Allie Feuerstein

Adam Fisher partner Bessemer Venture Partners has some of the biggest exits in Israel Wix, Fiverr, Mellanox, and has invested in some of the best companies. So I was super curious what are the practice reps that he does or did to become the best. And it's a combo of skill & luck. Link to the full episode in the comments.

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🎙️Grigor Hovhannisyan, General Partner and Co-Founder of Formula VC,  President of BANA Angels, joined for the 6th episode of "Behind the Brand Armenian Chapter." In this episode, Grigor shares the origin stories of Formula VC and BANA Angels, their pivotal moments, and delves into the complexities of venture capital and angel investing 💼He also discusses the dynamics of startup-investor relationships and much more. 🚀A big thank you to Edgar G. Karapetyan Karapetyan for hosting and facilitating such a valuable conversation.  🔗👇Click the link in the first comment to watch the full episode. #formulavc #venturecapital #investments #startups

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🎙️ Tune in to discover the fascinating story of how the Armenian tech landscape was built, and gain exclusive insights to fuel your own entrepreneurial journey in Episode #006 of Soulful Entrepreneur podcast, featuring Berge Ayvazian, former CEO of Yankee Group and current leader at Wireles 20/20! Dropping tomorrow, this episode is packed with valuable leadership lessons from Berge, as well as deep dives into AI and the future of entrepreneurship. Don't miss out—subscribe now and be the first to listen! 🎧 #Podcast #TechIndustry #Entrepreneurship #LeadershipLessons #AI #FutureOfTech

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Heard this argument in a podcast the other day: Why should the Armenian IT sector sometimes get a preferential treatment? A fair question one might say – here are a couple points that might make sense 🙂 🔸 Firstly, many sectors have benefited from taxpayer support over the years. 🔸 IT adds the most value per person (chart), across countries. Supporting this sector would help increase economic welfare, given the limited resources we have. 🔸 Additionally, IT is strategic, linked to security. 🔸 Finally, it generates essential export dollars needed to pay for imports. Apart from commodities, we are unfortunately not competitive in many other industries. At this time at least. And of course, any sector does not operate autonomously. Both tech businesses and their employees support a lot of economic activity in other industries as well. Anyhow , one perspective on things ) PS. Source: https://lnkd.in/dzpZEisu

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Tel Aviv шs in TOP-5 of the Most Attractive Ecosystems for Startups and Innovation Tel Aviv was ranked 4th in an annual survey ranking of the world’s most attractive ecosystems for startups and innovation from USA research firm Startup Genome. Tel Aviv improved its ranking from 5th to 4th, which now shares with Los Angeles. California’s Silicon Valley takes the first-place position, followed by New York City and London. Early-stage startups in these ecosystems have great possibilities to build global success. The top five global ecosystems are worth a collective $4.4 trillion, and the Tel Aviv tech ecosystem was valued at $235 billion, compared to a global average of $29.4 billion. 40 tech startup hubs across more than 300 ecosystems worldwide that unite 4.5 million startups were analyzed. The full report could be found - https://lnkd.in/dSCU7g9V 

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Shoutout to our portfolio companies' CarbonBlue and Remepy for being featured in Calcalist כלכליסט's 2024 list of Israel's 50 most promising startups. We are proud to be the pre-seed investors for these companies, each led by remarkable founders and teams applying unconventional approaches to solve big and pressing problems. Both of this companies have enormous potential to make a significant impact. One in addressing the climate crisis and one in improving the lives of patients with chronic diseases. Check out the full list of companies featured in that list through the link in the comments 👇 Dan Deviri | Iddo Tsur Michal Tsur | Or Shoval | Amir Amedi

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In the coming decade, the current tallest buildings in #TelAviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim will be dwarfed by a new generation of high-rise developments. Over the past decade the number of high-rise buildings in Tel Aviv has risen by 50%, and this number will now double over the next decade. Tel Aviv’s skyline, which has changed so much in recent years, will change even more dramatically, as tall towers overlook the fondly preserved smaller buildings of the pre-state city. Link to article in first comment below #telavivrealestate #realestateinisrael #skyscrappers #mortgageinisrael

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It’s official! Content Israel 2024 has just kicked off, and I’m full of anticipation for the 👉 Incredible speakers 👉 New connections 👉 Game changing takeaways 👉 And the potential that comes from gathering all of the brightest digital marketing experts in Israel. Will I see you inside? #ContentIsrael #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #Marketing #MarketingEvent

