Final Presentations

On Tuesday, prior to our final presentations later in the week, the team was invited to celebrate the end of the course at a BBQ hosted by one of the VCs. The event was a great culmination to the course and was a really terrific send-off by our professor Uzi de Haan as well as the various other VCs who've been with us since week one. It also definitely didn't hurt that the food (chicken and lamb kebab) and locale were awesome, too!

"I talk with Gil about cross cultural relations at the celebratory bbq"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

On Thursday night we gave our final presentations - on our tech commercialization and business plan projects - to a panel of venture capitalists. Other members of the audience included classmates, professors, inventors, and representatives of the Technion Technology Transfer Office. Our final pitch was a summation of the previous 7 weeks - distilled into a succinct 15 minute pitch. All in all, the shared consensus was that everyone did a terrific job with the presentations. Personally, I'm glad to be done.

"Kristin and Kelley pitch their hydrogen business to the VCs"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

That night, following class, the team went out and celebrated in Haifa until the whee hours of the morning. Our first stop of the evening was The Sleek. Many hours and drinks later everyone relocated via taxi to Haifa beach for dancing and swimming in the late (early) morning hours. Shortly thereafter we caught taxis back to the house. Good times!

Better Place

Earlier today, the Smith team had the opportunity to visit one of the most interesting companies currently operating in Israel today, Better Place. Launched in 2007 by Shai Agassi, (who we had seen speak earlier this summer at the Technion) the one time future CEO of SAP AG, Better Place has already raised over $700 million dollars in venture backing. The goal of Better Place is to get the world off of oil - focusing on creating an innovative model for the car industry and a new generation of electric cars - whereby the battery is removed from the cost of the car. An idea which has the potential to be a real game changer.

Better Place has already entered into agreements with Nissan-Renault and China's Cherry Automobile to produce full lines of vehicles starting in 2011. Israel and Denmark are the initial target markets - with a planned roll-out in Australia shortly thereafter. In the next day or two, I'll provide some additional debrief and background on our visit (and a full recap of our test drives on their car track), as well as our other company visits. In the meantime here's a video that gives a great overview of the firm and its mission.

Second Recap

Another three weeks have passed since our arrival in Israel. The time continues to go by extremely quickly and a lot has transpired in this very short period. As such, I think it's time for another brief summary - for readers both new and old.

Week 4: I wrote about our first class presentations to Israeli venture capitalists at the Technion here. Additionally, the fourth week found the Smith team traveling to Jerusalem during the middle of the week for the Hi-Tech Investment Conference, which I blogged about here and here. Additionally, Israel's Prime Minister made a surprise visit to the conference, which I posted about here. The weekend found the team traveling back to Jerusalem once again - this time for tours of the city's cultural and historical sites.

Week 5: For week five, the Smith team traveled for company visits in Jerusalem (here) and Be'er Sheva (here). Later in the week we went to a speech by Better Place's Shai Agassi at the Technion. This same week I also wrote about our esteemed photographer Kristen Thompson and also posted the latest trip video by Stephen Kushner. Finally, I blogged about the various meetings we've had with entrepreneurs since arriving in Israel. On the weekend, the team traveled to the Galilee and Golan (here, here, and here) - touring Tsfat and rafting the Jordan River. We had a BBQ near Gamla and a water hike at Nahal Yehudia.

Week 6: In the sixth week, the team continued our travels in the Galilee and Golan. We visited Nazareth and the Druze villages, before returning to Haifa. Back in class at the Technion we presented on our "Go to Market" plan. On the weekend, we had free time to travel or relax. Some of us traveled to Bethlehem and the West Bank, while others decided to relax. For me, I used the free weekend to travel and see my wife in Europe. Read about all of our free weekend travels - both inside and outside of Israel - here.

The Entrepreneurs

Over the past few weeks, the Smith team has benefited from a number of impromptu on-campus meetings and events at the Technion. I've covered some of these in previous posts - such as the bi-weekly e-club meetings, the business ethics seminar, and the Shai Agassi speech. Additionally, in two other instances we've been able to meet with a pair of established Israeli entrepreneurs and discuss with them, both their current and future ventures. These two meetings were very interesting and I think it's definitely worth relating a little about each meeting and describe each entrepreneur.

