Category Archive » Interviews

Is there a better place in the world to get together and begin working on a new, innovative online venture than Tel Aviv… probably not. 12 gay leaders from across the globe got together to start working on a little something, involving Israeli youtube sensation, Idan matalon. Even though the project is still on the hush hush… we wanted to know their thoughts about the start up nation.. so we spoke to 4 of them!

1. Stijn Bourlet

From: The Netherlands

Was this your first time in Israel ? If so, was it was you expected?

It was the first time I visited Israel. I heard so many good things about the country and especially about Tel Aviv. A lot of my friends visited the city and really enjoyed it. You can imagine I was very excited finally going there.

What was your favourite spot ?

My favourite spot for breakfast was definitely Benedict. Lovely staff, tasty food and a nice atmosphere. Another place which I really enjoyed was Gordon Beach.

Did the Tel Aviv nightlife live up to its reputation?

I was lucky because I celebrated Independence Day with thousands of other people in Tel Aviv. Dancing and drinking on the streets, on cars… It was amazing. Actually It felt a bit like Queens day in The Netherlands.

The city offers really good parties in awesome venues. Also international parties are given regularly.

How would you describe the Gay Scene in Israel?

In comparison with Amsterdam the gay scene in Tel Aviv is not that different. I noticed people in the city like to party and It’s possible to go out every night.

The only difference is that gay people most of the time only go out to gay places. In Amsterdam we’re all partying together (straight&gay) and occasionally go out to a gay bar or club.

Are there any similarities between Israel and your home country (or Tel Aviv and your home city)?

The similarities that I noticed during my stay were positive energy, friendly (and sexy!) people, good food and like my own city I really felt save in Tel Aviv.

Do you intend on visiting Israel again soon ?

I would love to go back soon!

2. Lucas Ribeiro Gelslöichter (DJ Flamefly)

From: Madrid, Spain (born in Brazil)

Was this your first time in Israel ? If so, was it was you expected ?

Indeed yes, and I had lots of expectations about the country. The security control drains a little energy from you, but once you start feeling the energy of Tel Aviv, it´s worth every step of the way. Despite of my preconceptions, I always try not to idealize a place because you might get disappointed. There isn’t enough time in a week to explore the city a bit deeper (besides the weather wasn´t as good as mr. Idan told me, but it´s ok) but I think I felt so good because all those people around me. It was a once in a life time experience.

What was your favourite spot ?

I reaaaaally enjoyed going to Jerusalem. I´m not religious at all, yet I do have my beliefs. It´s all about energy, and the faith and passion of the people as we have heard before… Can move mountains !

Did the Tel Aviv nightlife live up to its reputation ? 

I´m a DJ and the nightlife catches my attention. Besides, many people from Israel go to Spain on holidays, so when I went into the Forever Tel Aviv party, I honestly felt like I was in one of those parties in Spain, seeing so many familiar faces. Israeli people definitely know how to party… But after all… They all go to Spain looking for more! Hopefully I´ll be returning to Tel Aviv for a gig soon !

How would you describe the Gay Scene in Israel?

I gather that the gay scene is very strong and present on social basis. I wasn´t expecting the support that we are receiving (despite of the magnitude of our project). I can´t say much more because our leisure time was quite limited.

Are there any similarities between Israel and your home country (or Tel Aviv and your home city) ?

I guess no place is like Israel, and it´s quite complicated to make a comparison, also based on the background. Yet I see happy people on the streets, having fun, enjoying football matches on a bar… That´s very similar to Spain.

Do you intend on visiting Israel again soon ?

Definitely yes, there´s much more to see and explore, I cannot wait for my next trip ! And I wanna go to the Dead Sea !!!

3. Rafael Pezott

From: Paris, France

Was this your first time in Israel ? If so, was it was you expected ?

It was my first time visiting the Holy Land.

I expected a lot more but unfortunately time was pretty short and I haven’t seen much of  Tel-Aviv, but what I saw was amazing enough to make me want to come back. Business talking, it surpassed all my expectations.

What was your favourite spot ?

Jerusalem was the greatest thing i’ve seen in years, it was very touching, walking over so much history.

Did the Tel Aviv nightlife live up to its reputation ? 

