Startup x Investor Tel Aviv Event: Distribution, AI, Off-The-Record Roles, & Building Without Permission

We’re Hosting In Tel Aviv May 21st! 📍 

Join us for an exciting in-person event to network with top founders and investors in Tel Aviv! We will dive into the nitty-gritty of fundraising preparation and hear from an outstanding Investor Panel.

The panel will include the following:

• Eric Reiner, Founder and Managing Partner at Vine Ventures

• Lia Cromwell, Partner at Upwest

• Hillel Fuld, International Tech and Marketing Advisor

Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this event is perfect for gaining valuable insights and networking with top founders and investors.

📍 Central Tel Aviv
👉 Exact location shared after registering

Finding Your Edge: Ben Lang

Ben Lang’s done a lot—early Notion team, investor, builder, curator. He connects dots. Between people, ideas, timing. Between what is and what could be.

We caught up with Ben and—honestly—he dropped gold. Some ideas reinforced what we’ve already been seeing with founders. Others sparked new ways of thinking about how we build, how we pitch, and how we help clients carve their edge.

We’ve already started applying a lot of it here at LionRun—and figured it was only right to pass it on.

1. Momentum > Masterplans

Ben’s story doesn’t start with a startup—it starts with eBay listings and solving small problems for the people around him.

That turned into side projects, which turned into skills, which turned into opportunities.

The through line was motion—and sometimes, that’s all you need to get where you’re going.

2. Tools > Titles

There was a time when shipping an MVP meant recruiting a technical cofounder, building for months, and hoping for traction on the other side. That time is gone.

Ben walked us through tools like Lovable, Cursor, and Vercel—platforms that make it possible to go from idea to live product in days, sometimes hours.

The playing field is wider now. You don’t need a CS degree or a YC badge to build something real.

Speed wins. Experimentation wins. And if you’ve got ideas, there’s never been a better time to get scrappy.

3. Distribution > Product

Ben didn’t say product doesn’t matter. He said distribution might matter more. Especially now.

With AI spinning out new apps by the hour, the technical moat is getting thinner. But the ability to build audience, attention, and trust—that’s harder to replicate.

We’re seeing it too. Founders who know their niche and have a sharp distribution angle are just moving faster. So the question isn’t just what are you building? It’s who is it for—and how are they going to find it?

4. Curation > Clout

Ben’s job lists started as a side thing—an experiment to surface cool opportunities that didn’t always make it to the usual channels.

Now, they’ve evolved into Next Play—a platform for early-stage roles, off-the-record opportunities, and the weird, interesting stuff that falls between the cracks.

It’s less about job hunting, more about finding the things that aren’t public yet—but should be.

We love how Ben is building around curiosity, not credentials. And we’re big fans of anything that helps people navigate inflection points with better tools and less noise.

5. Action > Applications

Ben didn’t apply to Notion. There wasn’t a job listing. There wasn’t even a role.

He was an early user, started making websites and Facebook groups to see how others were using the product—and eventually found himself having tea with the founder, then landed a job.

It wasn’t planned. It was momentum, again. And it’s a reminder that not all roles come with a formal door. Some of the best ones don’t.

If there’s one thing we took away from Ben, it’s that great things tend to start small. An eBay hustle. A community post. A quiet bet on yourself.

Not every opportunity shows up with a title or roadmap. Sometimes it starts with just doing the thing, even before anyone asks. Watch the full conversation with Ben below.

Thanks for reading, here's a 10% discount on any project—use it yourself or share it with a fellow founder who could benefit from our services. Download the PNG and send it to us upon outreach!

P.S. Email replies are on! If there are any topics you'd like to explore or questions you have, feel free to reply to this email.

Until next time— we’ll be on the lookout!

Interested in working with LionRun?