Photo by Stephen Kushner

A few weeks back we had a chance to meet with Gil Perlberg. Formerly a VP for Business Development at Traceguard, an Israeli military and defense technology firm, Gil is currently the CEO & Founder of a new start-up, Ceronyx. This firm, Ceronyx, develops ceramic nanocomposites that address the increasing demand for advanced ceramic products in high growth fields, such as ceramic armor, cutting tools and medical applications, including ceramic implants for the hip and knee joints. Ceronyx's development is based on a proprietary technology platform developed by Prof. Wayne Kaplan, from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. This is still very early stage - which made all that more interesting.

Last Thursday, we met with Dr. Ze'ev Ganor. Currently an adjunct professor (and one of our judges in class) at the Technion, Ze'ev has been a successful entrepreneur for many years. Over the course of an hour, Ze'ev walked us through his many past ventures, covering both his successes and failures. After his stint in the Israeli military and college at the Technion, Ze'ev began his career at Computer Consoles Inc. (CCI) a US-based voice processing and computer software firm. Through a connection at CCI, he was a principal investor with a start-up that developed a new medical technology, Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA). This technology - a precursor to the MRI - was sold to Elscint for $70 million after 4 years. After this success, Ze'ev had the entrepreneurial bug. Other significant investments and start-ups Ze'ev has been involved with have included ChipX, Nanomotion, and Fiberzone.

Altogether, these meetings were a great opportunity for the Smith team to talk one on one for Q&A with two highly active entrepreneurs. Both Gil and Ze'ev - though they come from very different backgrounds - offered us a terrific inside look at the many diverse challenges faced by entrepreneurs and early stage investors.

The Electric Future

This past Wednesday we had an opportunity to attend a speech at the Technion by Mr. Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place. Before starting Better Place, Shai was previously the President of the Products and Technology Group at SAP AG. He resigned from this position in March 2007 to pursue interests in alternative energy and climate change - ultimately leading to his founding of Better Place. Per TED's online profile:

[Shai's] approach to solving the puzzle of electric automobiles could spark nothing short of an automotive revolution. Through his enthusiastic persistence, Agassi's startup Better Place has signed up some impressive partners - including Nissan-Renault and the countries of Israel and Denmark.

The topic and the content of Shai's address was very compelling. Additionally, since the Smith team will be visiting Shai's company, Better Place, later this summer, his speech was a perfect introduction prior to our visit. To give you a taste of what we heard, Shai gave a speech very similar to one he had given previously at TED, which I've posted below.

A Video Record Ctd

Since arriving in Israel, one of our team members, Stephen Kushner, has been hard at work producing a video series, introducing the program, interviewing team members, and capturing the sights and sounds of our trip to Israel. Part 2 of the video series (posted below) includes: commentary, day-in-a-life, pitching to venture capitalists, company visits and interviews, hi-tech conference highlights, cultural experiences, and camaraderie. Enjoy!

Hi-Tech Israel

Well it's been a few days since my last post and the Smith team has been as busy as ever! After a relaxing weekend, we departed Haifa before sunrise on Tuesday for the drive down to Jerusalem to participate in the 2010 High Tech Industry Association Conference.

The conference, which ran for two days, was held at the Jerusalem International Convention Center and brought together industry professionals, technology experts, and venture capitalists. Starting at 9AM, the event kicked off with Israel's Mister of Finance, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, as well as other honored dignitaries remotely starting the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

"The opening bell of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

Topics covered during the conference ranged from the future of mobile computing to strategies for market entry into high-tech in China and India. Additionally, there were a number of headline speakers during the two day event including, the godfather of Israeli high-tech venture capital, Yossi Vardi, and Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu talks about Israel's technology future"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

During the two day event, the Smith team had an amazing opportunity to hear from key thought leaders in Israel's high-tech and investment community. Given our ongoing tech commercialization projects at the Technion, some of the contacts we made and presentations we heard had an immediate and practical resonance. Other speakers we saw were interesting more from a general professional development standpoint.

"The Smith team at the hi-tech conference"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

Given the compressed schedule during the two days in Jerusalem, we didn't have too much time to explore outside the conference. That being said, we did get a brief tour of the Old City (courtesy of the conference organizers) on Tuesday night - where we were to have a preview of the Festival of Lights (which was unfortunately canceled due to technical difficulties). We met our guide just outside the Jaffa Gate and then walked past the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, ending at a rooftop overlooking the Wailing Wall. Really impressive!

