After our meeting with Glen Schwaber from Israel CleanTech Ventures, we departed Jerusalem for the trip south to the city of Be'er Sheva. As we drove, the group debriefed from our earlier meeting and also prepared questions and exchanged information in preparation for our two upcoming afternoon company visits.
Photo by Kristin Thompson
At the time, unbeknown to the team, our group's driver had mistakenly taken an unintended detour on Israel Highway 60, which cuts directly through the heart of the West Bank, past the cities of Bethlehem and Hebron, before reentering Israel proper just outside Be'er Sheva. We were all definitely caught off guard when - after two hours of very fast driving - we entered an armed checkpoint to reenter Israeli controlled territory. Definitely an interesting experience, to say the least! I would write more, but that story is for another time.
After a quick schwarma lunch at a local mall, we arrived at our second meeting of the day, Netafim. Founded in 1965, Netafim is jointly owned by three kibbutzim - Hatzerim, Magal and Yiftah. As of June, 2010 they have over 2,000 employees, operate in 112 countries, and have annual sales over $400 million. Netafim is the global leader in smart drip irrigation solutions for a sustainable future. Since introducing the world's first drip irrigation solutions they have led the way by developing products that help our customers optimize results.
Photo by Kristin Thompson
Our host and guide at Netafim was Naty Barak, the Head of Sustainable Development and a 30+ year veteran of both Netafim and the Hatzerim kibbutz. Naty offered the Smith team a fantastic overview of Israel's first cleantech firm (before anyone even knew about sustainability or clean technology), its history and its future. After a 20 minute presentation, covering the technology of drip irrigation, as well as a few current case studies of its use and impact in global agriculture, we departed for a tour of the Netafim factory. We walked the production floor, inspecting up close each machine along the way.
Photo by Kristin Thompson
Our next visit was to Yitran Communications Ltd., another Be'er Sheva based company. Yitran is a company based around power line carrier technology. In particular, they produce fabless semiconductors and integrated circuits that allow for command and control applications including Energy Management, Automatic/Remote Meter Reading, Home/Building Automation, Switching and Lighting, HVAC Control, Street Light control and more. Now 10+ years since its creation, Yitran is still looking for its first big win.
Amit Grauer, Yitran's current VP of Product Management played host to the Smith team during our visit and walked us though Yitran's short, but eventful history - walking us through its ups and downs - and explaining the path they see to eventually achieving success in the future. As many in our group aspire to become entrepreneurs in the future - it was certainly interesting understanding the false starts, missed opportunities, etc. that come with any new venture. Yitran is certainly an interesting company with a valuable product. The question is twofold though: 1) Can they convince the right industry players to adopt them as the standard? and 2) Can they stay afloat long enough to see the first part become reality?
The weekend in Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva was highly rewarding. By the time we rolled back into Haifa late Sunday night - without a doubt - the whole team was exhausted. That being said, everyone agreed that they wouldn't have missed anything we'd done.
Following our successful vist with Moshe Levin at DFJ Tamir Fishman, we hopped in our bus and drove across Tel Aviv for our second meeting of the day. After a quick lunch, we made our way upstairs and into the offices of AquAgro Fund. This fund, which is a subsidiary of one of Israel's largest conglomerates, Gaon Holdings, is a venture capital fund focused on cleantech technologies and investments.
Our meeting was facilitated by one the fund's primary managing partners, Hillel Milo. Like our previous speaker, Mr. Milo is about as experienced as one gets in the Israeli venture capital industry. He co-founded one of the earliest VC firms in Israel. Further, he has a wealth of other venture and industry experience. Hillel has quite a presence in a room. He was able to present non-stop for 45 minutes, with no notes - easily calling up data and information from his mind - while at the same time keeping us captivated. By the end of our meeting we all wished we'd had more time to pick his brain.
"The team meets with Hillel Milo of AquAgro"
Photo by Kristin Thompson
Unlike the previous meeting we'd just attended, Hillel decided to focus specifically on a few of the current cleantech investments that AquAgro is engaged in right now. Further, Hillel gave us a great breakdown of the specific sectors that he believes constitute the cleantech market. Lastly, he gave us an overview of the primary criteria he (and his team) utilize when evaluating potential investments.
If our previous meeting had been about where Israel has been, our meeting with Hillel was about where Israel is going. For example, AquAgro is invested in a firm, Desalitech, which has invented a revolutionary method to create affordable and scalable water desalination. Another investment is in Evogene, a biotech firm that has created (and patented) over 400 novel genes to radically improve crop yields. One final company we discussed is Variable Wind, who has a technology that brings wind energy costs into parity with fossil fuels.
Altogether, our two meetings were both highly engaging and highly informative. Both were great introductions into the Israeli venture capital market. Further, each touched on both traditional and emerging investment spaces (e.g. cleantech). Next week, the team will be heading to Jerusalem to participate in a two day business conference focused on high tech.
After a free day to rest and recover, on Thursday we had our first class at the Technion. Around 4PM, we left our place in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood to head to the campus.
Upon arrival we had a reception and had our first chance to meet our Israeli classmates (and teammates) for the summer. It seemed clear from the get-go (at least to me, and I believe to the other Smith students as well) that our Israeli teammates are just as excited as we are to get started. Our Israeli counterparts are all current students at the Technion, though many are also still employed during the week, mostly in the high-tech, aviation, and defense industries. To be sure, their diverse technical expertise will come in handy!
Class began promptly at 5PM with our professor, Uzi de Haan, spending a few minutes introducing the material, outlining the course, and setting expectations. Uzi - a professor at the Technion since 2003 and formerly CEO of Philips Electronics Israel seems like a real "no nonsense" kind of operator. He offered the class a pretty stark assessment of the challenge in front of us. Also, he didn't sugarcoat the assignment by shying away from the reality that some of the patents we'd be looking at wouldn't necessarily be "ready for prime time".
At 7PM we moved to a different classroom to hear presentations from each of the various patent inventors, scientists, and researchers regarding their technologies. Over the course of the next 2+ hours, we were given a terrific introduction to each of the patents. Some were already in a prototype stage, while others were still merely conceptual. Some had clear problems they looked to address, whereas others were still solutions looking for the right question. Regardless, what was clear was that each was very different and thus, would require teams to undertake multiple approaches.
With our teams formed and our patents assigned, the next two weeks will see us driving towards our first deliverable. Using both outside research, combined with team brainstorming, we must determine five potential markets or end users for our technology. We will then create presentations and come prepared to defend our selections.
The views expressed on this site are those of Daniel Branscome, hereafter referred to as "the owner", and do not necessarily represent those of the University of Maryland, the Robert H. Smith School of Business, or the Technion. All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this blog or found by following any link on this blog. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
Amit Grauer, Yitran's current VP of Product Management played host to the Smith team during our visit and walked us though Yitran's short, but eventful history - walking us through its ups and downs - and explaining the path they see to eventually achieving success in the future. As many in our group aspire to become entrepreneurs in the future - it was certainly interesting understanding the false starts, missed opportunities, etc. that come with any new venture. Yitran is certainly an interesting company with a valuable product. The question is twofold though: 1) Can they convince the right industry players to adopt them as the standard? and 2) Can they stay afloat long enough to see the first part become reality?
