Invested by Aleph · 2026-05-20 · 46 min
On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with Oren Zeev, a one-man VC with $2.7 billion AUM. Over the last three decades, Oren has quietly built one of the most remarkable track records in venture capital, backing category-defining companies including Audible, Chegg, TripActions/Navan, Tipalti, Houzz, Riverside, and more. Operating without a traditional partnership or even an office, Oren runs Zeev Ventures largely from Café Venetia in Palo Alto - relying on speed, conviction, and founder relationships to make investments that others often miss. In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, Michael and Oren unpack the psychology of venture investing, why most partnerships create “negative feedback loops,” and why missing a great company is far worse than making a bad investment. Oren explains how he evaluates founders in a single meeting, what makes a company defensible in the age of AI, and why adaptability matters more than code.
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