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🗣️ I recently discussed the key success factors in the #HoReCa sector with #Gastrovino by Mediamax. One of the most important factors is achieving a high customer retention rate. A higher customer retention rate can potentially increase the revenue of businesses operating in the HoReCa sector 🚀 by up to 40%. Our ᯤ WiFi marketing tool at Wimedia automates data collection, enhancing personalized interactions. With over 200 partners in Armenia, Wimedia is revolutionizing customer engagement and retention. Read more in the interview 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eD8wVEpM #innovation #HoReCa #customerengagement #WiFiMarketing #Wimedia #customerretention #marketing #advertising

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What an amazing line-up of speakers we have for Content Israel 2024? Our schedule is packed full of every content-related topic under the Israeli sun! 👉 We’ll be covering how to create compelling content, distribute it effectively, and measure its success. Our speakers will also address challenges like content saturation and maintaining brand integrity, all in the context of a fast-evolving marketing landscape. Take a look at the schedule and tell us: which session are you looking forward to most?? 👉 Everwall and giveaway - post about the event and make your way onto the Everwall for a chance to win 3 grand prizes from our partner ZoecialMedia - Organic Social Media for Tech Brands 🏆🏆🏆 😱 Wait, you haven’t even registered yet? Over 250 people have already signed up and tickets are limited! Now’s the time!! And we have a discount code too. Use code IA25 for 25% off your ticket >> https://contentisrael.com/ #ContentIsrael #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #Marketing

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"Tell your story backwards," Judah Taub's biggest advice for startup founders, as shared on IsraelTech. Watch 👇 Judah and Yoel Israel build a fake company to tell its story backwards in order to display big vision when pitching VCs. There's a lot more, including alternatives to ARR when evaluating startup investments, why founder tension is important, leveraging different (and often disadvantaged) communities across Israel for better high tech, and some science and Torah (why not?). Watch the whole interview: https://lnkd.in/dnJ3aRr4

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Tel Aviv looks to the skies: In the coming decade, the current tallest buildings in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim will be dwarfed by a new generation of high-rise developments. Over the past decade the number of high-rise buildings in Tel Aviv has risen by 50%, and this number will now double over the next decade. Tel Aviv’s skyline, which has changed so much in recent years, will change even more dramatically, as tall towers overlook the fondly preserved smaller buildings of the pre-state city. https://lnkd.in/ee4QaMwD

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If we, as Armenians, are sooo “digital” why isn’t our Q-commerce industry booming? I was in Dubai a month back and we were sitting with our friends in their apartment having some whiskey and chatting when we ran out of chips (Doritos and whiskey just fit together for me). Without hesitation, my friend pulled out his phone and ordered chips - within 20-30 minutes the chips had arrived and we continued our whiskey and shop talk. Q-commerce at its best! I started thinking - if we ran out of chips in Armenia what would be our next move? The classic “Ազիզ ջան մի հատ իջի պապայի համար չիպս բեր” popped into my mind - for my non-Armenian friends the dad would tell his son to run out to the store for more chips. This is where I started thinking about whether the Q-commerce industry is demand-driven or supply-driven. Do we need more Q-commerce solutions in Armenia to drive the habit of picking up your phone and ordering or do consumers need to buy more things online to drive more Q-commerce solutions? Which came first: the chicken or the egg? I would argue that it’s probably more supply-driven - Q-commerce companies have the formula to instill habits, like picking up your phone when you run out of chips. What do you think?

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"If you want to raise capital, invest in branding." I had the pleasure of attending the Apex Group Ltd Israel Summit, Co-hosted with Brooks-Keret Financial Management, which focused on Israel's Diverse Capital Raising & Private Equity Landscape. The event provided valuable insights into the latest trends and developments in fundraising, including alternative financing methods. A highlight was the insightful lecture by Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta, Chairman of the Board & Non-Executive Director, Apex UAE, Bahrain, Israel & India Boards. 💡His key takeaway?  "If you want to raise capital, invest in branding."  This resonated with me as a crucial reminder for entrepreneurs seeking funding. #capitalraising #privateequity #Israel #entrepreneurship

