Birthright Israel Excel Ventures Program

What Birthright Israel Excel Ventures Program does

Birthright Israel Excel is a nonprofit fellowship program established in 2011 and operated under Taglit Birthright Israel, running a highly selective 10-week summer internship track in Tel Aviv for Jewish college students and recent graduates, alongside a newly launched Executive Cohort pilot for senior professionals with 10+ years of business experience. The program matches Fellows with internships at 25+ Israeli partner companies spanning banking, consulting, venture capital, cybersecurity, fintech, and enterprise software — including Goldman Sachs Israel, Blackstone Israel, Meta Israel, Wix, Monday.com, Fiverr, EY, Deloitte, and Team8 — while layering in speaker series, weekend trips, mentorship, and 1:1 pairing with Israeli peer fellows to build cultural and professional ties.

The underlying product is not technology-based: it is a curated, cohort-based experiential education offering delivered through human-intensive program management, admissions interviews (including an AI interview stage), on-the-ground operations in Tel Aviv, and a global alumni engagement layer comprising 100+ yearly events across 20+ cities and an annual Global Summit in New York. The alumni community has grown to 1,500+ Fellows, producing 115+ startup founders, 24 Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, and a stated 1/3 placement rate at Fortune 500 companies.

The business model is donor-funded philanthropy: the majority of program costs are covered by charitable contributions managed through the Birthright Israel Foundation, with participants paying a $500 administrative fee and covering their own airfare. There is no venture or private equity ownership; the program operates as a mission-driven nonprofit under a Global Leadership Board, with an Executive Director (Idit Rubin) and a core staff of fewer than 10 people overseeing global operations, community, placements, and marketing.

Name

Birthright Israel Excel Ventures Program

Legal name

Birthright Israel Excel

Website

https://birthrightisraelexcel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Birthright Israel Excel is a nonprofit fellowship under Taglit Birthright Israel that runs a selective 10-week summer internship program in Tel Aviv for Jewish college students, pairing Fellows with leading Israeli employers and a global alumni network of 1,500+.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Fellowship Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Provider-Run International Internship Programs (Multi-Country/Multi-Industry) (EDAIAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Study Abroad Program Operators (THAKAGAD), Sector-Specific Internship Programs (e.g., STEM, Business, Health, Arts) (EDAIAFAI)

Keywords

• Summer internship program
• Business fellowship program
• Entrepreneurship training program
• Alumni networking community
• Career development fellowship

Headquarters

HQ city

Tel Aviv

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding: Majority of program costs covered by generous donors supporting the Excel Fellowship. Birthright Israel Foundation manages donations.
2. Program Fee: Accepted participants pay a $500 program fee at acceptance. This covers administrative costs and partial program expenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

A prestigious 10-week summer business fellowship established in 2011 that places outstanding Jewish college students into professional internships at Israeli companies in Tel Aviv, supplemented by mentorship, speaker series with Israeli business leaders, weekend trips, and 1:1 pairing with Israeli peer Fellows. The program is highly selective (80 participants annually starting Summer 2027) and grants lifelong membership in a global alumni community spanning 20+ countries.

Product overview

Birthright Israel Excel is a prestigious business fellowship program comprising two main offerings: the Excel Global Fellowship (summer internship program) and the Executive Cohort Program. The Global Fellowship matches accomplished Jewish college students with Israeli companies for 8-week summer internships in Tel Aviv, paired with Israeli peer fellows, while the Executive Cohort serves senior professionals with 10+ years experience. Both programs include speaker series, cohort trips, and lifelong membership in the Excel Community alumni network spanning 20+ countries with 100+ yearly events. The program was established by Birthright Israel in 2011 and has produced 1,500+ fellows including 115+ startup founders and 24 Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Excel Fellowship Summer Program: Summer business and tech internship program in Tel Aviv for Jewish college students
• Executive Cohort

Products and services

• Excel Fellowship (Global Fellowship) A highly selective summer business and tech internship fellowship in Tel Aviv for Jewish college students globally. Fellows are matched with Israeli companies for professional internships across biotech, consulting, cyber technology, engineering, finance, marketing, software development, startups, and venture capital, while participating in speaker series, three weekend trips, and 1:1 pairing with Israeli peer fellows.
• Executive Cohort Program An exclusive pilot program for Jewish executives with ten or more years of business experience. Features a five-month immersive experience including retreats in Philadelphia, a three-day Global Summit in NYC, and a six-day mission in Israel, evolving into lifelong Fellowship engagement.
• Excel Community (Alumni Network) The lifelong alumni community of 1,500+ Excel Fellows providing professional networking, mentorship, Jewish identity experiences, and 100+ yearly events across 20+ cities worldwide, including an annual Global Summit in NYC.