I think so, there seems to be a great nightlife with lots of options for everyone. One thing must be said, the MUSIC was amazing everywhere we went.

How would you describe the Gay Scene in Israel?

The gay scene is very well represented by it members, sexy, enthusiastic and very enjoyable. The great energy makes gay life in the city so real and respected.

Are there any similarities between Israel and your home country (or Tel Aviv and your home city) ?

Not at all, in Paris life is a bit slower and quite calm, considering we are a big touristic city with people coming in and out non-stop we don’t have a nightlife like in Tel Aviv.

Do you intend on visiting Israel again soon ? 

Absolutely YES, I’ll be back in August during the summer, to guarantee I’ll have a lot more sun to enjoy the beach and explore Tel-Aviv a bit better.

4. Oriol Pamies

From: Barcelona

Was this your first time in Israel ? If so, was it was you expected ?

Yes, it was my first time in Israel, and now that i’m back I keep on asking myself.. Why I haven’t been sooner!
It was absolutely unexpected, Freedom, open-minded, happy, electric and crazy. I really fell in love with the country..

What was your favourite spot ?

I have two favourite spots.

The first: Evita Bar. Really nice place, people were so nice, music was fantastic, the shows were so funny/amazing… Perfect atmosphere. Special thanks to Igal Raanan who was so friendly and made us feel like home
Second: The “Forever Tel Aviv” party. AMAZING. After the party, when all the ambassadors arrived at the Villa, everyone was like WOW, WTF WAS THAT? Perfect music, beautiful people, hard party. Just loved it, can’t wait to go back.
Special thanks to Ohad Heim; Amazing host!

Did the Tel Aviv nightlife live up to its reputation ?

Of course! After those crazy nights in Tel Aviv, I’m just recommending the city to everyone!
People really have to head to the city. I think that I’m not the best PR person for the city in Spain!

How would you describe the Gay Scene in Israel?

Very united. Really friendly and open to the tourism. Serious in terms of organization, and fucking crazy at party time. A positive balance with an awesome energy. An example to follow for the other countries on the Middle East.

Are there any similarities between Israel and your home country (or Tel Aviv and your home city) ?

Before coming to Tel Aviv I was told that it was  similar to Barcelona. IT’S TRUE!
We both have nice beaches, amazing history and monuments, crazy nightlife, hot guys.. etc.
Maybe that’s why I felt like home and why I connected with people here! ^_^

Do you intend on visiting Israel again soon ?

Are you kidding me? In the next few days I’ll be booking a flight to Tel Aviv for the Gay Pride! So I hope to see you guys  during one of the craziest Prides in the world. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.
Tel Aviv, here I come again!

by Arsen Ostrovsky

That’s right! The Jewish state is getting its own kosher bunnies, with the launch of Playboy Israel this week. SDM contributor Arsen Ostrovsky sat down with Israel’s own Hugh Heffner, Playboy Israel CEO Dan Pomerantz for an exclusive interview!

Ever wondered if there was a Hebrew word for ‘Playboy Bunny’? Well there is – ‘Shfanfana’. Hugh Heffner just loves this and now thanks to Dan Pomerantz, Israel’s very own Hugh Heffner, the Jewish state will be getting not just some (kosher!) Bunnies, but a Hebrew-language Israeli version of the revered magazine too.

Pomerantz, who exudes charisma and confidence, as you would expect from a Heffneresque entrepreneur, is a 37-year old new immigrant from Chicago, who only moved to Israel in December 2011. In fact, he still goes to regular ulpan classes, and jokes that perhaps one day they’ll be reading Playboy in ulpan … to help with the Hebrew of course!

First time he saw Playboy, Pomerantz was, like pretty much every other boy, in his pubescent teens. “It was like an adventure going through a maze,” he says. For Pomerantz, who is the CEO and Publisher of Playboy Israel, there was always “something magical” about the Playboy “name and brand”, both as a kid and now as an adult.

A corporate attorney before moving to Israel, it was during late 2010 that Pomerantz first really started to know Playboy “the business”. At the time, Playboy’s headquarters were in Chicago, close to his law office, and Pomerantz befriended Playboy’s lawyers through the Chicago legal community.