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Over the past week, I launched a documentary-style series of LinkedIn posts titled: "How a Shy Jewish Guy From Brooklyn Mobilized 40,000 Voices to Give Israel a Fair Shake on Social Media." It tracked the explosive birth and swift demise of a groundbreaking AI-powered, pro-Israel app that, remarkably, amassed 40,000 users in just three months—with zero advertising, all thanks to a ragtag team of volunteers. You can dive into the full saga through these links: https://lnkd.in/emxRX28i https://lnkd.in/eEZpgaXc https://lnkd.in/epdkDnxB https://lnkd.in/ebJr4WRn Go ahead, grab a bag of popcorn and some snacks. Our wild story is as fascinating as it is infuriating. Launching ProjectTruthIsrael.com was a grassroots response to a digital dilemma: How do you counteract a flood of anti-Israel narratives that seem to have more lives on social media than a cat meme? And we basically figured out the answer. That is, until an anonymous group of shadowy 'hacktivists' shut us down. So, what's next? Frankly, I'm still determined to help Israel, and our upcoming project—a gamification app designed to use 80,000 data points to combat anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses—has enormous potential. But unless more people step up, this vision is nothing more than a pipe dream. If this resonates with you, jump in and help out. If not, at least I hope you found the story compelling. Does this tale end with "happily ever after"? Hardly. It’s not necessarily tragic, though. Decades from now, when I’m an old man in a nursing home, guzzling prune juice smoothies three times a day, my grandchildren will ask me what I did to help Israel after October 7th. I won’t be mumbling forgetfully; I’ll tell them to read this LinkedIn post. Honestly, I’m proud of what we accomplished in such a short time and hopeful that it can be built upon. As the famous advertising slogan goes, "a diamond lasts forever." If that’s the case, then perhaps our valuable endeavor on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people will leave an everlasting imprint.

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Yesterday's Lenny's Letter from Lenny Rachitsky featured some simple and brilliant recommendations for building your startup. The wisdom came from Uri Levine of Waze and countless other highly successful ventures. 🙏 🙏 🙏 to both 🔼 My 2 favorite recos: 1. "Fall in love with the problem that you are solving" ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ You should be passionate about your solution but don't fall in love with that. If you do, chances are you'll get overly rigid and not be willing/able to flex and pivot as you find product market fit. 2. The first & last slides of your pitch deck could be working harder for you 📽. They are the slides that get more screen time than any others; the first when you're setting up, and the last when you are taking questions. Make sure they contain your strongest points. "Don't waste valuable real estate saying "Than You"". #StartupSuccess #PMF #pitchdeck

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This week, host Eve Young, economics correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, interviews Liran Zelkha, Co-founder of Lili, a fintech company making life easier for small businesses in the US with their software solutions. Liran explains how Lili is using artificial intelligence to help small business owners get the information that they need to make the right business decisions. He also talks about how AI is impacting fintech, and how multiple AI models can be used in tandem to improve the answers it gives users. Eve and Liran also discuss how technology can be a force for equality and accessibility, how it can make expensive services available to small business owners, and help level the playing field.

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Tech Vs. Hate: Antisemitism is on the rise around the world thanks to social media and online efforts by hate groups and political entities. As part of its simultaneous Cyber and AI weeks, Tel Aviv University hosted “Tech Vs. Hate”, a women-led seminar bringing antisemitism experts together with entrepreneurs using fascinating technological solutions to fight online bigotry. Participants spoke about steps that can be taken now as well as government and industry policies that must be adopted in the near future. Maya Shabi of EverC said, “We saw on 10/7 how immediately nation-state actors and organized groups capitalized and weaponized social media algorithms so as to hijack the narrative. If the financial industry had been watching more closely, funding for that propaganda wouldn't have made it to those groups." Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/eu_4Fhdt Cyber Week TLV #telavivuniversity #israel #antisemitism #tech

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Great Web3 panel at Aleph moderated by Meirav Harel last week (thanks Tomer Diari for initiating). Two takeaways for me - one, shared by Eyal Meron, Co-Founder of SphereX, highlights the risks associated with smart contracts today - that any institutional-grade investor is minded to - which possibly explains the low participation of institutions in using smart contracts. Eyal said, “If you hack your way into a bank and try to monetize it, the bureaucracy will kill you. But if you hack your way into a smart contract, you are one step away from the money, and once you put your hands on it, there is no going back”. This point was supported by Ouriel Ohayon, CEO of Zengo Wallet, with an image that stayed with me: “Smart contracts are like a car, without brakes, doors and seatbelts. You can drive it at the speed you want, but if you crash, you die. There is no buffer.” Ouch. The second takeaway, which all agreed on, was the efficiency that the use of smart contracts offers–the speed of the transaction compared to the alternatives: “When you have an urgent need, crypto is like oxygen in a room with no air. In a few minutes, you can complete a transaction that the banks slow down.” In addition to the important insights about the security aspects of Web3, it was pointed out that Web3 remains a male-dominated environment, and that the development of the network lacks the DNA that comes with diversity.  If you know of interesting Web3 companies led by women founders, please tag or share. I’d like to get to know them.

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