Dovi Frances

Dovi Frances
Born (1978-11-20) November 20, 1978
Israel
CitizenshipIsraeli-American
EducationB.A. in Business Administration & Psychology Ben-Gurion University, MBA in Finance and Marketing UCLA Anderson School of Management
OccupationsVenture capitalist, entrepreneur, author, TV personality
Websitegroup11.vc

Dov "Dovi" Frances (Hebrew: דובי פרנסס; born November 20, 1978) is an Israeli-American[1] venture capitalist Los Angeles[2] and television personality.[3] He founded Group 11, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm[4] that has deployed over $660 million.[5] For four seasons, Frances appeared on the Israeli version of Shark Tank, called HaKrishim.[6]

Early life and career

Frances was born in Holon, Israel. His father worked as a customs agent before establishing Holon Motors,[7] a car dealership business.[3] During his mandatory military service, Frances served as a company commander at Bahad 1, the Israeli Defense Forces' Officers Academy.[8]

Frances earned a dual bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Psychology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.[9] He then moved to the United States,[10] where he completed an MBA in Finance and Marketing from UCLA[11] Anderson School of Management in 2008.[7] After graduating, Frances joined Deutsche Bank in New York City as a private wealth manager for high-net-worth clients. In 2011, Russian billionaire Sergey Grishin recruited him to manage investments at SG,[10] a financial advisory company. Frances established a venture capital fund called "SGVC"[12] under the SG umbrella in 2012.[13]

Group 11

In May 2015, Frances purchased the SGVC venture capital fund[14] from Grishin and renamed it Group 11. The firm has deployed over $660 million across multiple funds.[5]

Group 11[15] has been an early investor in seven companies that achieved unicorn[16] status,[5] which includes Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), Next Insurance (acq. by Munich Re for $2.6B),[17] Tipalti, Sunbit, HomeLight, Dream Security, and Masterschool.

In December 2025, an investigative report by the German newspaper Der Spiegel on former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, a co-founder of the cybersecurity company Dream Security—where Frances is the main investor—reported that Frances maintains close ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump.[18]

Media Recognition

Television

Frances joined HaKrishim (The Sharks), the Israeli version of Shark Tank, when it premiered on February 20, 2018, on Channel 12.[19] He appeared as an investor for four seasons before stepping down[1] to focus on artificial intelligence policy work.[6]

Book

In 2024, Frances published Introduction to Victory (מבוא לניצחון) through Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir publishing house.[1] The book became a best-seller[20] and he announced plans to distribute 14,000 copies to injured Israeli soldiers.[21]

Personal life

Frances is married to Roni Eshel, a former Israeli surfing champion,[3] and they have three children. The family lives in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[1]

In 2014, Frances facilitated a $201 million life insurance policy, recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest individual policy.[22]

In 2023, Frances received an award from the Israeli American Council and Israeli Consulate for outstanding achievements in technology and strengthening U.S.-Israel relations.[23] In 2024, he received the Ben-Gurion Award for contributions to Israel's economy, technological innovation, and support of the Negev region.[9] His investment views have been covered in Business Insider,[24] WSJ,[25] TechCrunch,[26] and Globes.[27]

In November 2024, Frances was appointed as a temporary advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on artificial intelligence matters.[28] He serves on the Board of Governors of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and co-founded The Institute, an AI research center at the university.[29] Frances also serves on the Steering Committee of the ICON Israel Collaboration Network.[30]

In 2024, he published Introduction to Victory (מבוא לניצחון) through Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir publishing house.[1] The book became a best-seller[31] and he announced plans to distribute 14,000 copies to injured Israeli soldiers.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e שקד, רענן (January 2, 2025). ""You know who's the best person to lead this country? Me."". 7 Yamim Weekend Magazine, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
  2. ^ "How Dovi Frances Went from Oligarch's Right-Hand Man to a "Shark"". Globes.
  3. ^ a b c "From a Garage in Holon to a Los Angeles Investment Firm: The Success Story of Dovi Frances". Weekend News Broadcast, Channel 12 News. April 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Israel's Group 11 Signs $50 Million Deal With US Firm For Third Fund Holdings". NoCamels. April 7, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Dovi Frances makes an important move at age 46: This is his new partner". ice. July 7, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Dovi Frances in a special interview: "Leaving The Sharks, Israel needs 100% of me"". ice. October 2, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "The art of success". Jewish Journal. April 25, 2011.
  8. ^ ""I think that the only answer at times of uncertainty is: do you have a fundamental belief that tomorrow will be better?"". 20-Minute Leaders Podcast, CTech by Calcalist. January 12, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Recipients of the Ben-Gurion Award for 2023–24 and 2024–25". Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
  10. ^ a b "From a Garage in Holon to the Top of Venture Capital: The Story of Dovi Frances". The Success Podcast, N12. January 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "We Are Heading Towards a Financial Armageddon; The World Is Changing and So Must the Funds". Geektime Podcast – Dovi Frances. February 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "SGVC Raises a New $50 Million Venture Fund". CTECH. September 25, 2017.
  13. ^ "Dovi Frances Discusses Wealth Management". SUPERYACHTS.COM. February 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "SGVC Seeks $50 Million for Third Fintech Fund". WSJ. September 26, 2017.
  15. ^ "Group 11". Startup Nation Finder.
  16. ^ ""Not all unicorn valuations are real"". Globes. November 18, 2020.
  17. ^ "Munich Re buys Israeli insurtech co Next at $2.6b valuation". Globes. March 20, 2025.
  18. ^ "Sebastian Kurz: Was treibt Österreichs Ex-Kanzler als Unternehmer an?". Der Spiegel. December 14, 2025.
  19. ^ "The cast of the new season of The Sharks has been finalized". mako. June 28, 2017.
  20. ^ "Dovi Frances, author of the bestseller Introduction to Victory, paid a visit to IDF Officer School Bahad 1, where he served 25 years ago". The Facebook page of Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir.
  21. ^ "Dovi Frances Reveals How Much His Secrets to Success Will Cost in New Book". ice.
  22. ^ "Mystery billionaire takes out historic $201 million life insurance policy". Guinness World Records.
  23. ^ "Gal Gadot: "Israel is my heart and my home – we share a common purpose"". N12. May 18, 2023.
  24. ^ "A fintech VC is disclosing a decade of return data showing a billion-dollar gain. Now he is challenging other VCs to open their books". Business Insider.
  25. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (September 9, 2024). "Can Venture Capital Keep Itself Afloat?". Wall Street Journal.
  26. ^ "Cannabis industry and gaming payments startup Aeropay is now offering an alternative to Mastercard and Visa". TechCrunch. May 16, 2024.
  27. ^ ""We have bigger problems than the judicial overhaul"". Globes. June 18, 2023.
  28. ^ "Dovi Frances to help set up Israel AI National Directorate". Globes. October 11, 2024.
  29. ^ "Ben-Gurion University of the Negev launches 'The Institute' to promote Israeli leadership in AI in partnership with leading entrepreneurs". Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
  30. ^ "Steering Committee". ICON.
  31. ^ "Dovi Frances, author of the bestseller Introduction to Victory, paid a visit to IDF Officer School Bahad 1, where he served 25 years ago". The Facebook page of Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir.
  32. ^ "Dovi Frances Reveals How Much His Secrets to Success Will Cost in New Book". ice.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.