Israel Venture Capital 2.0

Nahum – 2 Weeks After

It's been 2 weeks since the accident, and a week since the Funeral of Nahum and Nava, and I have been thinking about them a lot. Clearly, Nahum was not a close friend of mine. We interacted a lot around eSnips, and some point (late 2008) we spoke on a daily basis. However, there is much I didn't know about him.

Still – his sudden death made me think about his legacy, and I now know that I have learned a lot from Nahum. Not all things can be written, but still, there are few things I took from him that will always be with me.

First of all, Nahum looked at the business in a very unemotional way. Every challenge was treated in the best way possible, without ego, and without personal emotions. I admire that, and I really think that putting emotions aside creates the best outcome for all people involved. That was the way Nahum treated the many challenges we had at eSnips, especially toward the end.

Second, Nahum always emphasized the big picture. It's never about the details, but the need to focus on the large, and important issues. I think that relates to his physics background, and for me – it's a critical part of my day-to-day job.

Finally, It was all about the attitude. No matter when we met, Nahum was always joking, always smiling, and always "playing the game". Even when I disagreed with him, it was always a pleasure to interact with him.

Yesterday I looked through all the old emails from Nahum, and I have many of them. I was hoping to find some emotional nugget, or something personal. Nahum, like Nahum, was always right to the point. Here is the email I got from him once all the eSnips transaction was finalized:

"All, we finally received all signatures on the Logia agreement this morning. Thanks to all involved. Nahum". What a way to summarize 6 months of hard and frustrating work.

I will definitely miss him.

Back

I left Silicon Valley on April 1st.

I travelled through the Northwest, visiting California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada.

I spent a few days in Atlanta (mostly shopping).

I landed in Israel 2 weeks ago, and been running around trying to organize our new life, and get back into the work action.

But today I decided to make it official. I am back. Going forward, it will be much easier to write about Israel Venture Capital 2.0.

Butte, Montana

I am currently traveling with my family around the US, sort of a goodbye trip before we return back to Israel. Today we stopped for lunch in Butte, Montana. I never heard of this place, and I was quite surprised to find so many restaurants. A quick conversation with our waitress revealed a bit of the local history: Turns out Butte was the largest copper mine back in the early 20th century. At some point it was the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis, with 100K+ people. Here is a direct quote from Wikipedia:

“Butte began as a mining town in the late 19th century in the Silver Bow Creek Valley, a natural bowl sitting high in the Rockies straddling the Continental Divide. At first only gold and silver were mined in the area, but the advent of electricity caused a soaring demand for copper, which was abundant in the area. The small town soon became one of the most prosperous cities in the country, especially during World War I, and was often called "the Richest Hill on Earth". It was the largest city for many hundreds of miles in all directions. The city attracted workers from Ireland, Wales, England, Lebanon, Canada, Finland, Austria, Serbia, Italy, China, Syria, Croatia, Mexico and all areas of the USA.”

But after World War I, the place began to wind down it’s copper production, and right now there are about 30K people only, and according to our waitress, about 50% of them are retired. And I must say the place really felt like a Ghost town. Beautiful but run-down buildings, empty streets. As you drove around town you can only think about the history and imagine how the streets and Saloons looked like 100 years ago.

Personally, it made me think about Silicon Valley. Isn’t the same quote above relevant to Silicon Valley today? The place attracts workers from all over the world. We won’t be around to see what happens in 100 years, but not sure technology will not move on to somewhere else (How about Israel? The Copper mining industry moved to Chile…). Also, Butte tells an interesting story of the US 2009. Amazing amazing past, but a lot of declining industries, and a real need to for reinvention. I guess that’s what Obama is all about.

 

Farewell Silicon Valley

Well, it’s official. What was done is done, and what I did not manage to do, well, there will be a next time. We are on the road, and although we will be landing in Israel only in May, I am officially done with my 3rd Silicon Valley Chapter. 1982-1983, 2000-2001, and 2006-2009.

Will there be a 4th time. Probably not, but who knows…

Attached is a small farewell video. I was looking for the right song, and after passing obvious selections (Homeward Bound or Two of us) to not-so obvious selections (All Apologies, All together now, or Pink Floyd’s Money) I finally landed on my favorite Mashina song (Yes, in Hebrew): Come Back, Come Back.

