Lia Cromwell

Background

Lia Cromwell is a Partner at UpWest, a pre-seed and seed venture capital fund focused exclusively on Israeli founders building for the US market ¹. She is based in Tel Aviv and serves as the firm’s Israel-side investment lead ².

Cromwell was born and raised in New York to an Israeli-American family and made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) in 2017 when she joined UpWest as its first permanent team member based in Israel ³. Prior to UpWest, she was an early employee at FiscalNote, a govtech company now listed on Nasdaq ³. Before FiscalNote, she worked as a credit analyst at a boutique New York firm covering the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector ³.

At UpWest, Cromwell progressed from Associate through Principal to Partner, leading the firm’s Israel-based investment activities throughout ³. She was promoted to Partner in 2024, becoming the firm’s third partner alongside co-founders Gil Ben-Artzy and Shuly Galili ³. She holds a BA in Public Policy from Duke University ².

Cromwell was named to Forbes Israel’s 30 Under 30 list ². She is actively involved with the Nevo Network, a nonprofit helping olim (immigrants to Israel) integrate into the Israeli tech ecosystem ¹.

Stated Thesis

Cromwell and UpWest publicly describe their mandate as investing exclusively in Israeli founders building for the US market: “We are first check investors in Israeli founders building for the US market. We are most interested in backing teams with at least 1 Israeli founder who have (or plan to have) the CEO based in the US” ².

The fund explicitly states that companies targeting geographies outside the US or lacking US operational headquarters are out of scope ².

Cromwell has articulated her view on what differentiates successful Israeli founders breaking into the US: “One of the best things a team can do to increase their likelihood of success is to have the CEO physically in their target market” ⁴. She emphasizes proximity to customers as a strategic imperative, noting: “If anything, Zoom works too well. It gets your foot in the door, but it doesn’t help you differentiate yourself. Americans feel more comfortable on Zoom with someone who is also American. The second a founder can say, ‘I’m calling you from New York or Silicon Valley,’ it builds trust much faster.” ⁴

On founder profile, she has stated: “Only about 50% of successful VC-backed founders come from the industry they’re disrupting. The other half are outsiders who bring fresh thinking. We look for founders who bring a unique advantage, whether that’s expertise or an entirely new way of solving a problem.” ⁴

On deal flow and selectivity, she has noted: “Venture capital is the business of saying no. We meet hundreds [of startups] annually, but invest in four to eight.” ⁴

In early 2025, Cromwell said at the Calcalist Roadshow+ conference that early-stage teams can now “achieve a lot more with a lot less” thanks to AI advancements, and that Israeli founders possess strong fundamentals — even during wartime, the Israeli startup market “continued to track macro trends completely.” ⁵

On AI’s role in markets: “It’s both…the new baseline for everything,” while anticipating “a bit of a correction” in certain market segments ⁵. She described 2025 as “a really hectic year,” noting that while some companies raised “massive amounts,” most teams are building “under the radar somewhat quietly.” ⁵

Inferred Thesis

Based on 8 verified investments attributed to Cromwell as Board Observer or deal lead at UpWest, analyzed by sector:

Sector Allocation (8 verified investments): - Cybersecurity: 1 company (13%) — CyCognito - Fintech / Payments: 1 company (13%) — Balance - Digital Health / Oncology: 1 company (13%) — Canopy - AgTech / Precision Agriculture: 1 company (13%) — BeeHero - AI / Sports Performance: 1 company (13%) — Zone7 - Developer Tools / Observability: 1 company (13%) — Aspecto - Gaming / Marketplace: 1 company (13%) — OviO - Fintech / Lending Infrastructure: 1 company (13%) — Ecton

Note: This represents 8 personally attributable investments out of UpWest’s 100+ firm-wide portfolio. The sample is too small for reliable sector percentages; the equal distribution above is an artifact of having only 8 data points. UpWest as a firm has invested in cybersecurity, AI, fintech, digital health, biotech, and govtech ³, and Cromwell’s full book likely reflects this distribution across more companies.

Stage Distribution: All 8 verified investments are at pre-seed or seed stage, consistent with UpWest’s mandate ². Cromwell joined UpWest during Fund III (pre-2021) and has been active through Fund IV (closed at $70M in November 2021) ⁶.

Geographic Patterns: Every verified investment is an Israeli-founded company headquartered in or relocating to the US. This is a hard constraint of UpWest’s mandate, not merely a preference ². Cromwell operates from Tel Aviv, giving her primary access to Israeli companies at formation stage ¹.

