45 is the new 30: Start-ups for grown-ups
Future
The first-ever accelerator for entrepreneurs older than 45 has been announced in Israel. Backed by new investment entity FUTURE, which was founded by Ronny Faivelovitz, a leading figure in impact investments, with a group of private investors, the accelerator will invest in entrepreneurs with 20 or more years of experience and professional expertise.
Developed in collaboration with Facebook Israel, the program seeks to help entrepreneurs with an innovative business or product to deal with the challenges associated with business development and marketing. A group of marketing, product development and advertising professionals from leading companies such as Playbuzz, Fiverr, Mench and more have got together to provide the entrepreneurs with knowhow, mentoring and support in designing a practical marketing strategy.
At the end of the program, the ventures will be presented to FUTURE’s investors. The selected entrepreneurs will receive a NIS 100,000 investment to help develop their venture.
“Entrepreneurs and startups have become synonymous with young people in their 20’s and 30’s. We seek to transform this perception,” Faivelovitz said. “There are hundreds of people over 45 years of age with extensive business and technology experience who are venturing into new challenges and independent businesses. The program and the dedicated fund we established will accelerate and open up the circle of older entrepreneur and provide them with the tools to succeed.”
The program is part of FUTURE’s ongoing work to promote experienced entrepreneurship and is executed in collaboration with Yigal Arnon Law Firm and the Pratt Foundation. The program consists of 12-session workshops, where the entrepreneurs will be given practical tools to grapple with the challenges associated with business development and marketing. In these workshops, the entrepreneurs will be able to design a professional plan to realize their business potential. The workshops will be facilitated by the social media companies in order to expose the participants to the best practices, methodologies and strategies for bringing their product to the market. The workshops will be complemented by personal meetings between the entrepreneurs and “FUTURE Boosters,” the individual mentors matched to each entrepreneur in line with the type of product being developed.
Among the mentors and speakers of the program are Tom Laster from Facebook Israel, Eli Bogdan from Fiverr Israel, Adam Friedler from Good Pharm, Yael Shafrir from Playbuzz, Yonny Friedman, VP of digital in Mench and other marketing and brand managers as well as advertising and development professionals.
Information taken from www.globes. co.il
Kibbutz investments
Twenty kibbutzim have entered partnerships as investors in start-ups with a direct investment of NIS 80 million, matched by a similar sum from foreign investors. The investments were made through a fund established by the Kibbutz Movement and the Kibbutz Industries Association in order to encourage the entry of kibbutzim and hi-tech enterprises as a means of growth. Representatives of the kibbutzim and factories will present a series of entrepreneurs from a range of fields, including the smart home, health food, personal protection, online advertising and agriculture.
Among the kibbutzim that are investing in the startups are Deganya Alef, Yizre’el, Kfar Glickson, Magen, and Kfar Aza, which invested in a company that produces products to prevent counterfeiting. Kibbutz Eilon invested in a water systems company for hotels and smart homes.
Kibbutz Bror Hayil invested in a hardware company that produces fiber optics, and Kissufim and Magen invested in a three-dimensional printer company for solar panels. Kibbutzim Snir, Shamir, Alonei Habashan, and Eyal invested in automatic software upgrades for large enterprises, and Kibbutz Netzer Sereni invested in a data processing company for cultivating varieties in agriculture.
According to Kibbutz Industry Association CEO, Udi Ornstein, “Investments are not only a financial connection between kibbutzim and entrepreneurs, but rather a broad collaboration that includes the opening of a startup on kibbutz, which becomes a source of income for kibbutz members and encourages the creation of additional circles of service providers. The most successful factories began as small kibbutz businesses and we are busy working to create the next generation of enterprises.”
Among the new projects awaiting investment that will be presented at the meeting are closet and cabinet doors that close with “one click” that are great for homes with kids. These are great for storing personal items or medicine at home, or confidential documents in offices.
Another project involves non-dairy and soy yogurt products and hydroponic farming for homes with no electricity or running water.
There are also agricultural enterprises such as automated fruit picking in fields and greenhouses, which will save costs, and another application which measures how ripe fruits are, which makes it easier to set harvesting dates.
Translated by Hannah Hochner.