Quantifiable outcome

• 24 alumni selected for Forbes 30 Under 30
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• EYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEY provides internship opportunities for Excel Fellows in consulting roles. Fellows work on strategy consulting, corporate strategy, and ESG consulting projects at EY's Israeli operations.
• DeloittecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeloitte offers summer consulting internships at their Tel Aviv office. Fellows gain experience in strategy consulting and professional services.
• Check Point SoftwarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCheck Point provides cyber technology internship opportunities for Excel Fellows interested in cybersecurity.
• WixcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWix offers software development internships, including software engineering roles, for Excel Fellows.
• Battery VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBattery Ventures provides venture capital internship opportunities across Series A, B, and C investments.
• ViolacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerViola offers venture capital internship positions for Excel Fellows interested in Israeli tech investments.
• Goldman Sachs IsraelflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoldman Sachs Israel participates in Excel speaker series and provides internship opportunities for high-performing Fellows. Managing Directors feature in curated speaker series.
• Blackstone IsraelflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlackstone Israel Managing Directors participate in Excel speaker series, providing insights into private equity and alternative investments.
• Meta IsraelflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeta Israel Managing Directors contribute to Excel speaker series and provide internship opportunities for Fellows.
• Blumberg CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlumberg Capital, an Israeli venture capital firm, provides internship opportunities for Excel Fellows.
• Monday.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonday.com offers startup internship opportunities for Excel Fellows in project management and business development roles.
• FiverrcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFiverr provides startup internship opportunities in Tel Aviv for Excel Fellows interested in gig economy and freelance platforms.
• ironSourcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerironSource offers marketing internships for Excel Fellows, including content marketing and marketing analyst roles.
• Team 8coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam 8, a cyber research and development group, provides cyber technology internship opportunities.
• Houlihan LokeycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHoulihan Lokey offers finance internships, including investment banking analyst positions, for Excel Fellows.
• EvercorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEvercore provides investment banking internship opportunities for Excel Fellows interested in M&A advisory.
• GMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeneral Motors offers engineering internships at their Israeli operations, including innovation analyst roles.
• Mercedes-BenzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMercedes-Benz provides engineering internships for Excel Fellows interested in automotive and mobility technologies.
• VisacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisa offers finance and innovation internships through their Israeli operations, including venture capital and fintech roles.
• BarclayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBarclays Investment Bank provides internship opportunities in investment banking for Excel Fellows.
• Entrée CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEntrée Capital provides venture capital internship opportunities across early-stage Israeli startups.
• TnuvaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTnuva, an Israeli food company, provides internship opportunities for Excel Fellows.
• MagmaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMagma provides venture capital internship opportunities for Excel Fellows.
• ShaldorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShaldor, an Israeli technology consulting firm, provides internship opportunities.
• APCO WorldwideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPCO Worldwide provides consulting and communications internship opportunities for Excel Fellows.
• Start-Up Nation CentralcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStart-Up Nation Central connects Fellows with Israel's innovation ecosystem through internships and mentorship.
• TriventuresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTriventures provides venture capital internship opportunities focused on healthcare and medical technology investments.
• myThingsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnermyThings provides internship opportunities in digital marketing and advertising technology.
• AxoniuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAxonius, a cybersecurity asset management company, provides internship opportunities for Excel Fellows.
• FairflyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFairfly provides internship opportunities in revenue management and AI for the travel industry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Hadassah: Large Jewish women's organization with active young-professional (Hadassah Young Leaders) programming. Thematically adjacent (Jewish identity, leadership, community) and shares some donor universe with Excel.

Direct peers

• Onward Israel: Subsidiary of Masa offering short-term career-development experiences in Israel for Jewish college students and recent grads. Most direct functional overlap with Excel's summer internship fellowship model.
• Birthright Israel Onward: Post-college Jewish young adult engagement program under the same Birthright Israel umbrella. Targets the same alumni funnel as Excel but with longer, multi-country experiences.
• ROI Community: Global network of Jewish young leaders (ages 25-40) offering summits, micro-grants, and community. Comparable audience (Jewish young professionals) with similar networking and identity-building value proposition.
• Birthright Israel Volunteer: Sibling program under the same Taglit Birthright Israel parent, channeling Jewish young adults into volunteer placements in Israel. Shares brand, donor base, and recruitment infrastructure with Excel.
• Masa Israel Journey: Largest provider of long-term Israel experiences for young Jewish adults (study, internship, volunteer). Directly competes for the same diaspora-Jewish-young-adult pipeline as Excel, with overlapping donor base and partner companies.

Emerging players

• World Union of Jewish Students: Global pluralistic Jewish student organization with active programming and advocacy. Comparable audience (Jewish university students worldwide) and partly overlapping community/network goals.
• Israeli-American Council: Largest Israeli-American organization, with strong young-professional programming. Comparable audience (Israeli and Jewish young adults in the US) and networking/community value proposition.
• JNFuture: Young leadership division of Jewish National Fund engaging Jewish professionals 25-45 through trips, events, and philanthropy. Comparable demographic and donor-development flywheel to Excel.

Broad incumbents

• Hillel International: Largest Jewish campus organization globally; while not a direct internship provider, it serves as the dominant Jewish student engagement infrastructure from which Excel recruits and through which it could expand distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/birthright-israel-excel
• Instagraminstagram.com/birthrightisraelexcel
• Xx.com/birthrightexcel
• Facebookfacebook.com/BRIExcel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments5 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Birthright Israel Excel Ventures Program