It was also around the same time, during one of his frequent trips to Israel, that Pomerantz noticed even though the Playboy ‘brand’ was known and popular there, there was no Playboy Israel magazine.

When he returned to Chicago, he asked the Playboy people why that was the case, and was referred to Playboy’s international group. At first, there was “idle curiosity”, but then discussions became more detailed and in turn those discussions became meetings, which led to research and plans, until finally the Playboy people asked him “a life-changing question” – why don’t you take these ideas and bring Playboy to Israel?

Playboy Israel founder and CEO Dan Pomerantz with one of his bunnies  (Photo: Steven Winston Photography)

And so he did.

Though the excitement of launching Playboy in Israel was just one of the reasons for Pomerantz’s decision to make aliyah, it was not the primary one. That came as a result of his own personal Zionist journey.

When he was younger, the State of Israel played a role only “as an idea”. It was “a home to cousins I’d never met, ancient artifacts, and that impossible language from my bar mitzvah.”

Israel only became a “reality” as a “real place with real people” when he started visiting more frequently a few years ago. Whether it was being invited for Shabbat dinner, the familiarity of hearing a Hebrew word from childhood or seeing a prominent site, Pomerantz says “it’s just a million little things that add to feeling totally at home here.”

Ultimately, he “started finding excuses to come back” more and more, until around mid 2011, a friend in Israel asked: “you make all these visits? Don’t you feel homesick for Chicago?” But when he thought about it, the only time he felt homesick was when he was away from Israel. Three months later, Pomerantz was on an Aliyah flight ‘home’.

Once in Israel, Pomerantz went to work on establishing Playboy Israel, including meeting with investors, trips back and forth to Playboy headquarters in Chicago (yes, including the Playboy mansion too, “a little retro” he says, but “still very cool”) and a lot of hours putting together a team and company from scratch. In other words, living the very ‘Start-Up’ dream that has become synonymous with the State of Israel.

Fast forward a little over a year to March 2013 and Pomerantz has just launched Playboy Israel at a press conference standing next to their very first centerfold, replete with the trademark ears and Playboy bunny tail.

The magazine, which will be in Hebrew (and yes, that means also the very first Playboy magazine to be from right-to-left), will have a balance of local and international material.

Contrary to some perceptions though, the magazine will not be about “sex” or “just another lad’s mag.” Pomerantz says it will be a mixture of “seriousness and depth combined with fun and beauty”, stressing it will be “sexy but not about sex.”

So, what is “sexy” to him? Beauty. Depth. Knowledge. Confidence. And all this says Pomerantz will be reflected in the magazine, that will include everything from commentary on current affairs, political issues and international relationships, to finance, fashion, romance, gadgets and Playboy Bunnies of course.

The target audience however will not be only men. It will be “Israeli men and anyone curious about the Israeli man”, and yes, that includes Israeli women too.

Asked to define a ‘typical Israeli man’, Pomerantz notes there are many different kinds, but that Israeli men are increasingly becoming more internationally aware and curious, confident and outgoing, with “aspirations about living a good life and finding romance”, values he says fit perfectly with the Playboy brand.

And Israeli women? What are they like? They’re “gorgeous” he says, but also confident, know what they want and make decisions with strength. They’re also “a little harif” adds Pomerantz, with a cheeky smile that even the Heff would be proud off.

One of the first questions that immediately comes to mind is how far will Playboy Israel push the boundaries and are they concerned about possible backlash from the religious community? Noting “we live in a world characterised by freedom of expression and choice”, Pomerantz says the magazine will nonetheless “respect every community around us” and “will not push it in a way or a place it’s not welcome.”

Pomerantz also brushes off concerns about generally declining sales numbers of print magazines, as readers increasingly turn to the internet. “We see this as a content business, not magazine business” he says, adding that print will be just one of a number of platforms the magazine will use to connect with readers, in addition to a website, Facebook and other forms of social media.

Playboy Israel’s first issue has certainly lived up to the initial hype. The cover features the stunning Israeli celebrity fashion model Natalie Dadon, while Israeli dancer Marin Teremets is their maiden Playmate centerfold.

