What really motivates us

This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

... 10 Questions to Ask Before You Join a Startup

[ By Guy Kawasaki - Alltop.com ]

1. How much money do you have in the bank?
2. What is your net outflow per month?
3. What is the post-money valuation of your last round?
4. What can you do that your competitors cannot?
5. What can your competitors do that you cannot?
6. Who are your investors?
7. Who is on your board of directors?
8. Has anyone in the engineering team actually shipped a product?
9. Assume that you have $0 for marketing, how would you market the product?
10. What keeps you awake at night?

For answers read this article ...

PEPSI saves Israel ...

NO COMENTS...

Does anyone still have MySpace?

Looks like Internet community is growing up...

Posters on the wall, teen magazines, boom boxes playing the same stupid songs over and over again (automatically!) - that's not a sustainable situation, by definition. That's teenage living and that's what MySpace built its huge site on. Just like being a teenager, MySpace is something that most people grow out of. Today marked an important point in the internet's move beyond MySpace.

Read more in article by Marshall Kirkpatrick.

In opposite Twitter's domination growth is fantastic - Global Visitors Shoot Up To 19 Million.

We will miss you Yossi ...

Not for Kids!!!
Do not try this at home!!!
For GURUs only...

Today is my birthday

I have grown up…
:-)

Still enjoying my spring holiday till 18/04/2009.
Just a couple interesting talks I like to share with you:

By David Pogue:




and Brody Kenrick:



No comments, just see and enjoy - the sky is the limit ...
Have a great holidays!

Working with Israelis - pros & cons

Funny article found by my “radar” - does generalize on Israelis…
Working with Israelis

The first step in working with Israelis is understanding what motivates them.
The biggest influence on the shaping the Israeli way-of -thought is the Israeli army.
Everyone in Israel joins the army at the age of 18 and leaves the army 3 years later (2 years for women).
This experience shapes the future employee work ethic and attitudes.
When employees in the UK office are given a task - it's a task.
In Israel - it's a mission. Every task is taken with the utmost seriousness. It must get done! Life or Death! Attack!!
Employees in the Israeli office will not go home until the task is done.

The truth about Israelis is that they are not too different from any other nations. There are so many types of them – hard workers and some lazy ones, creative and ungifted, tall and short, fat and thin…
We are all different…

Did You Know?

Education is the key to success

I like to offer to your attention "Talk by Bill Gates: How I'm trying to change the world now"

Bill Gates hopes to solve some of the world's biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes, he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them.

I believe Bill Gates is not only intended to talk about these two problems, what he is encouraging those talented people around the world to dedicate themselves on something and carry out better solutions for the whole world, in - technology, education, health care, economy, etc. … but he deserves our respect, for his talent, for Microsoft and for the things he is doing now for the world. Through his philanthropic response to Malaria and the needy, he has shown that he lives a life that is beyond himself, - a life that has purpose …

Good education is priceless for any nation, good teachers are the key to the future, but I don't think spending money on "digitalizing" of classrooms is the right solution to anything. I think improved standard of living and free education at all levels available to all are the way forwards.

Top 10 Resolutions for a More Profitable 2009

Hello my dear friends, In the down economy, saving money ... What can we do? What can we do to protect ourselves and re-build our communities? Here are "Top 10 Resolutions..." I have found in article written by Dr. Susan L. Reid:

1. Focus on your primary greatness
2. Be transparent and honest in your dealings
3. Keep it simple
4. Care forward
5. Create a loyal fan base
6. Embrace eco-responsibility as an overall business strategy
7. Master social networking
8. Cultivate a culture of collaboration.
9. Find new opportunities for expansion
10. Strengthen relationships

Loss of jobs. Difficulty maintaining our standard of living. We’re in a worldwide global recession.

We’ve seen financial markets collapse, mortgage lenders go under, home loss through foreclosures, extreme bailout packages, and growing unemployment

More detailed here

Happy new year!

I wishg your happy New Year, peace, blue sky, happiness and success!

Web 2.0 - a la Politicians

The campaign site for Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, the Israeli candidate for prime minister, is a mirror-image copy of BarackObama.com, flopped to accommodate the right-to-left Hebrew script. Right down to the icons, it mirrors the website developed by Blue State Digital ...

by valleywag.com

How I have mentioned before I hate politicians and they dirty games ... Once again we see the methods they use, - show must go on. So "cheap" COPY-PASTE... Looks like our politicians have no time, - much more easy to steal. Are you ready to give your voice for "Bibi"? Are you really believe that your voice can make sense?

The Evolution of Mobile Phones

Very cute video evolution of mobile phones.
So small time period, but already history ...

More History Videos at 5min.com

Prediction from Bill Gates

The financial crisis in the US will not lead to the end of capitalism or a depression, Bill Gates told CNN in a television interview broadcast Sunday.

