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Rami Beracha, the well-known Israeli venture capitalist, recently advanced to the European market. Rami and his partners opened a new venture capital investment fund that focuses on the world of blockchain. The fund aims to promote European, Israeli, and American high-tech companies that develop blockchain database technology. This exciting new business venture began despite the fear that many businesses have been carrying since the coronavirus hit the market.

Rami himself has been dealing with various challenges throughout his life and has learned to turn his fears into a drive for success. Before joining the army, Rami was highly athletic. In one interview, he laughs, saying that all he remembers doing as a child was playing tennis. He was even a part of the national tennis league playing in Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In 1980 Rami joined the army and became a paratrooper. He fought in the First Lebanon War as part of a battalion of officer cadets. After the war, he returned to his unit as a platoon commander.

Beracha loved the army. He enjoyed the thrill of being a paratrooper and had dreams of continuing the same sort of adventure career after the military. He imagined himself living in Europe doing brave and dangerous deeds for his country. But, unfortunately, in 1983, his life took a turn, and the dream was shattered. While stationed in the Shuf mountains of Lebanon, Beracha was sent as part of a rescue mission to help fellow soldiers wounded and stuck in a wild minefield. He stepped on a mine hidden inside a terrace in the minefield and lost his right hand and left leg. His left hand was also severely wounded.

 Rehabilitation of body and spirit

Rami remembers the rehabilitation period as one of the most challenging times of his life. From feeling like he could conquer the world, suddenly, seconds later, he felt like a piece of "steak tartar" lying in bed, motionless and passionless. In a speech given to university students, Beracha shares feelings from that difficult time. He remembers wishing that he could reincarnate and move onto his next life; he didn't want to get stuck in the current one. Then one night, lying in bed in the hospital, something changed. Rami had a dream of himself standing upright and strong, looking capable and healthy. Everything was as it had been before the injury, except that his right arm and left leg were painted in black. Today, Rami calls this moment his "LSD" dream or life-saving dream. For it was in that vision that he found the strength to try and prove to his old self that he could still succeed in anything he chose.

To help himself become stronger and better, Rami Beracha keeps pushing himself to learn and try new things. On a physical level, he doesn't let his injuries stop him and is an active athlete. Rami enjoys extreme sports such as cycling, snowboarding, kitesurfing and climbing. He has also pushed himself mentally and earned law degrees from Tel Aviv University and Fordham University in New York. In addition, he later earned an MBA from the acclaimed INSEAD University in France.

High-tech and Investment Funds

After a decade of studying and practicing law, Beracha realized that he needed a change and a new dream. In 1996 he joined Pitango Venture Capital Fund, the biggest venture capital fund in Israel today. Rami quickly became managing partner and served as managing partner from 2000 to 2018. During his time at Pitango, the fund was involved in over 200 investments with over 80 exits. High-tech companies under his wing were sold to the largest companies in the world today, such as Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, Broadcom and Cisco.

In 2014, Beracha founded a new project called Sosa. Sosa's goal is to link Israeli high-tech companies with global technology leaders who want to become involved in and support new technologies. Sosa has offices in Tel Aviv and New York and manages NYC's global cyber center. As a founder and member of the board, Rami has supported countless innovative projects and matching between the local supply and the global demand for innovation.

Pushing Ahead Despite the Coronavirus

Rami Beracha's drive to succeed is something that we can all admire. On his website, he writes, "even when you enter a minefield, you can come out with positive insights, but you do not have to enter a minefield to reach them..." In the current covid19 economy, these positive insights and outlooks are what many of us need. The economy has dramatically challenged over the past two years since the coronavirus began, and many businesses are scared to make new leaps. Rami recommends moving carefully and thoughtfully but also not being afraid to act. With every change and challenge, new business opportunities present themselves. 

Rami's newest move to take his successful business model to fresh markets shows that he is still growing and learning. The new fund will take the same investment fund tactics that worked so well in the past, add fresh innovative thinking that wasn't there before and apply them to blockchain technologies.

It will be interesting to see Beracha's newest ventures' progress and see his impact on the Israeli and global markets in leaving the coronavirus fears behind. As Beracha strongly believes, there are many opportunities to be found if you know where to look.