See you all in Israel.

4 thoughts on 40

This week I am turning 40. There you go - officially old. Some thoughts:

1. I clearly remember my parents being 40. In my memory, they are much older than I am at the same age. I guess the reality is that they were younger than what I perceived, and I am currently older...
2. Every 10 years I celebrate my birthday in a different location around the world. I was 10 on the east coast, 20 on the Golan Heights, 30 at Fontainebleau (France), and 40 on the west coast. I should try and celebrate my 50th birthday in a unique place, like... Tel-Aviv
3. The other day (while in Israel), I heard someone on the street shouting "Hey, kid" (In Hebrew: !ילד). I immediately turned around. Old habits die hard.
4. I am about 2 months away from being older than John Lennon

Quick summary of the past 10 years: 2 jobs, 2 relocations, 4 kids, 6 houses, 6 boards, 4 Laptops, and 10 iPods. Hope the next 10 years will be comparable, and would like to add a few exits to the list above.

Good Morning Obama

Today is January 20th, 2009. Today is a special day, one of those days that you will always remember. The US had 6 presidents since I was born (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr.), but this one is probably the most important. There are a few reasons for this: He is Black, He is a natural leader, and he is providing hope for a country that needs a lot of change.

But there is another reason why this president is so special. Obama is the first president that is truly from MY GENERATION. He is (almost) my age, he likes basketball, addicted to his Blackberry, and uses Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. He even likes some of the music I love (Bob Dylan, Miles Davis).

I hope Obama will show the world that my generation can make a big difference. Unrelated to his political views, Obama has 4 key attributes that I really like; Charisma, Professionalism, Addiction to Technology, and the ability to create hope for people.

I truly hope that 20 years from now people will ask: "Where were you during Barack Obama's inauguration?". My answer is going to be simple: "In the US, watching the inauguration online".

My favorite Silicon Valley (food) Places

After being here for more than 2 years, there are few places that have become regulars for me. These are places I visit often, and that I usually recommend to others when asked. Since a lot of Israelis that come over here ask me for local recommendations, I decided to list here some of my favorite locations. I also decided to map all the places. Check it on Live Maps.

	Most Favorite Place	Almost there - 2nd Place	Additional Places, if Needed
Coffee	Farley’s San Francisco: I was introduced to Farley by Zev Laderman (ex-CEO of Aduva), and I still think it’s the best tasting coffee in the Bay Area. Not a great place to sit, and clearly too far from the south bay, it’s a must stop on the way to/from the city back to Menlo Park	Caffe del Doge: This is the best coffee place in Palo Alto, and that’s why its packed with Israelis. Like a good neighborhood coffee, it’s the best place to run into Nadav or Omer or many other local Israelis. I love the coffee although it’s a bit too small	Coupa Café (Wifi and chocolates), Bellano Coffee Santa Clara (Been there once, but good coffee in the South bay).
Food Chain	Left Bank: Although it's an Americanized version of French restaurants, I still think Left Bank is a real pleasure. The highlight is the Nicoise Salad. Although they have a location not far from Sand Hill Road, I usually eat at their Santana Row branch.	The Counter: The all American Hamburger has seen some major updgrades in the past few years (and I loved McDonalds as a kid). The Counter provides great burgers, combined with a create-your-own-topics combination. Bring on the Chedder Cheese and Avocado.	PF Chang, Outback are always good options for Gluten Free stuff, a personal choice that puts them high on my list.
Restaurant	Evvia: Always packed, always fresh, always delicious. Their fish dishes are amazing, and I love the Greek salad. Clearly, that place has a nice flavor of home (Israel).	The Village Pub. My friend Oren says that this place is way too high-end, and its usually filled with VCs at lunch time (Can be seen as a pro or a con). But the food is good, and the coffee at the end is excellent.	Red Currant. A hidden gem in Menlo Park, the place is run by Ayelet & Nir, and it has a strong Israeli influence. Food is great, but the place is a bit off the path to become a regular.
Breakfast	NO PLACE. Nada. I still can't find a good place for a nice (and tasty) breakfast place. I think that a good breakfast place is not part of the West Coast culture.	Cafe Borrone. Another packed place, the food is quite good, and although its a bit casual (A bit self service), it's a nice option for a breakfast with a friend.	Sundeck, Il Fornaio, Buck's. 3 of the more common VC places are all located somewhat around Sand Hill Road. The problem is that all 3 provide food options that are below par.
Sushi	Fuki Sushi. Ahh. My favorite place in Silicon Valley. By far. I eat there 3-4 times a week and I am still not tired. The Hamachi is great and I love the Salmon-Avocado hand roll.	Kitsho. Located in Cupertino, the place is very authentic, yet not as tasty as Fuki. They usually have some rare fish selections, so its a great place for trying new things	To be honest, I am so addicted to Fuki, so I can't think of others in this category.
Supermarket	Andronico's. Sometimes lunch is just a salad. Andronico is a bit on the expensive side, but provides has a great salad bar, and some nice Sushi selections	Whole Foods. Another good place for fresh dishes, usually Gluten free.	Safeway? Never...