The magazine also features an in-depth personal interview with Avi Dichter, Israel’s Minister of Internal Security and former head of the Shin Bet, as well as a piece on the day that Steve Jobs met Andy Warhol and showed him the world’s first Macintosh computer (oh, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono were at the dinner too).

Pomerantz is also acutely mindful of the fact that through the magazine, he will have the opportunity to showcase Israel to the rest of the world. “It’s a responsibility we are aware off and take very seriously,” he says.

So, what kind of Israel will Playboy convey?

First and foremost, that Israel is a normal place, part of a modern world, a place where you can and do have something like Playboy. But also, Israel is a beautiful place with beautiful people, a place that is thoughtful with a lot of different ideas and topics and arguments and serious discussion, a place with freedom of speech, expression and ideas.

Pomerantz is “very excited to have this new forum of sharing this concept of Israel to the world” and sees a “perfect cultural connection between the beauty and complexity of Playboy and the beauty and complexity of Israel as a country.”

Just as Dan Pomerantz has decided to make Israel his home, so too has Playboy now made aliyah!

SDM Contributor, Arsen Ostrovsky, with Playboy cover girl Nataly Dadon at Playboy Israel launch Party (Photo: Steven Winston Photography)

He describes his music as redemptive and truth and wants to be an agent for change, Ben Blackwell is one inspiring and talented individual. His latest single “Israel we go hard” has over 52,000 hits on youtube. We caught up with Ben to learn more about him and his music! Enjoy!

Who is Ben Blackwell, what do you want people to know about you?

My name is Behn Shakhar it means: “The Morning Star – Which represents the dawn of a new day, the hope and the light that guides our steps toward total redemption”. – Ben Ammi. I am a nineteen years young Hebrew Israelite, born and raised in Israel. I live a vegan lifestyle (which I recommend for all human beings) because, our health is our true wealth. The music that I create may be classified as Hip Hop, R&B or Pop etc…. Because it fits into those genre’s but, I am interjecting a Redemptive / Truth perspective in my music. I want people to know that I represent a change, a change in the music world and in the world at large.

Who are your musical inspirations?

In the Hip Hop genre I was inspired greatly by Tupac, From the Reggae / World genre – the legendary Bob Marley From the R&B / Soul genre a huge musical inspiration during my childhood was The Temptations!

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?

Lupe Fiasco, I respect him as an artist and because he represents a change!

Many believe that Israel is full of white Jews, are people shocked when you say you’re Israeli?

Yes, people are very surprised when I tell them that I was born and raised in Israel. They are fascinated!

Why did you decide to create “Israel We Go Hard”?

Because Israel is portrayed negatively in the media, I’ve experienced this first hand with my own grandmother, she’s afraid to come to Israel because of what she see’s in the media. So I decided to make a video to show the positive side of our country.

What makes Israel “Paradise”?

I grew up in the land known in the Bible as the Land of Milk and Honey! The Holy Land and The Promised land. People from all over the world visit Israel to feel the presence of God, and to see its historical relevance, and I was born there. By me being a Hebrew, the Sabbath is a very important day in my life. Seventy five percent of the cities In Israel (mine included) respect and honor the Sabbath day, which makes it a very peaceful day and very conducive for the Hebraic lifestyle. The bodies of water are also a great love of mine. With all the history behind them, I can freely pay them a visit any day of the week. From the Sea of Galilee to the Jordan River. From the Red Sea to the Sea of Life (Salt Sea) with all its rich mineral content and healing properties with no marine life inside of it. You can float in it by just laying back, its amazing. Also the fruits and vegetables are so rich and nutritious, you can pick them right off the trees to eat. You know Israel is the breadbasket of Europe. I love everything about my country, and I am happy I was blessed to be born in such a place. The Holy Days are my favorite. Nowhere else on earth will you find an entire country that stops to honor the Highest Holy Day written in the Bible which is Yom Kippur. Its a wonderful sight to see, and it is so peaceful.

You identify yourself not as “Jew” but a “Hebrew” what is the difference?

First of all I want you to understand I’m not religious, we do not consider ourselves a religious people. What we exemplify is the way of life that we believe the Creator intended for us to live by. We also consider the bible our historical record.

What’s next for Ben ?

