Ineze (“Here it is”-in Hebrew), is an Internet search-engine, which aims to reduce the amount of time people spend looking for products, by yielding fine-tuned results based on user needs. As part of a series of interviews with Seedcamp winners for VC Cafe, Startup Intelligence caught up with co-founder, Gil Rosenberg (CEO), to find out more.
Gil, a specialist in information security, has spent the last ten years advising companies on which products, mostly technological, would best fit into their workplace. He found that consumers were often overwhelmed by the amount of choice for different merchandise available on the Internet. Gil endeavoured to find customers the right products by asking them about their specific user needs, and using this information to narrow down their search. When presented with a smaller choice of relevant products, people found decision-making easier and more rewarding.
Gil and his brother-in-law, Koby Berkovich (CTO), realised the potential in web-based search engine that could pinpoint relevant products for customers. Along with Omar Shamir (Product Indexing), they founded Ineze in 2008.
Gil describes Ineze as an ‘easy, friendly and quick user experience’ that allows users to conduct a feature-by-feature search, matching their preferences (i.e. energy efficiency or speed) to products. It is possible for individuals to use Ineze without specifically knowing what they are after.
Each of the founders has a strong technological background. Gil has specialised in Internet and network infrastructure, Koby, a graduate in Communication Networks, has worked for SuperDerivatives, and Oren, who has a degree in Computer and Cognitive Science, has over fifteen years of software development experience. Despite this, the trio are all too aware of the need for complex technological information to be translated into layperson terms, and have worked hard to put the website into a universal language, so that anyone can use Ineze.
Ineze is due to be launched by the end of April, and in the future, Gil hopes it will be the ‘definitive place for people to find product information and make purchasing decisions’. Ineze has been funded so far by an investment from Seedcamp, awarded in 2010, and works by taking an affiliate commission every time a user chooses to buy a product that has come up in their search. Further down the road, Gil suggests the startup might be interested in selling advertising or intelligence, as well as licensing fees. The merchandise sold through Ineze includes phones, digital cameras and bicycles.
Gil believes Ineze is better than any other search engine out there because results are specifically tailored to the user. In the future, Gil hopes Ineze will change how people find products on the web.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
