Markstone Capital Group

Markstone Capital Group

MARKSTONE CAPITAL GROUP HAS OPERATED at the Israel-US corridor since its 2004 founding by Elliott Broidy, the former Los Angeles-based venture and private equity investor, and Amir Kess, an Israeli operator and investment professional. The firm was established to bridge what the founders identified as a persistent gap: deep operational and strategic expertise for Israeli companies targeting North American commercialization, coupled with institutional-grade capital. Broidy's background includes founding Broidy Capital Management and serving as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Kess brings operating experience from Israeli technology and real estate sectors. The firm invests primarily from Markstone Capital Partners, a closed-end private equity vehicle. Markstone targets equity investments of $10 million to $50 million in growth-stage companies across Israel's technology, industrial, and services sectors. The strategy emphasizes majority or significant minority stakes that give the firm board influence and operational partnership. Sector exposure has historically spanned enterprise software, cybersecurity, industrial automation, healthcare equipment, and precision agriculture. Portfolio companies have included names in the Israeli defense technology and water-treatment sectors, leveraging Israel's national security R&D spillover. Markstone sources deals through the personal networks of its co-founders and a dedicated Tel Aviv office, which provides on-the-ground diligence and portfolio monitoring. As a mid-market private equity firm with a single geographic concentration, Markstone does not publicly disclose assets under management. The team operates from dual headquarters in New York and Tel Aviv, maintaining a lean professional staff typical of relationship-driven cross-border funds. In 2007, the firm closed its debut institutional fund, which drew commitments from North American university endowments, pension funds, and family offices. Markstone does not maintain a venture capital vehicle, a public-equities book, or a philanthropic foundation directly tied to the GP. The Tel Aviv office remains the operational center of gravity for deal origination and post-investment value creation, while the New York presence manages investor relations and facilitates portfolio-company entry into US commercial, regulatory, and capital markets. The structural differentiator of Markstone is its bilateral geography play, which is deeper than a typical fund's fly-in approach. The firm operates with full-time investment professionals on the ground in Israel, making it a native-level participant in that ecosystem while retaining US institutional LP relationships and exit pathways. This architecture avoids the common pattern of US funds parachuting into Israel solely for deal sourcing or Israeli managers lacking direct access to US growth-capital networks. Markstone's model is a dedicated conduit: decades of bilateral trust-building between its New York GP and Tel Aviv team makes the firm a default partner for Israeli companies that have outgrown local venture capital but are not yet ready for a direct US listing or sponsor sale.