The leader of the Israeli modern-religious right is Naphtali Bennett (pic - right) who will win an important ministry in the coming coalition government. I discovered that he was co-founder of Cyota, the only good startup of the closed investment partnership I had bought. The partnership was organized by Bank HaPoalim in semi-secret (it was supposed to use inside information) and only through connections
they agreed to sell me two shares. When later I saw the portfolio they were creating, I received a shock - most of the money went to a Tel Aviv University development of a computer program for babies. The concept was imbecile and signalled that the fund managers were even more imbeciles. But it was too late and they ate up 2 million dollars per year as management expenses. I hate Bank HaPoalim.
What is Bennett's secret? I mean he is bald like an eagle and has a kippah on his head. The skullcap is generally secured to the hair, but he has none. How is that it never falls off? Not even in the wind. Till I discover how he does it I'll wear the Bukharan (Central Asian) kind or a Borselino hat.
14 comments:
Velcro
K
Why jews cover their heads?
Velcro does not stick to the skin.
Covering the head out of respect for gods is an ancient Middle Eastern custom that predates the Jews.
He is not completely bald.
K
A kippa will not stick to a few hairs. There must be a secret here. May be it is magnetic.
Double stick tape?
K
J,
I've launched a startup. We've got an alpha version and are simultaneously looking for investors and continuing development. It involves digital fabrication. Any ideas where I can find some investors in Israel? Not looking for incubators or seed money.
There are many kinds of startup funds and frameworks operating in Israel. For example:
http://www.meetup.com/IsraelStartupNetwork/
The problem is that all of them make you sell your soul before talking to you and then you find yourself owning maybe 10% of the enterprise. The best is to find a working company and become partners.
I was going to say the same to B. If your idea is valuable, you'll bitterly regret having sold out cheap at the beginning. In the end, they will throw you in the street and figure out a way to steal the last 10% also. Your best financing is from internal cash flow. Find a way to generate cash in the meantime while you are growing the business even if it is unrelated to your brainstorm.
K
The issue with finding a partner company is that the idea is fairly easy to implement. If they are already in a related market, there is no reason they wouldn't cut us out.
Bootstrapping is something we've considered, but there the trouble is that we need an initial investment for a crucial piece of the product.
I am not too worried about progressive rounds of investment diluting the founders' shares to nothing. The product is designed in such a way that it will have relatively low overhead and begin generating value almost immediately after launch. It will not be a money sink, and thus won't require progressive dilution. I would raise the money via Kickstarter, but the idea is not patentable, and announcing it to the world pre-implementation is a recipe for someone with deeper pockets to implement first.
If the idea is not patentable and there are already strong competitors in related fields, what will keep them from stealing your idea within a few months after you release your product? With their strong existing distribution network and more funds available for marketing, they will surely eat your lunch while you are still trying to get your product into the channel.
K
What keeps Microsoft from launching its own online book market and stealing Amazon's lunch? What keeps Nokia from building a better iPhone?
The first mover advantage, Amazon's capture of the pareto optimum, etc. Proper market research and positioning will maintain this advantage.
You disprove your own case - Nokia was making phones for decades before Apple ate THEIR lunch. Samsung is in the process of eating Apple's lunch. Being first doesn't always win. Betamax was first also.
K
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