Tal Segalov’s Post

On my morning run today I listened to a new Freakonomics podcast episode (part of a series) about the great physicist Richard Feynman. Feynman is one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century – Nobel laurate, a scientist in the Manhattan project, and known for his ability to simplify really complex topics. I think anyone in tech, and especially entrepreneurs, should learn more about Feynman and his unique thinking. A key point Stephen Dubner (the podcast host) made, is that Feynman was always curious and playful. Two attributes we associate with children, but I agree they make successful tech people as well. Curiosity helps you push the limits, and discover what more can be done. And playfulness means you are having fun – which helps you be more productive. I remember reading both of the books about him which are mentioned on the podcast, and being fascinated by his humor and by the stunts he pulled even in Los Alamos – for example breaking into the safes of the army generals on site. Child-like curiosity and fun.   Feynman also had the ability to question colleagues down to basic principles. This is a required skill for a tech leader – don’t stop at the 30,000 feet overview, but dive deep into the details to make your team excel. When you ask the right questions, your people will realize where and how they need to improve.   Another relevant angle is that Feynman was actually not admitted into Columbia university because there was a “Jewish quota” there (he went to MIT instead). Then he was accepted into Princeton despite the “Jewish quota” – but only because he aced the tests. Some of the top institutions may have moved away from the “Jewish quotas”, but I am not sure they have done so in spirit – at least not according to what is happening on many campuses now.   So I will definitely listen to the next episode in the series. Give it a try, and find the angle that helps you be better at what you do. As an entrepreneur, I promise to be curious and have fun! #startuplife #curiosity #play

LLMs are having an amazingly profound effect on the work of every software developer. How so? I remember when I started my career, my first job was in IBM research in Haifa. I was 19, it was the 1990’s and Netscape browsers did not even exist yet. When I was given a task, for example developing a real time video player on AIX, I had to read books. And documentation. And look at examples printed on paper. And when that didn’t help, I would ask the expert down the hall (Scott Petrack and Naftaly Sharir – you were very patient 😊 ). Then came the internet, and Google, and then StackOverflow replaced some of those documents, books and experts. I usually find what I need there to help me fix an issue. And when I don’t, I can ask on the forum and get help.   But GPT4 is a different beast altogether. I’m now working on the exciting stages of a new startup. I am building a new capability from scratch, working in parallel on front-end, server, storage model, cloud and more. Some of these are technologies I have not used in a while – for example I’ve never developed a React front-end from scratch, and I don’t know React very well (or at all…). However GPT4 is a pretty decent junior developer, who needs some guidance but can churn out code that does the job. I used to review what it wrote, and understand the logic. But I found that it usually gets things right, and if it doesn’t it’s usually because I didn’t describe the requirement in detail, or the task I gave it is too difficult for a junior dev. Now I’m using it to code things I don’t actually know well enough – for example the React application. I managed to get an initial draft working, based on our Figma designs, within hours of starting this task.   I feel this gives developers a huge boost – at least as much as search and StackOverflow did, maybe even more. I can definitely say I’ve never felt this empowered and efficient when coding. This is much more than what my co-pilot gives me, I am more of a manager when coding with GPT4 than a coder myself. And this is the profound shift I feel – the efficiency boost AI gives us finally landed in my field of work. #llm #coding #startuplife

Israel is in a very messy situation right now. We are at war, shocked by horrific events, with over 300,000 people called into reserve duty for weeks (which is over 15% of the adult working age male population).  In situations like this one can't understate the importance of leadership and of strategy. Strong leadership is an absolute must during crisis to keep the country together, focused on our mutual goals. And a solid strategy is a must to figure out how to act - we have to progress towards our strategic goals. My previous CEO, Charlie Gottdiener, described strategy and leadership very succinctly: * Leadership is about Behavior * Strategy is about Choice Think about these points - behavior and choice. Now ask yourself - do you see the behaviors of leadership from our decision makers? Are they leading by example - going out of their way to show us compassion, to focus on what is important and to work tirelessly to put everything else aside and focus on the problems at hand? And about Choice - choice is about what we don't do, not about saying we will do everything. So what are we not doing to fund our war and rebuild efforts? What are we not doing to focus on fighting for the most important targets? What are the targets we know we will no be able to achieve? There are bright spots in Israel where you see the Leadership and Strategy we need - first and foremost is the Israeli civil society and protest movements. They understood immediately what is required at this time. Their leaders are leading by example - stopping everything except the support for the 200,000 people evacuated from their homes, the communities shattered by the Hamas atrocities, and supporting our troops where the government fell short. They also showed what is the meaning of Choice. Although they know our government is endangering the future of our country, they stopped all protests and focused on supporting the government - and doing it as volunteers, on their own expense, and with fundraising efforts to finance what the government is too slow or unwilling to pay for. I am proud to be part of this community, a significant part of which is the Israeli tech sector. Together we will turn the page on this bad chapter in our history and have the Leaders and Strategy we deserve as a country. #standwithisrael #israel #leadership

