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Procter & Gamble Explains Why Israel is THE Startup Nation
I visited P&G office in Tel Aviv. Lital Asher-Dotan, who established Procter & Gamble first R&D hub in Israel called “P&G Israel House of Innovation”, explained why P&G calls Israel a “startup nation.”
In the entry lobby of P&G office, which is 20 minutes away from Google’s office in Tel Aviv, there are a few samples of different products sold by P&G in Israel. Among the usual health and beauty brands (Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Oral B, Gillette, Tampax, Pampers …) and brands of household cleaners (Ariel, Lenor, Swiffer, Tide …) there were also different prizes and trophies P&G Israel has received for the development of innovative products. However, what surprised me the most was that besides all these products and prizes there was a copy of the acclaimed book Startup nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer.
Procter & Gamble takes Research and Development seriously: it invests $2.8 Billion annually and has 9,300 employees in R&D worldwide. The Israel House of Innovation (IHI) was created five years ago by CEO Bob McDonald and one of the key goals is to create alliances between P&G and Israeli innovators.
Procter & Gamble’s Israel House of Innovation collaborates with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world; the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which carries out more than 1/3 of all academic scientific research in Israel; Powermat, which has only 70 employees and is developing wireless battery rechargers. By the way, Jay-Z participates in the JV with Powermat and P&G not only as a spokesperson but also as an investment partner. P&G has also signed on bilateral agreement with Israeli Chief Scientist providing Israeli start ups that collaborate with P&G favorable access to governmental funding.
Present in over 180 countries and with total revenues of about $80 Billion, P&G is the world’s largest Multinational consumer goods company. Procter & Gamble has promised to deliver 3-6 % of growth per year or about extra $5billion in annual revenue. Open innovation is the key to this growth: the giant established in 1837 aims to have 50% of all innovation (not only on new products but also on internal systems) having elements from outside of the company. Jeff Weedman, P&G Vice President, External BD:
“Our JV with TEVA represents the lessons learned that we need better access to Innovation and global abilities while we can provide the in-depth consumer knowhow.”
Lital Asher-Dotan explained why P&G calls Israel a startup nation:
-Israel has the highest density of tech start-ups in the world. Israel has about 80 companies listed on NASDAQ, more than all of Europe, Japan, Korea, India, and China combined.
-Israel is the biggest destination for global venture capital per capita. In recent years, many US based VCs have opened Israeli funds and/or Israeli offices – Sequoia ($580M), Benchmark ($490M). Greylock, Battery Ventures, Bessemer. Main accelerators in Israel are: Microsoft, VentureGeeks, The Junction, TechLoft, DreamIT Ventures,The Hive, UpWestLabs, The Library, and MobileMonday.
- Israel raises 2.5 times as much global venture capital as the U.S., 30 times more than Europe, 80 times more than India, and 350 times more than China.
-Israel has twice the number of engineers per capita than the US and Japan. 34% of its population holds university degrees (24% of the work force).
- Israel has the highest level of R&D spending relative to GDP in the world: 4,9% in 2009. OECD average is 2,3%.
- Israel holds the largest number of Nobel Prize winners this past decade. By the way, I had the chance to meet Dr. Dan Schechtman, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “the discovery of quasicrystals,” who told me his views on entrepreneurship.
-In Israel, Military technology is often transferred to other areas. For instance, Based on real-time image processing technology from Rafael’s Missile Division, Dr. Gabi Iddan from Given Imaging developed the PillCam™ capsule endoscope – the first ingestible camera in a pill for detection of GI disorders. The PillCam™ capsule is easily ingested by the patient and transmits high quality color images that enable physicians to directly visualize parts of the GI tract. Capsule endoscopy is the only available ingestible diagnostic tool that allows direct visualization of the small intestine.
I have just outlined the key points why Israel is considered by P&G as a startup Nation. In a post for Techcrunch, Roi Carthy and Daniel Cunha, founders of Initial Capital, suggest what the Brazilian booming startup community could learn from the Israeli case.