Check Size: UpWest’s stated range is $200K minimum to $3M maximum, with a $1.5M target check ². Pre-seed checks are at the lower end of this range; seed investments can approach the upper end.

Founder Profile Patterns: Cromwell has noted approximately one-third of UpWest’s portfolio companies already have US-based Israeli founders at first check, while two-thirds originate in Israel and later establish a US presence ⁴. She is demonstrably comfortable backing solo founders — Canopy’s Lavi Kwiatkowsky is a solo founder ⁷.

Co-investor Patterns: Observed co-investors across Cromwell’s portfolio include: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Sorenson Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Samsung NEXT, GSR Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund, General Catalyst, Clocktower Ventures, and LionBird ^89101112. This reflects a broad co-investor base across generalist and sector-specialist seed funds.

Decision Speed: No data from founder reports specifically. UpWest explicitly positions itself as the first institutional check, leading pre-seed and seed rounds for Israeli-US founders ².

Notable Patterns: Cromwell’s portfolio spans an unusually wide sector range for a pre-seed investor — healthcare, agtech, fintech, developer tools, cybersecurity, sports AI, and gaming. The unifying thesis is cross-border Israeli-to-US market expansion, not sector specialization. This is consistent with UpWest’s positioning as a market-entry fund rather than a sector fund.

Portfolio

This table represents 8 verified investments personally attributed to Lia Cromwell as Board Observer or deal lead. UpWest’s full portfolio exceeds 100 companies; many additional investments may have involved Cromwell without public attribution. Years for CyCognito, Canopy, Aspecto, and Zone7 are based on reported first-check dates from public funding round data. OviO year is approximate based on founding date; exact UpWest investment date not confirmed.

In Their Own Words

On joining UpWest as partner:

“Over the past seven years, I have been fortunate to grow alongside UpWest and our portfolio companies, and I am thrilled to take this next step as a partner.” ³

On UpWest’s mission:

“We are committed to advancing the continued growth of the Israeli technology ecosystem and supporting Israeli entrepreneurs and startups as much as possible in their US-market expansion.” ³

On CEO location as competitive advantage:

“One of the best things a team can do to increase their likelihood of success is to have the CEO physically in their target market.” ⁴

On the limits of Zoom for international founders:

“If anything, Zoom works too well. It gets your foot in the door, but it doesn’t help you differentiate yourself. Americans feel more comfortable on Zoom with someone who is also American. The second a founder can say, ‘I’m calling you from New York or Silicon Valley,’ it builds trust much faster.” ⁴

On meeting preparation for Israeli founders entering the US:

“They need to be five times more prepared for meetings than they would be in Israel.” ⁴

On founder backgrounds:

“Only about 50% of successful VC-backed founders come from the industry they’re disrupting. The other half are outsiders who bring fresh thinking. We look for founders who bring a unique advantage, whether that’s expertise or an entirely new way of solving a problem.” ⁴

On VC selectivity:

“Venture capital is the business of saying no. We meet hundreds [of startups] annually, but invest in four to eight.” ⁴

On AI as a new baseline:

“It’s both…the new baseline for everything.” ⁵

On pre-seed market in March 2024 (via X/Twitter):

“Pre-seed never left, but it’s definitely heating up.” ¹⁵

On Israeli founders in 2025:

“Most teams are building under the radar somewhat quietly” despite some companies raising substantial capital. ⁵

What Founders Say

The UpWest website features testimonials from portfolio founders about the firm broadly. These are attributed to the firm’s partnership collectively, not specifically to Cromwell:

Oz Alon, CEO & Co-founder, HoneyBook:

“The UpWest team is exceptional at helping you immerse yourself in the US market so you can meet your real customers and ultimately get a foothold where it matters the most.” ¹

Eyal Feldman, CEO & Co-Founder, Stampli:

“Operating early in Silicon Valley alongside the UpWest team opened a whole new world of possibilities for Stampli. We successfully onboarded new customers that supercharged our entire business.” ¹

Tomer Weingarten, CEO & Co-Founder, SentinelOne:

“UpWest helped us create momentum — the entrepreneur’s ultimate weapon…The UpWest community is still a part of our company culture, it is like a family.” ¹

Note: These testimonials are from the UpWest website and refer to the UpWest team collectively, not specifically to Lia Cromwell. No independently sourced founder testimonials specifically about working with Cromwell were found after dedicated searching.

Sources