We Did It

Eight weeks ago we arrived in Haifa, Israel with the goal of building businesses out of Technion-developed technology.  We've met with business leaders, incubator directors, venture capitalists and industry experts; we've pitched our ventures every week and received tough but important feedback; and we've had access to industry advisors and mentors whose experiences in entrepreneurship have helped us navigate the intricacies of our own industries.

Last night was the culmination of this process, as we pitched our ventures to venture capitalists from top firms such as Bessemer, Sequoia and Giza.  Simply the opportunity to pitch business plans to top VC's is great, but after eight weeks of immersing ourselves in our ventures it was nothing short of impressive.  All six of our international venture teams presented eloquently, expressing the problems our businesses solve, the markets they address and the the amount of funding required to make them profitable.  We fielded tough questions from the panel of VC's, but after two months of habituation we were perfectly accustomed to the Israeli style of questioning.

Looking back on what we've accomplished, I am very impressed by our collective progress.  Eight weeks ago we were presented with technologies in fields ranging from medical diagnostics to imaging and chemical analysis.  We've taken these scientific innovations and built real business ventures out of them.  The experience of building a business is truly priceless, and not something that many people can say they have done.  From solving the problems we've encountered along the way to understanding the motivations and thought processes of venture capitalists who fund our ventures, we now posses the tools and experiences of seasoned entrepreneurs.

The Dingman-Technion Entrepreneurship
teams after our final pitches

North Company Visits

This past weekend the team completed our Tour of Israel with a trip to the northern regions of Galilee and Golan Heights.  While there, we had the opportunity to meet executives at two of Israel's more exciting companies: Amiad and the Misgav Venture Accelerator.

Amiad

With the world's population rapidly expanding in areas already challenged by substandard access to clean water, it has become clear that the problem that my generation will be charged with solving is how to provide water to a world population that will exceed 7 billion by the end of this decade.  In a country where water is an issue of national security, it is no surprise that one of the world's most innovative water filtration companies has come out of Israel.  By providing customized solutions that last a lifetime, Amiad deploys its filtration products across the globe to meet the needs of small African villages and growing metropolises alike.  In meeting with their management and touring their facilities, our team left Amiad quite impressed by their innovative approach to tackling this timeless problem.

Misgav Venture Accelerator

An incubator run the by Trendlines Group, the Misgav Venture Accelerator is focused on building businesses out of life science technologies that seek to improve the human condition.  Awarded "Best Incubator" by Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist, Misgav is clearly doing something right.  Their CEO and Chairman Steve Rhodes walked the team through the Israeli incubator program and discussed its merits and recent successes.  By providing mentoring, office support and collaboration among like-minded entrepreneurs, Misgav has shown great promise in creating such  innovative companies as ETView and Endo Grab.  Their innovations save on healthcare costs and improve healthcare delivery in such a manner that the end user and the healthcare provider both benefit.  Before concluding our meeting, we all had the opportunity to pitch the companies we are building at the Technion and receive valuable feedback from experienced venture executive and long time business builder Steve Rhodes, an honor of which many an entrepreneur would be jealous.