Well right now I’m finishing my project called “The Dawn Of A New Day”. It’s my first album and It will be released the second quarter. I am moving to make Israel number one, and trying to reach as many people as possible to share my life’s experience with them!

Check out Ben online by clicking here

Check out Ben on Facebook by clicking here

His work was recently featured on CNN, Ronen Goldman is an Israeli photographer that never stops dreaming. His work is colorful and magical and includes photography and videography. This international artist is known for creating “Photo-dreams” a type of photography I haven’t heard of but caught my attention. You have to check out his work! Until then… a little interview with Ronen…

Who is Ronen Goldman ? What would you want people to know about yourself ?

I am Ronen Goldman. I am a conceptual Artist and photographer from Tel Aviv. I started out as a scriptwriter before I found myself in the world of photography.

What does Art mean to you ?

I use art to express abstract ideas. I love photography and image making for their ability to get through to people without saying a word. I think art is simply a way for all of us to show each other something new about the world, from our very subjective perspective.

Has being Israeli influenced your art ?

I’m sure being Israeli has influenced my art in some way but I haven’t really figured out how. My work is not political at all(unless you somehow read into it and find out that it is), I create art from a human perspective- regardless of nationality. But living here in Israel affects everyone, including myself.

You specialize in the creation of “Photo-dreams”, how do you make it happen ?

Most of my photographs start with a dream, or part of a dream that I remember. I do this by writing down different elements from dreams as soon as I wake up. Sometimes they are just abstract feelings while other times, it’s actual elements. I then try and figure out what the overall atmosphere of the dream was, and why it had so much effect on me. I try and conjure up an image that corresponds with that dream and create the scene in my mind. Once that whole process is done, I switch on the photographer brain and start to try and figure out how I could technically execute the idea. I gather the elements, the people, scout locations  then research the lighting (…different hours of the day). Once I have all the info I need, I set a date, and make it happen. I then go into post production, until I am happy with the result. The process can take months, which is the reason I’ve only produced 20 images over the span of six years. Nowadays the whole process is much quicker.

Photos from the “Surrealistic Pillow” Project (Click here for more)

Who are some of the artists that have influenced you?

I am influenced by painters, photographers and musicians. If I had to name a few, I’d say… Girgio De Chirico, Rene Magritte, Dali, Tanguy, Ansel Adams, Gregory Crewdson.

You were recently featured on CNN, how does that feel ?

Being featured on CNN hasn’t really sunken in yet. After seeing it on the front page of CNN International, A good friend of mine said to me “well, seems your the most interesting thing at the moment as decided by the people who get to decide what the most interesting thing in the world is.” To know that so many people were exposed to a project that I’ve been working on so hard for the past 6 years is AMAZING!

You’ve exhibited your art in many places around the world, including Brussels, London, Germany and Spain, any favorites ? As an Israeli, how are you received internationally ?

All those places were great, but Spain was amazing, something about the culture and people there really got to me. People seem to like my work. I don’t think that being an Israeli made any difference at all. We all dream. even if we were born in space.

And of course, does Size Matter ?

I’ve heard people say “it’s what you do with it”, In my line of work it’s like when people say to me ”Wow! those are great photos your camera must be great” I tell them ”Thank you, your mouth says the nicest things”.

Check out Ronen Goldman online by clicking here

Online advertisement is a HUGE industry, startups in Israel are a HUGE success, put them together… out comes BannerPlay, an Israeli startup that brings Israeli innovation to the online advertising world, and best of all, it’s mostly FREE to use! We spoke to Rafi Ton about how his company will revolutionize online advertising for Small-Medium Businesses.

Tell us about BannerPlay

BannerPlay is a startup company that aims to revolutionize the online display advertising industry by making display ads, banners… accessible to small and medium businesses. More often than not, a big budget is required in order to advertise efficiently online. You needed graphic designers to design the ads, you needed a media placement person and you need a service that will give you analytics you can understand. This fragmentation is a real barrier for people. It’s a headache. That’s why small-medium businesses use Google, it’s fairly simple, but that’s not really display advertising, it’s Adwords.  We decided to take the simplicity of Adwords and bring it to the display advertising market.