"Steve captures the Western Wall at night"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

On Wednesday night, after the end of the conference, the team met on Ben Yehuda Street - one of the more popular shopping streets in Jerusalem. We spent about an hour shopping and window gazing. Afterwords, we walked up to Sami's restaurant for a final dinner before hitting the road back to Haifa. 

"The team enjoys an amazing schwarma dinner in Jerusalem" 
Photo by Stephen Kushner

All in all, it was a very successful two days in Jerusalem! We'll be heading back for a more historical and culturally centered visit tomorrow.

First Presentations

As I discussed back in the first week of our trip (here and here), groups of one or two of our Smith team have been partnered with an equivalent number of MBA students from the Technion. Together, our combined teams have been assigned technology patents - for which we are creating commercialization strategies. Last Thursday, June 3, we made our first presentations in class at the Technion. Our first presentation was focused on five potential applications of the technology, evaluating possible customers, suggesting hypothetical value propositions, market sizes, technological issues, and building revenue models. Our analysis was meant to establish a baseline for our project going forward.

"Me - surrounded by Asher and the VCs"
Picture by Stephen Kushner

Our presentations were conducted in front of a panel of Israeli and American venture capitalists. The Israeli culture (and the VC culture also for that matter) that we'd been told so much about, but hadn't quite experienced was in full effect. Time and time again during the night, each of us was put us on the spot, our analysis and assumptions totally dissected. We hardly had time to explain our next point before we were barraged with another set of questions. Everyone was definitely feeling the pressure!

"Don, looking pleased after presenting about his UAV tech"
Picture by Stephen Kushner

Despite the tough treatment, the presentations overall were still really well received. One VC, who had judged the same class the previous year said that the presentations were significantly improved. One or two of our Israeli classmates shouted out that this was because of "the Americans", which was a nice compliment.  At 10pm, after the last team had finally finished presenting, we were all pretty wound up by the experience. That being said, everyone seemed to agree that it was one of the best experiences we've had so far in Israel.

First Three Weeks

As we approach the end of the our first three weeks in Israel, I think it's probably as good a time as any to provide a recap of where we've been so far. I'll try and do this a few times this summer in order to fill in any new readers on anything they may have missed. Anyway, the past weeks have certainly gone by quickly. We've seen and done quite a bit. In fact, it's actually hard to believe how much we've been able to fit in to such a short amount of time.

Pre-Departure: in the weeks leading up to the trip I blogged here and here about the reasons why I believe Israel is important and what are the unique characteristics that have lead to Israel's economic and technological achievements of the past few decades. Start-up Nation - the unofficial handbook of our trip - was mentioned on a few occasions. On April 29, the team celebrated the beginning of the program, while also recognizing the contributions of the program's many generous donors, at an evening reception in Washington, D.C., hosted by Miles Gilburne and Nina Zolt.

Week 1: After months of planning and hours of travel, the Smith team finally arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, passed through customs, and then made the hour long drive up the coast to Haifa - our home for the summer. The first few days were set aside for us to get acclimated to our new surroundings. The fact that we'd arrived during the holiday of Shavuot certainly helped keep things quiet that first night. By Thursday we'd had a chance to settle in and proceeded to the Technion for our first class and to meet our Israeli teammates.  The projects were finalized and the patent creators presented on each of their technologies. On the weekend we toured the city of Haifa - the German Colony and the Baha'i Gardens - and then traveled north for visits to Rosh Hanikra and Acre.

Week 2: The second week began slowly - with Monday through Wednesday working at our office at the Technion. I blogged about the Israeli business culture here. On Wednesday we had a presentation from the Technion Entrepreneurship Club. Then on Thursday, we had our second class with presentations from the Technion incubator and our project leader Asher Epstein, among others. At the end of the week we departed Haifa for a weekend visit to Tel Aviv. Friday morning we had a brief meeting with Israel's Warren Buffet, Yossi Vardi. Later that afternoon, we went on a guided tour of the city - from Jaffa and Neve Tzedek to the Hacarmel Market. Saturday we were free to explore on our own - or head to the beach - as a few folks did. It was awesome! Before heading back to Haifa, on Sunday we had meetings at two venture capital firms, Tamir Fishman and AquAgro Fund, where we met with Moshe Levin and Hillel Milo respectfully. Altogether it was a busy but exciting week!