The future of my music collection

In the past 20 years I have built a nice music collection. A lot of CDs, tapes, albums, and online music. All now represented in about 40GB of music. I still consume it in all formats (Even cassettes sometimes...), but mostly on my iTunes/iPod (Usually when running and when traveling). So far so good.

But lately, I am starting to get frustrated with the level of understanding/interaction I have with my own music collection. There are great technologies out there that help me find music that I may like (of course, there is a business model in that). Those include Pandora, Last.fm, and even Amazon.

But I am looking for something different. I want a technology that will help me discover and understand my own music collection. Apple recently launched Genius, which is a first step in that direction. The problem is that Genius is very predictable. I pick a Led Zeppelin song, and it doesn't matter what song, I get the same suggestions: Jumping Jack Flash by the Stones, Highway Star by Deep Purple. I don't need to be a Genius to do that.

So here are the 3 elements I want from my iPod in the future:

1. True (Business) Intelligence: What do I listen to? Not only the songs, but Genres, Albums, Artists. In what songs do stick till the end, and what songs do I skip? All that information is there. I want it.
2. True Discovery. What are some songs that I ALREADY HAVE, and that are left behind? Based on what I listen to, what songs I may actually enjoy (and are a bit less obvious than Light my Fire by the Doors).
3. And finally, a bit unrelated, Additional information on the Albums (and the bands). Can't I have on my iPod a bit of information (from Wikipedia?) on the band and the album? Here is an example. I started listening to the Silos. To be honest, I know nothing about them (I do own the album). Some local information would have been great, and would have helped me engage more in listening to the music.

Anybody interested to take the these ideas and implement them? Maybe there is a business there... The only company I know that is somewhere in the area is TuneUp. Maybe they will add what I want.

Another Holiday Break (and Happy New Year!)

Last year, just before the holidays, I wrote a short post "Holiday Break (and Happy New Year!)". At that time I was just going away for a 2 week vacation, and as I was leaving, I wished for a few things:

1. Great and happy year (That works.)
2. No recession (Oh well.)
3. Strong IPO Market (What is IPO?)
4. and wishing the Patriots will be the world champions (Lost at the Super bowl to the Giants).

This year I am not wishing for anything. Happy Holidays.

A Small Rule for Cellular Disconnects

With the US on the brinks of bankruptcy, it can be expected that the investments in any sort of infrastructure will be minimized to zero. No better roads, no fiber to the home, and no additional base stations on Hwy 280. This means that every call I make to/from work will be disconnected at some point. That's a sure thing, as sure as the sun rising in the east.

Since these disconnections happen to me every single day, and since this will not be fixed anytime soon, I want to sure a small related problem. What happens after the call is disconnected? The 2 people on the line start calling each other back. They both voice mail messages and after a few tries they give up, although they paid for at least 6 calls combined. It's small but annoying, and costs both time and money.

So, here is my small proposal: Let's agree that ALWAYS, when a call is disconnected, the ORIGINAL caller is responsible for calling again. The other person waits for that call to happen. Simple, elegant, and saves time & money. I will definitively adopt it as of tomorrow, when I get disconnected again somewhere in Silicon Valley.