Using a very simple web interface, BannerPlay allows users to create banners in no time. After creating the banner, BannerPlay allows you to target the banners to the right users and on the right sites (where your banners are going to appear and who is going to see them), buy the media with your PayPal account and get real time statistics so you always know how your ads are performing.

What is the cost?

BannerPlay uses a simple Pay Per Click model, so the only thing you pay for is actual interaction with your ad. Other than that, you can use our system as much as you like, create as many banners as you like and as many campaigns as you like. You’ll pay only for the clicks.

How will this help businesses?

BannerPlay provides an alternative to Google Adwords. At this point in time, advertisers with limited budgets really only have once practically a single way to use online advertising while the big brands can select either search or display advertising. BannerPlay brings the big brands’ toolbox to the small advertiser.

BannerPlay will save small-medium businesses money and time by offering a new way to advertise. Quite simply, when you reduce the production cost to zero you can direct your entire budget to buying the media, and because we’re performance driven, you don’t waste money on testing, designers’ fee, un-converted views or analytics.

Who came up with the concept?

I came up with the idea and co-founded the company. My previous company, Casual Mobile, dealt with building branded games and apps for big brands that wanted to interact with people on the web. Seeing the high level of user engagement with these interactive ads, it became clear then that these tools (i.e. interactive banners) should be made available  to companies of every size. Then came BannerPlay.

However, small businesses do not have the manpower nor the expertise to buy media themselves and use third parties to monitor their campaigns, hence we needed to complete the service by adding an ad network and analytics tools where small businesses can effectively measure the performance of their campaigns, create variations of their banner ads and change their ads in the process.

Today, BannerPlay is the only end-to-end display advertising service which allows any advertiser to create banners, find the right traffic, monitor the campaign and optimize its performance in a single web based interface.

It seems pretty easy to use, how does it work?

We worked very hard to make the service as simple as possible – which means that under the hood it is quite complex. We are actually trying to address two types of users – the absolutely novice user and the more experienced user.

For the first kind, we focus on creating simple wizards such as our newly introduced Super Simple Wizard™, which creates a banner for the advertiser’s business in merely 3 clicks, our upcoming WordPress plugin and more.

For the more advanced users we offer our visual online banner builder, which allows to control and design every single aspect of your ad using a simple and intuitive web interface.

Either way, the process begins with trying to understand what you are going to advertise. That’s why we ask you to enter your URL first. We then analyze your URL and offer you templates that should fit your business profile. Then you continue to customize the template or even start from scratch, add your texts, and integrate social elements and so on.

The Interface for the advanced banner maker somewhat resembles the Photoshop interface, with a main toolbar on the left, a frames toolbar on the right and a library of pictures from your site on the bottom. The main toolbar gives you the ability to add images, backgrounds, animations, buttons, social media (Youtube videos, Facebook likes), insert text and add lead forms.

After you’re done with your ad creation, you are taken to where you target your banner ads with keywords that describe your businesses and buy the media. This process is critical for a successful campaign. Banners are automatically associated to media buying while, for example, search advertising is more associated to targeting. We are bringing the search targeting methodology to display advertising. We understand that it takes time for advertisers to understand targeting for banner ads so we offer also the ability to target specific sites.

The entire payment process is done using Paypal – which is the simplest and most common way to pay online. Just 2-3 clicks and you’re done. After all this, when your campaign is on the air, you get real-time statistics from us on every banner and every campaign. That’s generally how simple it is. You can even get a list of sites displaying your banner ad and remove sites that do not perform well from your campaign.

Mobile browsing is the future, is that a focus for BannerPlay?

We’ve built BannerPlay to focus on HTML and HTML5, no Flash whatsoever, so we’re compatible with mobile browsing, in-app advertising and all current and future browsers out there.

Our advertisers can advertise on the web, mobile web and in-app mobile ads using the same banners they created on banner play.

Why is it, in your opinion, that Israel is such an innovation hub?

Evolution. I’m a big believer in the story of the Jewish people and its history of how we became who we are today. We became a startup hub and a startup nation because we had to, because necessity is the mother of all invention and when we came to Israel we needed to invent pretty much everything- We needed to bring the people, invent housing and roads, invent the democracy and the government, invent the society that was scattered across the globe, “evolutionize” the IDF from the resistance organizations we had back then, create the industry, the education system, everything. We just had to.

