Although it has never been easy to found a startup and take the first steps into the world of technology entrepreneurship, the current market makes it even more challenging. Despite this, a new series of networks have emerged to share information, ways and tips with the general population to facilitate the first steps of entrepreneurs in this field.
From idea to networking
The network series, called The Next Exit, features a number of prominent figures from Israel’s local startup industry, who share their experiences in technology. Participants include investors such as Dovi Frances, Jasmin Lukacs, Itay Rand, Rotem Eldar, Gil Canaani, Tal Slobodkin and Guy Katzovitz, unicorn founders Chen Amit and Roey Eliyahu, and entrepreneurs including Alon Gamz, Yoav Wilner, Gal Zabib, Or Zilberman , Gilad Steinberg, Asaf Ezra, Orly Shoavi, Roni Steinberg, Dan Peleg and Hila Bakshi.
The video series contains 10 episodes and shows – in a light and humorous way – the main principles for launching a startup, including ideas, choosing the right partnership and partners, preparing a presentation for investors, fundraising and networking. The series was written in collaboration with ICON, a non-profit organization founded by Jasmin Lukech designed to help Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs and connect them to Silicon Valley, and Noah Zilberman, co-founder of ODO Security, which was acquired by Check Point and completed the ICON accelerator program (SV101). Google for Startups and Geektime Israel are also partners in the series production. Last Thursday, a launch party for the series was held in Tel Aviv, hosting investors and entrepreneurs from Israel’s high-tech ecosystem.
At the event, Jasmin Lukacs, founder and CEO of ICON, said: “Proper guidance for new entrepreneurs is more important today than ever. There is less money in the market now, but that doesn’t mean the market has dried up. Venture funds still have a lot of money they are interested in investing, even in these challenging times. The difference is that they are more careful and thorough about who they give money to compared to previous years that saw crazy spending and a boom in the market. Some funds are still sitting on the fence, but a startup with a good idea and promising entrepreneurs can still attract them to invest. We want to give entrepreneurs the tools to precisely take those first steps, which will increase their chances of success.”
Yuval Passov, Google’s director of startups, added: “A key part of our mission is to help everyone who dreams of starting a startup get access to the tools, knowledge and people who can help make that dream a reality. We’re proud to have you join ICON and Noah Zilberman, and we’re grateful to everyone who donated their time, professional experience, and personal knowledge to help early-stage startups turn their ideas into profitable businesses. We hope the series helps more dreamers get their foot in the door of entrepreneurship.”
Noah Zilberman, who runs the series, said: “When I founded my startup, I knew nothing about the world of entrepreneurship. Fortunately, I knew where to look and who to ask and I filled the gap very quickly, thanks to the knowledge I received through ICON Of course, there is so much information about the high-tech world out there, but most of it is not easily accessible if you don’t know where to look. Our goal is to make this knowledge, which is, for the most part, closed and available only to those already in the industry, available to everyone. . Anyone who dreams of launching a startup should be able to cross the initial barrier into a relatively closed-odds industry, regardless of what they studied, what military unit they served in, or where they work today.”
Although the series is in Hebrew, this is another initiation coming from Israel that helps to give importance to the success of the ecosystem and the true title of Startup Nation.
