LionTree at liontree.com, and @liontree_llc and @kindredpodcast. Aryeh is on Instagram @aryehbourkoff. Please enjoy and rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts! Key Topics: [0:00] Introduction [1:55] Naming LionTree based on Aryeh and his wife’s names [4:53] Building trust, community, and LionTree’s annual conference [10:09] Aryeh’s core values on a personal level [12:52] Bored Apes Yacht Club, digital communities [15:31] Justin Beiber, digital identity [17:55] Do we lose our humanity in digital spaces? [20:36] Zoom, its uses and misuses, and the telephone [22:17] Masters of relationships vs. transactions [25:03] Building a firm for relationships vs. transactions [29:21] Scarcity brings out creativity [31:30] Staying humble doing multi-billion deals [34:25] Abraham Accords, the economic future of the Middle East [38:17] Companies vs. countries [42:38] Aryeh’s big idea to transform the Middle East [45:31] The values Aryeh seeks in others [47:08] Aryeh’s motivation [48:50] The problem Aryeh would most like to fix [52:12] ESG and climate change metrics for businesses [56:06] How Aryeh built his career; deciding to be a specialist [57:12] Why Aryeh is on Instagram and not Twitter [1:00:18] What makes Aryeh cry [1:01:43] How Aryeh wants to be remembered at the end of his life [1:01:45] What the title of Aryeh’s biography would be [1:02:57] Aryeh’s birthday resolution [1:04:34] Aryeh’s birthday advice for others Resources: For show notes and past guests on Invested, please visit www.content.aleph.vc Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: aleph.vc For the transcript of this episode, go to www.content.aleph.vc/invested-episode-01 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/ Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/ Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ Credits: Executive Producer: Erica Marom Producer: Andrew Jacobson Video and Editing: Ron Baranov Music and Art: Uri Ar Design: Rony Karadi

How can values create value? Join Venture Capitalist and Author Michael Eisenberg as he speaks with global business leaders to explore the values and purpose behind their businesses, the impact of technology on humanity, and the humanity behind digitization. Michael Eisenberg is Co-Founder and General Partner of Aleph, an early-stage venture capital fund with $850M under management in Tel Aviv, Israel. Aleph is an early stage venture capital fund focused on partnering with great Israeli entrepreneurs to build large, meaningful companies and impactful global brands. Since its founding in 2013, Aleph has invested in 50+ companies including Lemonade (NYSE: LMND), Melio, Healthy.io, Simply, Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO), and Honeybook. Prior to Aleph, Michael was a General Partner at Benchmark Capital. In 2022, he was ranked #16 on Forbes' Midas List Europe of Top Tech Investors.