Week 3: At the beginning of the week a political and military incident drew the eyes of the world to the coast off of Israel and the Gaza Strip. Early on in the week, our resident video blogger, Stephen Kushner, posted the first (of five) major trip videos on the site. Wednesday found us once again at the Technion Entrepreneurship Club for a presentation by one of our program's benefactors, Rick Zitelman. Rick gave a talk on business ethics (here) from a Jewish perspective, as well as comments on investing in general (here). On Thursday we had our first major presentation of the trip. In class we gave 30 minute presentations on our technologies and five potential markets to a panel of local Israeli venture capitalists. [More on this event to appear later this week]. On Thursday, my photo from our house in Haifa was featured on The Atlantic. This weekend the team has been enjoying free time at the beach, while getting ready for next week, when we'll be heading to Jerusalem for the High Tech Industry Association Conference.

Ethical Investing, pt1

This past Wednesday, the Smith team had the opportunity to listen as one of our program's benefactors, Rick Zitelman, presented to the Technion Entrepreneurship Club. Rick - who maintains an apartment in Jerusalem - is in Israel for the next few weeks and took time out of his schedule to give a talk on three topics close to his heart, 1) business ethics from a Jewish perspective, 2) investing in Israel, and 3) investing in general. In fairness to the amount of information Rick covered, I'm splitting my coverage into two posts.

Owner and president of the The Zitelman Group (TZG), a Maryland merchant and investment bank, Rick has over 30+ years experience in the financial services sector. TZG provides asset management, investment and merchant banking, investment advisory and active investor services. Additionally, Rick is a principal at Valuation Services, a Washington, D.C. financial valuation firm. He speaks frequently on the topic of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Further, Rick is a strong advocate for the University of Maryland, the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, Judaism and Israel.

The presentation kicked off with Rick leading a discussion on business ethics from a Jewish perspective. This topic was definitely of interest to our team - especially in light of the fact that we had all just completed Professor Lele's business ethics and social responsibility course this past term. As we came to find out, business ethics has long been considered an integral component of Jewish written law. From the Mishnah and Gemara to the Talmud and Mishneh Torah, all contain concrete advice on behavior in certain business situations.

"Individuals have a responsibility to conduct themselves in an honest and forthright way. Organizations, even while increasing profits, need to recognize some form of corporate social responsibility." - Business Ethics: A Jewish Perspective

Rick's presentation also incorporated a business case study as well. The meeting's participants (us included) broke out into separate groups and analyzed the case, as well as attempted to answer a few questions that had been provided.

"Rick Zitelman talks with an ethics breakout session"

Photo by Kristin Thompson

After a few minutes to confer with our group - and discuss the case in breakout sessions with Rick himself - he led us through a discussion of the case and possible options. Rick then supplemented this with the proscribed actions from a Jewish perspective. Altogether, it was definitely enlightening to explore and discuss this topic - and it helped us gain insight into an integral aspect of the Jewish and Israeli business mindset.

Political Issues

As I'm sure everyone is now aware, a flotilla of ships heading to the Gaza Strip territory was raided yesterday by a team of Israeli commandos. The world media is now debating the legitimacy of the action, as well as the long term viability of the blockade of the Gaza Strip territory. Tensions are high and opinions on both sides are heated.

Given the growing significance of this incident over the past 48 hours, in the Mediterranean off Israel, I think it's worth taking a moment to offer some brief comments as to its affect on 1) our group, 2) our program going forward, and 3) on business in general in Israel.

First, as to any immediate impact on our group, there is none. In Haifa, where we are based, we are about as far from the Gaza Strip as one can get in Israel. Additionally, as of right now, there have only been limited protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the occupied territories. The feeling is, as of right now, that cooler heads will prevail. Hopefully, this will now be resolved purely through diplomatic channels.

Second, as to the long term impact on the program, this is also a non issue. To be sure, we as a group are watching and following the news with care. That being said, the direct impact on us in Haifa is muted. From my perspective, these issues could conceivably be happing on the other side of the earth - as opposed to down the coast in Gaza.

Lastly, business as usual goes on in Israel. In this part of the world, things happen. If one were unable to quickly adjust, then one would get nothing done. For example, in Haifa during the 2006 Lebanon War, over 6,500 Qassam rockets fell throughout the region. My teammates at the Technion related that they continued going to work and university throughout this period, despite the threat. For myself as an American these reactions seem cavalier and reckless. For Israelis, it's a given. Life goes on.

I will be watching with interest and with care as this issue develops over the following weeks. For now however I will follow the example of my Israeli teammates, push forward and continue working.

