“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
In November 15, 2025 the #FIRGUN newsletter officially turns five. What started as a simple experiment in the times of Covid lockdowns and social isolation, consisted of appreciating the accomplishments of members of the wider Israeli startup ecosystem, and celebrating the good news with the community.
It’s safe to say that the essence hasn’t changed a bit, but the community has grown into a over 7,000 subscribers on LinkedIn, including founders, investors, journalists, and tech enthusiasts from around the world.
When I first wrote What is Firgun and Why Should You Embrace It, three months after starting the #Firgun posts, I described the term firgun as “selfless, genuine joy for someone else’s success”. In lack of better words (as I couldn’t find an equivalent in English) it’s the opposite of “schadenfreude” which is “pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune“.
That spirit has guided every edition since. Each week, the goal has been to celebrate Israeli creativity and resilience, highlight emerging tech trends, and offer a positive lens on a world that can often feel dominated by negativity. With time, I’ve layered on top the main developments in the wider tech world, interesting links I found during the week and charts that have the potential to inspire and educate others (I have a knack for startup landscape maps, what can I say).
From Pandemic to AI Boom: Five Years in Tech
Putting things in perspective, it’s crazy how much has changed in the tech and venture world when since the first #FIRGUN posts appeared. Back then, the world was still reeling from the pandemic and we were wearing face masks on flights. Zoom was a household name, Clubhouse was the hot new app, and venture capital was about to enter a period of exuberance that still stands out as an anomaly…
Five years later, the landscape has transformed:
- Generative AI has moved from novelty to infrastructure. ChatGPT came out in November 2022. I published the first Israeli GenAI shortly after, featuring approximately 30 companies. Fast forward to July 2025 and our latest Remagine Ventures GenAI landscape featured over 342 Israeli GenAI startups that had raised at least $1M in funding.
- Gaming went from its peak in the pandemic through the entire Metaverse period (largely ‘thanks’ to Facebook changing it name to ‘Meta’ and the introduction of new headsets and AR tech). NFTs and virtual worlds came and went and to a large extent gaming is now back to stability.
- Spatial computing looked like it’s about to take off with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, but perhaps it was a necessary step for the real mass use-case of spatial computing which is starting to enter homes now: humanoid robots.
- Venture capital itself has matured and concentrated massively. Approximately 75% of all capital raised by VCs in 2024went to less than 30 funds. For the rest of the industry, funds are smaller, smarter, and more focused on early-stage conviction.
Through every shift, #FIRGUN has aimed to document the pulse of Israeli tech, from mega-exits like Wiz to the quiet persistence of early-stage founders building in stealth.
Lessons From 5 Years of Weekly Writing
After five years and hundreds of posts, a few lessons stand out:
- Consistency compounds. Writing weekly sharpens clarity and consistency is in my opinion a key component of building trust with your audience.
- Positivity travels. In a world of hot takes, celebrating others creates connection. It warms my heart when founders feel ‘seen’ and appreciate the Firgun.
- Israel’s innovation engine never stops. Even through war, market downturns, and uncertainty, founders continue to build. At the end of 2024, a year that was marked by war in Gaza, missiles from Iran and Yemen and rising antisemitism, Israeli startups raised over 40% than the year before, pre-war. In 2025, exits have already exceeded $71 billion, an unprecedented record.
- Community beats algorithms. Engagement comes not from hacks but from genuine dialogue with readers. Shortly after October 7th, I added the #BRINGTHEMHOME hashtag to every edition of #Firgun. I know I lost followers for that, but if they don’t share that wish, they should have never been subscribers in the first place probably.
- Success Requires Scale in Time, Not Followers. The true value of a weekly habit isn’t measured in the growth of a single month, but in the compounding goodwill and back catalog built over 5+ years. Play the long game.
Stay Calm and Carry On
As we head into 2026, #FIRGUN will continue to evolve: more founder stories, deeper dives into AI, and a closer look at the people shaping the next decade of technology.
To the thousands who’ve read, shared, commented, or simply smiled at a weekly dose of firgun: thank you. Your support fuels the mission to spotlight innovation with optimism and empathy.
If you haven’t yet, join the #FIRGUN community on LinkedIn. Here’s to the next five years and to more reasons to celebrate others’ success.
He is a former General Partner at Google Ventures (GV) in Europe, former head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe, and founding head of Campus London, Google's first startup hub. Eze writes on Israeli tech, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and founder strategy.
He is also the founder of Techbikers, a nonprofit that brings together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read.
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