Tag: entrepreneurs

The Startup Nation’s 2015 rising-star entrepreneurs and innovators

The Startup Nation’s 2015 rising-star entrepreneurs and innovators

Nov 30, 2015 | ,

Famously titled as the ‘Startup Nation’, Israel has more high-tech startups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country, earning international acclaim for its cutting-edge innovations, technologies, and research in a variety of fields. But how did Israel become a world leader in startup success? Israel’s thriving startup ecosystem is commonly attributed to its mandatory military service, immigration history, government tax policy, limited natural resources, the country’s seclusion and limited natural resources that evoked a survival-at-all-costs mentality, or simply the illustrious chutzpah characteristic of Israeli culture that sparks innovation. Many — both in Israel and worldwide — have recognized these unique qualities of Israeli culture, and over the years have praised and commended Startup Nation representatives for their various achievements and contributions. Recently, The Marker, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – a world leader in research and education – paid tribute to a group of promising young Israeli entrepreneurs and innovators for impacting the world through their work, revolutionizing industries, technologies, and new disruptive ideas. Representing Israeli high-tech in The Marker’s ‘Most Promising 40 Under 40’ In their annual Most Promising 40 Under 40 list...

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23 entrepreneurs turned investors who are banking huge profits

23 entrepreneurs turned investors who are banking huge profits

Sep 9, 2014 | , ,

Just because you’re a great entrepreneur doesn’t mean you’ll make a great investor. While there’s overlap, the skillset that makes an individual a powerhouse when it comes to building a company (and exiting it) isn’t the same as what makes a profitable investor. Gallup research shows certain behavioral traits are shared among top entrepreneurs. Out of 2,500 entrepreneurs studied, top performers tend to spend a lot of time aligning employee responsibilities with corporate goals. That makes for great entrepreneurs but that same behavior doesn’t necessarily manifest itself in top investors. Investors need to be able to identify that trait in the entrepreneurs they fund. It’s common in the startup space for entrepreneurs to try their hands at investing in startups once they cash out, only to find that the same skills that made them rich won’t necessarily make them successful investors. But, there are a few entrepreneurs turned investors that have parlayed their business-building skills into become successful angel investors and venture capitals. Thankfully for us, many of these entrepreneurs-turned-investors write extensively about their experience. Here’s a list of 23 entrepreneurs who...

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Investing in FinTech: Trends in Financial Technology

Investing in FinTech: Trends in Financial Technology

Jul 31, 2014 |

OurCrowd launched a new webinar series called ‘Teach-In Tuesdays’. In this series, we’ll explore investing in early-stage Israeli companies, identify and explain influential tech trends, stay up-to-date with the crowdfunding industry, and examine actionable insights from our own experience running OurCrowd’s investment platform. This past Tuesday, we held a webinar as part of the OurCrowd Teach-In Tuesdays series on the recent trends and opportunities in the dynamic financial technology industry. Webinar hosts Zack and Mick have both helped build some of the top companies in the space including Seeking Alpha, Covestor, OurCrowd, BillGuard, Lending Club, SigFig and more. Topics covered in the webinar: How top investors and entrepreneurs think about the entire fintech value chain, from online asset management, to financial content, to consumer finance apps, and crowdfunding Which business models are taking hold and their future prospects The challenges and opportunities for investing and building a valuable company in the financial space Featured expert: Mick Weinstein, VP of Marketing at BillGuard, a financial journalist and online content specialist.     ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: To stay updated on future events and the best news from the Startup Nation, sign up for our newsletter,...

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Teach In Tuesdays: Join Us (Online) For an Educational Event During July

Teach In Tuesdays: Join Us (Online) For an Educational Event During July

Jul 23, 2014 | ,

Last month we had hundreds of investors from around the world join us for two events from our webinar series called Teach-In Tuesdays. In this series, we explore investing in early-stage Israeli companies, identify and explain influential tech trends, stay up-to-date with the crowdfunding industry, and examine actionable insights from our own experience running OurCrowd’s investment platform. During July, will be hosting an educational webinar on Tuesday, July 29th, as part of our Teach-In Tuesdays series. Register for the event below. Investing in FinTech: Trends in Financial Technology (for investors and entrepreneurs) Tuesday, July 29th (9:00 PM Israel / 2:00 PM NYC/ 11:00 AM San Francisco) Join Zack Miller, Head of the Investor Community at OurCrowd, and Mick Weinstein, VP of Marketing at BIllGuard for an in depth discussion of the recent trends and opportunities in the dynamic financial technology industry. Zack and Mick have both helped build some of the top companies in the space including Seeking Alpha, Covestor, OurCrowd, BillGuard, Lending Club, SigFig and more. Join us to learn about: How top investors and entrepreneurs think about the entire fintech value chain, from online asset...

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Making a mark in the Startup Nation: How social events will boost your startup profile

Making a mark in the Startup Nation: How social events will boost your startup profile

Jul 9, 2014 | ,

 This guest post was written by Daniel Abrahams, CEO of CurrencyTransfer.com, the world’s first online marketplace matching users with the most competitive international payment quotes. The platform offers instant booking ability in one live, transparent venue. As a tech entrepreneur, I’ve seen first hand the fantastic correlation between community management initiatives and startup success. Not only do organizing events create buzz and a ‘feel good factor’ with your local tech ecosystem, it can crucially draw interest from both prospective investors and end users. Today, I’ll share my story as CEO of CurrencyTransfer.com, and in particular the way we approached the arrival of our British fintech business in ‘The Startup Nation.’ Making our mark in ‘The Startup Nation’ Recently, we opened an office in Tel Aviv. As many of you know, Israel has become one of the leading startup capitals of the world, and R&D center to some of the world’s leading companies. With an already thriving fintech community surrounding us, we brainstormed on how we can make an instant name for ourselves in the Tel Aviv start up ecosystem. Our solution...

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