At The Technion

Yesterday, on Wednesday we worked hard at our offices at the Technion. During this first full week in Israel, each team is busy meeting with our various technology inventors/partners, as well as meeting with our Israeli teammates. Preliminary work plans are due at the end of this week and our first class deliverable (an analysis of five potential markets) is coming up on the following Thursday.

 

"The team working hard at our Technion office space"

Photo by Kristin Thompson

With all of this work, we also had an opportunity at lunch to meet and socialize with the Technion Entrepreneurship Club (e-club). Every other Wednesday, the e-club arranges for afternoon speakers to talk on key topics of interest. This week, two Technion students presented on their technology start-up concepts - the first a novel personal online networking tool and the second an innovative game concept for mobile devices.

Heading North

This weekend found the team on the road to Northern Israel. Waking up bright and early on Sunday morning, we had a quick breakfast and then departed for a day long guided excursion to see the sights and attractions of Haifa, Acre, and Rosh HaNikra. 

After a quick drive up the coast from our base in Ramat Eshkol, first up was a quick tour through Haifa's German Colony and then up the side of Mount Carmel to the most impressive (and beautiful) view in Haifa - the Bahá'í World Centre and the Shrine of the Báb. As you can see from the picture below, the Bahá'í Gardens are gorgeous.

"View of Haifa from the top terrace of the Bahá'í Gardens"
Photo by Daniel Branscome

Leaving Haifa, we headed further up the coast to the ancient city of Acre. One of the oldest sites of human habitation, Acre has been a site of many conflicts over the past millenia - and has changed hands repeatedly. As such, Acre is home to many interesting sites, chief among them, a buried Crusader Fortress, an Ottoman Citadel, and the Khan al-Umdan. 

"inside the main hall of the Knights Hospitaller at Acre"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

No doubt about it, these places were big hits with the group and had the Dan Brown fans among us thinking back to what we'd read regarding the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller. Very cool stuff.

By this time, the group was getting hungry - and boy oh boy - the tour guide did not disappoint. This brings us to what I'd say is currently the odds on favorite for highlight of the trip to date - lunch in Acre. After trudging through back allies, we found ourselves in front of a packed little hummus joint in the middle of Acre's Arab souq. 

"Our tasty hummus lunch in Acre's Arab souq"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

If its not already obvious, the team really liked lunch - even as it only really consisted of warm pita, veggies, and hummus. The restaurant - whose name I never quite figured out how to pronounce - was instantly dubbed by the group as the "Ben's Chili Bowl" (Hummus Bowl?) of Acre. It was just that good.

Leaving Acre, we departed for the final site of the day, Rosh HaNikra. Directly on the border with Lebanon, these white chalk cliffs and coastal grottoes are known as the gateway to Israel. Taking a cable car down to the sea edge, we were able to explore the inside of the caves - and get up close and personal (my wet t-shirt is a testament to how close I was) with the waves that have been crashing and forming this site for ages. 

"The team enjoying the seaside sights of Rosh HaNikra"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

This was a great way to end the day - and got us all excited about the adventures to come! Next up, this week we'll be working at the Technion in Haifa. Then on Friday we depart for a weekend in Tel Aviv.

Straight To Work

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. 

Hello! Shalom!

So the question I'm sure you're asking yourself is, "What is Smith in Israel?" and more generally, "What is this blog all about?" Here's the deal. This upcoming summer, myself, 9 fellow MBA students from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, and 1 PhD student from the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering will be traveling to Haifa, Israel. Our shared purpose is a desire to immerse ourselves in the Israeli business and entrepreneurship culture.

For 10 weeks we will participate in an innovative and exciting new internship program spearheaded by Asher Epstein and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Smith School; the Technion Entrepreneurship Center; the TechnionSeed incubator and T3, the Technion technology transfer office. We will pair into teams with counterparts from the Technion, working together to develop businesses around technology developed at the Technion. Our overarching goal will be to develop commercialization strategies as well as explore potential market opportunities in the United States.

Over the course of the summer, my task (assisted from time to time by my teammates) will be to create a written record of our trip, cataloging our daily activities and bringing some of our more interesting stories and adventures to life. To be sure, much of the anticipated audience for this blog will be those who - for a variety of reasons - are already aware of the program. However, I hope that by sharing our group's experiences we can create resonance outside this circle as well, bringing attention and recognition to our many amazing partners, both in the United States and Israel.