Inside Team8: How Ori Barzilay Thinks About Winning, Failure, and Backing Elite Founders

Описание: What separates good founders from truly exceptional ones?

In this episode of Founder Stories, we sit down with Ori Barzilay, Partner at Team8, one of the world’s leading venture studios and early-stage funds in cybersecurity, AI, and enterprise software.

Ori shares his personal journey—from growing up as a competitive athlete and serving in elite IDF units to becoming one of the youngest partners at a tier-1 venture firm. We dive deep into the mindset behind winning, humility, leadership, and how great founders push beyond their limits.

This conversation goes far beyond venture capital. We explore:

• What “winning mentality” really means (and why it’s not ego)
• Why humility is not about making yourself small
• How Team8 evaluates founders and teams
• Gut instinct vs. data in early-stage investing
• Why execution and brand are becoming real moats
• What exceptional founders do differently under pressure
• How Israel became a global cybersecurity powerhouse
• Ori’s vision for the future of venture, AI, and Israel’s tech ecosystem

This is an honest, thoughtful, and deeply human conversation about leadership, ambition, resilience, and building something meaningful—against the odds.

Connect.
Ori Barzilay:   / ori-barzilay  
Ephraim Yarmak:   / ephraimyarmak  

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