Source: Forbes
VIDEO: Israel pavilion Korea 2012 – Sea of Inspiration – Virtual Tour
Israel Expo 2012 virtual tour – Little preview…
Green technology meets high-tech at eco-conference
A three-day eco-friendly conference helps establish business connections, create innovative ideas intended to promote environment friendly living
An unlikely partnership between the high-tech and ecology communities in Israel formed the first ever sustainable technology conference – TentTech.
The camps’ participants, who represent various disciplines such as science, technology, art and agriculture combined their talent and resources in order to build projects and develop innovative blueprints for environment friendly living.
The group’s aim is to rethink sustainability in four different domains – water, energy, shelter and communication.
The conference, called by many a non-conference, was established by a group of high-tech entrepreneurs headed by Ilan Graicer and Gilli Cegla.
Among the Israeli activists taking part in the project was Muhammad Almaki, a student from Mali who came to Israel in order to learn Hebrew so he could translate the bible into the local Mali language. Almaki presented the camps’ participants with one of the major issues the Mali people face – one water well shared by 5,000 residents.
Almaki asked some of the high-tech experts to search for the technology which could improve access to drinking water in Mali. He further asked for them to find affordable solutions for well building, rain harvesting and pumping and water purification.
One of the camp’s participants, Oranit Avidar, who works for WaterWays, a local Israeli startup seeking to find fitting solutions for rural locations lacking access to water sources, approached Almaki soon after he spoke, in effort to help him with the life threatening challenge his country faces.
The conference further held discussions concerning challenges of developing countries in the fields of water and sanitation, shelter, communications and energy.
Moreover, several discussions concerning existing global innovation challenges took place followed by possible projects and solutions addressing these needs.
Among the technological developments presented during the conference was Moti Cohen’s aquaponics prototype, which is a sustainable food production system that combines the traditional aquaculture with hydroponics in a symbiotic environment.
Source: Ynetnews.com
Smartphone users more oblivious to others: study
Users of smartphones, such as iPhones and BlackBerrys, have a different sense of privacy and of the appropriateness of public cellphone usage compared to users of more traditional mobile devices, a study shows.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University drew these conclusion after studying the attitudes of about 150 people in Israel.
Eran Toch, from the school’s department of industrial engineering, said in statement that smartphone users tend to have an illusion of being in a “privacy bubble” when using their devices in public.
The research found that people with smartphones were 70 per cent more likely than those with less advanced cellphones to think their devices gave them a fair degree of privacy when using them in public.
Smartphone users were also 20 per cent less likely to think talking on their devices in public bothered other people, and 50 per cent less inclined to be annoyed by other people using their phones, the study found.
Toronto tech-trend analyst Alan K’necht, a partner at Digital Always Media, said such cultural tendencies found in the Israeli study also hold true in Canada.
“I see it all the time,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard conversations, thinking, ‘You shouldn’t be having that conversation at the grocery store or on the street corner.’ ”
K’necht said it’s probably not so much that certain types of cellphones transform people’s personalities, but those predisposed to react to phone calls, emails and texts right away are more attracted to smartphones. He added that a higher proportion of young people have smartphones than older people, and that could be a factor in the study’s findings.
“There’s a generation that has grown up very tech savvy and has this sense of immediacy and response, and the only way to do that is to respond immediately — take the call in meetings, respond to texts and tweets and emails on the fly.”
Another of the study’s authors, Tali Hatuka from Tel Aviv University’s geography department, suggested that public spaces be re-designed in such a way that there are designated areas for phone usage, and other areas where it’s not allowed.
K’necht said it might be worthwhile to have more phone booths in public spaces, such as restaurants, where people bring their own phones.
“If the venue wants to provide the old-fashioned phone booth where you can go and sit down in a little cubbyhole and chat, there might be a marketing opportunity,” he said.