"It's a very interesting crisis," said the founder of Microsoft, adding that the effect of the collapse of the subprime market needs "requires "some type of correction… but fundamentally ... companies' willingness to invest, right now we haven't seen a huge disruption in that."

So, do not expect depression...

And what do you think? Do you believe to prediction of America’s richest man from top of the Forbes magazine's list point view?

Wall Street thunder - what will happen to Startups?

Financial market thunder in the U.S. last week without any doubts will affect on the strategy of investors, whether Angels or VC’s. So, what awaits Startups in near future? The same scenario like in far year 2001...? Deep roll-back of investments from High-Tech field for 2-3 years..? Or experience of past crises will give different result - a balanced approach in making decision, to continue invest in technology companies or not.

Being entrepreneur myself, just in beginning of my way (pre-seed stage) I have to admit that current situation is very worries me too. But much more, I am not envy to Startups that are at more advanced stages, - it is not a secret how “fragile” world and the life-time of young companies. How many non-sounds “aborts” will happen in coming near months? Names of what companies we will read in a long list of obituary, untimely gone and unfairly excluded?

The economy of U.S. is terminally sick while past 10 years. But all what is made so far, is squeezing one burst bladder by blowing a new one, building financial pyramid of speculative securities and obligations on the ruins and corpses of previous. All of us, worldwide, will pay high price of those “genius invents” of Wall Street’s financial gurus. But it is absolutely different theme, which have to be disclosed in kind of separate essay...

Hope, I am clear, sorry for my English …
I will be very thankful to anybody who may share thoughts about near future of investments in Startups, - light predictions are more than welcome.

Lenin still live … more than any live …

Thirty eight years ago, in 1970 there was a hundred year anniversary of Vladimir Lenin, the guy who inspired Russian people to overthrow the previous Tsar government in Russia in 1917. He was a real icon for many Russians and so in one Siberian town some woodcutters decided to celebrate this anniversary by cutting all the trees on a big field leaving only those that would form a really huge message “100 Years to Lenin”. There were no Google Earth back there...

Great era ... Great achievements ...
No more comments.

Selling snow to escimoses

Did you ever have heard about hardest business in the world? No ..?
It is selling snow to escimoses … They have a lot of snow and almost no money…
:-)

I like to inform you about small success of Israeli company, which sells locally made snow machine to … not to escimoses, but empire of winter and ski - Switzerland.

The Swiss town of Zermatt, which resides in the Swiss Alps at 1600 meters (5,315 feet) above sea level and is considered one of the top ski resorts in Switzerland, couldn't wait for the system to become a reality and decided on a solution which was more readily available

So, one more success of small and hot country – snow production for could region.
Viva Israel

The Tel Aviv-Yafo Entrepreneur August Meetup – Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I am going to my second meetup of “The Tel Aviv-Yafo Entrepreneur” group. The agenda is about “A new stronger social networking framework”. What make this meeting unusual? Jeff Pulver - special guest and speaker on event. Looks like it is going to be one of the largest Meetup to date since this group foundation.



Thanks to Gadi, he has found out bigger (payable and sponsored by Compucall) place to allow all of us to participate in this Meetup. Till now about 183 members are approved they participation and it is only 200 places reserved. So, if you are very close to Startup field and feel like you have to be there, you still have a little chance to reserve pace, - just register here, fill in your profile details (very important, otherwise you will not approved) and we will happy to meet you too.

I feel it will be very HOT meeting - new and familiar faces, speeches, non-official discussions, business cards swapping, news about “closed down” and “started up”, ideas sharing, business communications – all of this are the huge opportunities for all of us. Of course I will make some photos, which I will publish here in blog in my small post-meeting reportage. I am sure most entrepreneurs will come armed by questions and offers, and speakers will fire by answers and solutions.
:-)

See you there!
Fabian

How well do you know Israel?

Small country, - big opportunities ...
I have mention it, I have to share it with you, - interesting facts about Israel (posted on Nigel’s Blog):

… In proportion to its population, Israel has the
largest number of startup companies in the world. In
absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of
startup companies than any other country in the world,
except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups,
Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech
companies in the world apart from the Silicon Valley,
US. …

You can find more there...
I agree that in proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world, but in contrast - dramatic fact is:

… All the above while engaged in regular
wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its
destruction and an economy continuously under strain
by having to spend more per capita on its own
protection than any other country on earth!

P.S.
Off topic: It is big pain for Israeli citizen live in country where all “neighborhoods” (external) and “cousins” (internal) are hates you… “They” kill you folk… children, women, oldsters…
I hate wars, I hate politic, and I hate politics makes wars on our small planet, …

Congratulations to Mozilla !

Mozilla received the official Guinness World Record certificate for the “largest number of software downloads in 24 hours.” From 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008, 8,002,530 people downloaded Firefox 3!

What can I say? Just keep going!!! I do not like to make any advertising, but it is my default browser almost one year.