When it comes to Innovation and Israel, does Size Matter?

Actually it does – but in a totally different way. The smaller you are the faster you move, the quicker you adapt to changes, the more agile you are. So yes, size does matter and being small, agile and quick to respond, allows us to innovate every day. This is why startups in Israel thrive.

Try BannerPlay by clicking here

Check out BannerPlay on Facebook by clicking here

Now this STARTUP is #Awesome! Turn your business facebook Page into a website in minutes!… for free! You gotta check out this Israeli Startup, you can read our interview with Shy for a start… then try it for yourself!

Tell us about EXAI

EXAI is an innovative startup company with about 50 employees located in the heart of Tel Aviv. EXAI has developed a revolutionary website builder that allows a user to build unique websites in an automated environment by providing our artificial intelligence-based algorithms with simple data, such as logo, images and keywords.

Our solution is aimed at large corporations such as Yellow Pages, who have a huge database of clients but don’t have a good and efficient way to provide all of these clients with websites. With EXAI, they can create millions of custom-designed websites based on the information in their client database.

In addition, EXAI also provides solutions for end users, allowing them to create a website for themselves via various methods: DIY (Do It Yourself) and a recently launched product which allows a user to turn their Facebook fan page or profile into a matching website and mobile site – all in 1 easy click.

How will this help businesses?

I’d like to refer to our newest product which turns fan pages into websites.

Small businesses are in need of more leads and today, with the online world being as it is, leads are plentiful online. When a small business decides, for whatever reasons, to be present only on Facebook by creating a business profile or fan page, they are in fact giving up on all the huge potential traffic going out outside of the ”Facebook arena” – this includes search engines, mobile traffic, etc.

EXAI’s solution allows these businesses to complete their online presence to a full and functioning one which engulfs social, local and mobile, also called “SoLoMo”. This is done easily and at the click of a button from within their Facebook environment, allowing them to increase their business’ exposure and gain new leads.

Who came up with the concept?

We have spent quite some time searching for the best way to reach and approach small businesses and eventually reached the conclusion that a large, readily approachable database of small businesses is available on Facebook.

It seems pretty easy to use, how does it work?

It’s very simple. All you need to do is install the application from the Facebook App Center and then choose the desired profile or fan page.

Once that is done, you can choose a layout for your website or have the application choose several options for you. The result is 6 unique websites created by the application with your designs, information, logo, etc. Simply choose your favorite and made any changes using a very easy editor and your site is ready to be published.

Mobile browsing is the future, is that a focus for EXAI?

Yes. We are already providing a complete online presence solution, which includes a mobile-compatible website for each website created with our system. It’s important to remember that a large part of traffic on Facebook comes from mobile users which is one of the reasons we’ve put an emphasis on this.

What is the cost?

Any user can create a website and mobile site completely free of charge. A “freemium”  account allows the user to edit their website as well as save it on a sub-domain. We also provide the option to upgrade from a free to a premium account for as little as $3-$6 a month. Premium users get additional storage space, premium support, unlimited pages, a custom-domain and more.

Why has EXAI kept a low profile?

As I’m sure you can understand, when we provided our solution solely to corporations, we did so quietly and efficiently. But today, as we have begun to approach end users directly, we felt the need to make ourselves known.

Why is it, in your opinion, that Israel is such an innovation hub?

That’s a good question J. You can’t argue with the facts, Israel is indeed a source for leading, innovative technology. In my opinion, Israeli’s have a drive to progress and push forward and this pushes us to great achievements in many fields, especially when looking at what we accomplish in relation to the small size of this country.

You’ve secured international funding, is it easier as an Israeli? (seeing all eyes are on the tech industry in Israel)

Despite the fact that “Israeli Development” has become a synonymous with high quality standards,  I think that in the end each case stands alone. Fortunately, EXAI’s products have interested many investors thanks to the technology and the people behind it – a select team chosen carefully by Gal Moran, the CEO.

When it comes to Innovation and Israel, does Size Matter?

It’s better to be small and hugely successful than the other way around

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