Sweden loves Israeli hi-tech
Special: Leading Israeli venture capitalist Erel Margalit helps Sweden develop its startup industry
One of Europe’s strongest economies takes advice from Israelis
A crowd of some 400 Swedish entrepreneurs, managers and venture capitalists gathered in a small conference hall in the town of Kista, near Stockholm. The occasion was the 10th anniversary of entrepreneurial incubator STING, one of the biggest in Sweden. Erel Margalit, veteran Israeli entrepreneur and founder of the JVP Fund, got up to speak.
Margalit came to Sweden for a quick two-day visit to try to help fix or at least improve the Swedish startup industry. In some respects this seems to make little sense – how come Sweden, one of the strongest and wealthiest economies in Europe that has produced giant enterprises like IKEA, Ericsson, H&M and Skype, is turning of all places to Israel for advice on developing successful startups? But this is exactly what happened.
“Israel has created a large quantity of technology in relation to its size,” says Margalit. “It’s wonderful to see that the world is very interested to learn from us. When I visited Spain they practically tied me up to prevent me from leaving. They are simply astonished by Israel’s success.”
The JVP Fund, which is based in Jerusalem, was founded by Margalit in 1993 and manages eight venture capital funds totaling more than $900 dollars. JVP’s strong connection with Sweden began with an investment in t Swedish company Qlik Tech. After the stock was issued successfully on NASDAQ the Swedes realized that Israeli know-how and experience in establishing startup companies and encouraging entrepreneurs could be of benefit to them.
In his recent visit, Margalit met with local high-tech business leaders, venture capital managers, government officials, economists and top advisors of large Swedish corporations. “We came out of the meeting with many new ideas,” one Swedish business leader told Margalit.
The Swedes explain that one of the main problems they confront is how to expand into the international market. Swedish entrepreneurs are skilled and creative, but with a population of nine million people, the local market is small and limiting. Sweden has created many international companies, but the startups that have developed there in recent years have had difficulty breaking out of the country’s borders.
Another interesting problem is that Swedish high-tech workers are reluctant to leave secure and stable positions in a large company and are anxious about taking a chance on a small startup.
To cope with these problems Margalit recommends that the Swedes give incentives to entrepreneurs and investors in the way that Israel has done for the last 20 years, including the Initiative Program of the Ministry of Industry Trade and Employment and the Chief Scientist, which in the 1990s aided in establishing Israeli venture capital funds.
Margalit also recommends lowering taxes that prevent companies from giving employees options. “When a person risks his career and moves to a small company you must give him a way to make a profit,” he says. The Swedes agree, but it is also clear to them that this will be difficult because such measures contradict the social democratic, equality-for-all tradition that also demands collecting high taxes.
‘Israelis love to invent’
In one of the meetings, a local venture capitalist asked Margalit how Israel has succeeded in attracting so many international companies to establish development centers in Israel – from Intel and Google to Apple. “American companies understand that Israelis love to invent”, Margalit replied. “And this is contagious.”
In his speech to the participants of the STING incubator conference, Margalit stressed the principles on the basis of which startups succeed. “You need to join technology experts with artists, writers and authors, and understand that we are in a cultural revolution that also integrates technology. Art schools are as strategically significant as engineering schools,” he said.
Per Hedberg, STING’s director, says that Sweden and Israel are essentially very similar. “Israel is a small country without a local market that tries to focus on innovation, just like Sweden. The focus on creating international companies attracts me to Israel.”
Margalit adds that Israel can also learn from the Swedes. “The combination between Swedish equality and the state’s readiness to invest in the private sector, and the innovation and creativity of Israel can conquer the world,” he says.
Swedish-Israeli relations were tense in recent years. There were tendentious stories and coverage about Israel in the Swedish media – like a 2009 report that Israeli soldiers harvested the organs of dead Palestinians – and this created strong negative feelings about Sweden in Israel.