To all my friends and colleagues in the Tech world and beyond - I’m sure you’ve seen the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel this week. This is not yet-another-round-of-violence between us and Hamas. This pogrom is an unprecedented attack on our way of life, shared western values, and our civilian population.  Many are asking me what can they do to help - what you can do is stand up for Israel. By doing so you are also standing up for the larger Tech, innovation and entrepreneurship eco-systems that are driving our world forward. This despicable massacre is an attack on one of the top 3 technology hubs in the world. You probably personally know or have worked with people who are now fighting to protect our borders and our towns. 350,000 reservists have been called for duty (out of a population of about 1.5 million males aged 20-45), many of them work in the tech eco-system.  Hamas is ISIS. But while ISIS, Al-Qaeda were half a world away from you, Hamas is on our doorstep. Their so-called “fighters” are less than a mile from Israeli civilian populations in our cities and towns, and less than 50 miles from Tel Aviv - the vibrant, free, tech-hub city in the heart of Israel. We are going to win this fight, and we are going to bring safety back to our borders. And by doing so we will stop this attack on our shared values from spreading any further. That is yet another reason why it is important for you to support Israel now - without international support we won’t be able to achieve this goal. So how do you support us? 1. Support #hamasisisis on social media - like, share, respond 2. Tell friends and family about what happened, and what you think about these atrocities. Tell them this is an attack on everyone who shares our commitment to an open, democratic and free society. 3. Report any fake media claiming this never happened, or that Hamas is not responsible, or that the story is not about what Hamas did in Israeli towns. This is a premeditated kidnap, torture and murder of civilians. 4. Let your representatives know about your support 5. Looking for ways to further contribute? Many organizations are offering different ways to support Israel, one of them here: https://lnkd.in/dqbQXpEn Thank you for your support! Let me know if you have additional suggestions in the comments below. #HamasIsIsis #standwithisrael #neveragain

So, after 14 years - 10 in Mintigo and 4 in Anaplan - it’s time for me to move on. It’s been such an amazing journey. I am so proud of what we all did together, and especially of the team of Anaplan PAI. This has been the peak of my career, and I will always cherish our fun, inclusive and results driven culture. I wish myself to have the same in my next endeavor. I can’t name all the parties involved, but I will specifically thank Jacob Shama - my partner and friend. Thank you for being kind, generous and focused. I learned a lot. To name one point - it’s all about the journey. I’m off to start my next big thing. Details to come as I learn more. I wish everyone in Anaplan success - I know you’ll stay focused on delivering on our strategy. You’re an amazing team and you have an exciting journey ahead. #startuplife #anaplan #mintigo

When was the last time you sat in a VC meeting room with 9 women and 3 men? This is what we did yesterday, in JAL Ventures Fund who hosted our amazingly talented women entrepreneur group for a pitch round. This activity is part of the #30hours program, a program of the #baot community. We worked together on developing the ideas, and received valuable feedback from the team in JAL. Thank you to the awesome women who worked and presented their pitches: Stella Ariel Anavi Avital Zehavi Sigal Levi Danit Weinberger Adi Baram and to Keren Ben Tov Sher who is part of the program's steering committee. #entrepreneur #women

