Dovi Frances

Dovi Frances (Hebrew; דובי פרנסס) is an Israeli-American businessman and venture capitalist. Frances is the founder of Group 11, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm with investments in Financial Technology companies such as Addepar, SoFi, HomeLight, TripActions, Tipalti, Sunbit, Next Insurance, and Papaya Global. Frances is also one of the main "shark" investors on the Keshet Media Group version of the reality television series, Shark Tank (HaKrishim).

Dovi Frances
Dovi Frances, 2016
Born (1978-11-20) 20 November 1978
Holon, Israel
Alma materBen Gurion University, UCLA Anderson School of Management
OccupationBusinessman, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, angel investor, and managing partner of Group 11.
Spouse(s)Roni Eshel

Biography

Dovi Frances was born in Holon, Israel to a family of Holocaust survivors. His father was the owner of a large chain of garages.[1]Frances served as a Company Commander (Captain) in Bahad I, Israeli Defense Forces' Officers Academy stationed in the Negev Desert.

In 2005, Frances earned his dual BA from the Ben Gurion University in Business Administration and Psychology. He graduated in June 2008 with a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from UCLA Anderson School of Management.[2] Frances is married to Roni Eshel, former Israeli Surf Champion.[3] The couple resides in Venice, Los Angeles. The couple had their first son in 2019 and their second son in 2021.

Business career

In 2000, he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mitsubishi Motors and Hyundai Motor Company's largest subsidiaries in Israel. Frances worked as a Wealth Manager at Deutsche Bank. He is the founder of SGVC, a venture capital fund that invests mainly in Israel companies based in Silicon Valley.[4] In January 2012, he formed Group 11, a FinTech dedicated Venture Capital fund aiming to capitalize on the vast changes reshaping the traditional financial services industry.[5]

Group 11 has invested over $400 million into some of Silicon Valley's most prominent and disruptive financial technology companies.[6] In December 2020, Group 11 became the first venture capital fund to be listed on TASE UP, the technology investments platform of Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in Israel.[7]

In March 2021, the group announced the first closing of its fifth fintech fund, totalling over $120 million.[8]

Frances serves on the boards of Tipalti,[9] SunBit, HomeLight,[10] Papaya Global, Lili Bank, EquityBee, Venn, Sorbet, Masterschool, SMBX, Insurights and Fintastic. He is also an Advisor to TripActions, is a member of the Advisory Council of Bank Leumi U.S. and the Steering Committee of Israel Collaboration Network.

Media career

Frances has been a "shark" investor on the Keshet Media Group reality program Shark Tank Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3. The show's first episode aired 20 February 2018 on primetime Israeli national television.[11]

References
  1. הכירו את הישראלי שמכר את פוליסת ביטוח החיים היקרה בהיסטוריה
  2. "List of UCLA Anderson School of Management people". Wikipedia.
  3. "Surf's up with Israeli surfing champ's crowdsourced reports". The Times of Israel.
  4. הושלמו ליהוקי "הכרישים" לעונה החדשה
  5. Israeli-American Fintech Investor: Banks We Know and Loathe Will All Be Gone in 10 to 20 Years, Haaretz
  6. "Migdal, Harel lead investment in new Group 11 fund". Globes.
  7. "Welcome to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: Group 11, the Venture Capital Fund of Investor Dovi Frances and the Start-Up Company, Veev Are the First to Join TASE UP". The Cision PR Newswire.
  8. Dovi Frances' Group 11 announces new $120 million fintech fund, [[Calcalist
  9. "Tipalti nets $14 mln from SGVC-led round". The PE Hub Network.
  10. "HomeLight Raises $40M in Series B Funding To Help You Find A Listing Agent". Forbes.
  11. "Meet Dovi Frances". Mako.
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