“Most Swedes people do not have a position about Israel, positive or negative,” says Joseph Ackerman, the economic attaché of the Ministry of Industry Trade and Employment in Stockholm who accompanied Margalit on his visit. “There are anti-Israel extremists, but there are also extremists who love Israel very much. The media is relatively unified in its views against Israel – but this is true also in Israel. Everyone goes beyond sound proportions.”
However, Ackerman stresses that visits by Israeli high-tech experts like Margalit and trade agreements between Swedish and Israeli companies increase the possibility of talking about what is positive in Israel. “Indeed, when political events happen, it also influences business relations. Why will companies go to Israel with all the security problems? It means we must be better and more innovative, and bring added value that will attract them to do business in Israel.”
Source: Ynetnews.com
It got Arty (Glee) walking now helps Paralysed Claire Lomas finish London Marathon 16 days after it began
 walking now helps Paralysed Claire Lomas finish London Marathon 16 days after it began on http://sizedoesntmatter.com){kind=link}
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Well, now read this, a real life miracle!
32-year-old is greeted by crowds of supporters as she becomes first to finish marathon in bionic suit
A paralysed woman has become the first person to complete a marathon in a bionic suit.
Claire Lomas finished the London Marathon 16 days after the race began. The 32-year-old said she was “over the moon” as she completed the 26.2-mile route, which she started on 22 April with 36,000 other participants.
The former chiropractor was in tears as she became the first person to complete any marathon using a bionic ReWalk suit at 12.50pm on Tuesday.
Hundreds lined the streets as she made her final steps to complete the race. Three mounted members of the Household Cavalry gave her a guard of honour as she crossed the finishing line on the Mall.
Lomas, a jewellery designer who was left paralysed from the chest down following a horse-riding accident in 2007, said: “There were times when I questioned whether I would make it when I was training.
“Once I started, I just took each day as it came and every step got me a step closer.”
A spokeswoman for the mounted regiment said the riders were there to give Lomas “extra support because she is passionate about horses”.
Lomas will not appear in the official results and did not receive a medal when she finished as competitors have to complete the course on the same day to qualify for a medal, organisers said.
But a number of marathon runners decided to donate their own medals to Lomas. Jacqui Rose, from Southampton, who contributed her medal along with about 12 others, said: “She has epitomised what I thought the London Marathon was all about.
“That medal, when you have completed it and gone through all the pain of it, symbolises that achievement of what you have gone out of your way to do for charity.
“For her not to have got one ridicules what the marathon was all about.”
Holly Branson, daughter of the tycoon Richard – whose company Virgin sponsors the race – was at the finish line waiting to give Lomas the Virgin trophy for endurance. The company hands out the award annually.
She said: “She has done the most amazing job. It was so emotional when she crossed that line. Tears welled up in my eyes and everyone was cheering.”
Lomas, from Eye Kettleby, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, raised more than £86,000 for Spinal Research, a charity which funds medical research around the world to develop reliable treatments for paralysis caused by a broken back or neck.
She said: “When I was in hospital I saw a lot of people with similar injuries to me and a lot worse.
“I have had tremendous support since my accident which I am so grateful for. Some don’t have that. Some people lose the use of their arms as well. A cure needs to be found.”
She walked about two miles a day, cheered on by her husband, Dan, her parents and her 13-month-old daughter, Maisie.
Lomas said she was now going to write a book and “spend some good time with Maisie”, adding: “Then I’ll think of something else daft to do.”
A number of celebrities have also lent their support by walking a mile alongside her, including the TV presenter Gabby Logan and her husband, the former international rugby star Kenny, and the TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle.
Lomas broke her neck, back and ribs and punctured a lung when her horse Rolled Oats threw her off as she took part in the Osberton horse trials in Nottinghamshire in 2007.
The £43,000 ReWalk suit, designed by the Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer, enables people with lower-limb paralysis to stand, walk and climb stairs through motion sensors and an onboard computer system.
A shift in the wearer’s balance, indicating their desire to take, for example, a step forward, triggers the suit to mimic the response that the joints would have if they were not paralysed.
Source: The Guardian