Today I had the privilege of volunteering in a local high school - Ort Shapira, Kfar Saba - in the computer science class. Together with the teachers Zvika Starkman and Nava Vered, and the volunteers Lior Ben-Moshe, Matt (Moti) Gornshtein and Yaron Segalov we hosted a workshop on cyber security. The students analyzed a server for weaknesses, and then found ways to use those weaknesses to extract various bits of information from the server. In the process they learned first hand about different aspects of cyber security, cyber defense as well as team work and creative thinking.  For our finale Nadir Izrael came to talk to the classes about his journey from a high school student to building a cyber unicorn, and to give the prize to the winning team. Thank you to the volunteers - Lior Ben-Moshe Matt (Moti) Gornshtein Yaron Segalov Nadir Izrael, and to #anaplan for allowing me this important volunteer activity as part of our annual 3 volunteer days. And finally to the teachers Zvika Starkman and Nava Vered and Ort Shapira school for supporting this activity. If you're interested in running a similar activity in your local high school CS class, feel free to reach out and ask me for the content and the plan. I had a lot of fun in this activity, and I am confident from seeing the work the students did that the future is bright! #volunteer #cyber #giveback

חייזר שינחת ממאדים ויצפה בערוץ 12, או בפיד שלי בלינקדאין, עשוי לחשוב שתעשיית ההיטק הישראלית מאוכלסת על ידי גברים תל אביבים בוגרי 8200 שההורים העשירים שלהם סימנו להם את המסלול מכיתה ד׳. אז לא ככה נראית החברה שלי, אנפלאן, ואני לא חושב שאנחנו כאלה חריגים בנוף. כמה נתונים על אנפלאן ישראל: ·     בארגון הפיתוח שלנו בישראל יש מעל 40% נשים. המספר לא כולל מחלקת HR. הוא כן כולל מנהלות צוותי פיתוח, חוקרות, מפתחות וכו׳. יותר מאחת אמרה לי שאחת הסיבות שהיא בחרה לעבוד באנפלן היא שהייתה מראיינת מיקצועית שבחנה אותה. ·     אתמול ישבנו עם מנהלי הצוותים שלנו. מתוך 12, יש שלושה בוגרי 8200, וחמישה לוחמים. ראוי לציין שבוגרי 8200 האמורים שירתו כל אחד מעל עשור בצבא בתפקידים מאוד משמעותיים. ·     יש לנו עובדים בפריסה בין להבים בדרום לבני יהודה ברמת הגולן. ככה זה כשהעבודה היא 100% גמישה ·     החודש הצטרפו אלינו 11 עובדי פיתוח חדשים. מתוכם 4 נשים. כשבונים מערכת שהיא באמת מגוונת, מוצאים שהמערכת הזו משמרת את הגיוון גם קדימה. יש לתעשיית ההיטק הרבה לאן לשאוף ולהשתפר. צריך שמשרדי היטק ישקפו את האוכלוסיה בארץ, בדיוק כמו בקניון שליד המשרד. אבל אנחנו יכולים להראות גם מודל אחר - שעובד מעולה ומצליח גם עיסקית וגם לעצב את המציאות שמסביבנו למקום קצת יותר טוב. There has been a lot of recent media criticism on our Israeli high-tech industry hiring practices. It’s portrayed as a bunch of men who are intelligence unit alumni, living in Tel Aviv and whose wealthy parents marked the route for them from fourth grade. This is not what my company, Anaplan, looks like, and I don’t think we're that unusual in the tech landscape. Some data on Anaplan Israel: · In our development organization in Israel there are over 40% women. The number does not include the HR department. It does include development group leaders, researchers, developers, etc. More than one told me that one of the reasons she chose to work at Anaplan was that she was interviewed by a woman in a leading technical role. · Yesterday we sat down with our team managers. Out of 12, there are three unit 8200 alumni, and five ex-combat soldiers. It is worth noting that those unit 8200 alumni each served over a decade in the military in very significant positions. · We have employees who live between Lehavim in the south and Bnei Yehuda in the Golan Heights. · This month, 11 new employees joined our R&D in Israel. Of these, there are 4 women. When you build a system that is really diverse, you find that this system preserves the diversity going forward as well. The high-tech industry has a lot to strive for and improve. High-tech offices need to reflect the population in the country, just like in the mall next to the office. But we can also show another model - which works great and is successful both in business and in shaping the reality around us be more equitable and diverse. #hr #anaplan #diversity #anaplanforward