Venture Capital Cafe » vator

Entrepreneur Interview: Tel Aviv vs. Sand Hill Road

Eze Vidra — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:54:01 +0000

Can Israeli startups really make it big in the US from Tel Aviv? Opinions go both ways, but most Israeli entrepreneurs who made the move will tell you, pack your bags once you have a prototype.

R&D in Israel, Biz Dev in US

Many Israeli companies reach the same conclusion. You have got to have representation in the US conduct serious business development and reach a global audience. “American VCs have much more experience building very large companies”, told me Shahar Nechmad, CEO of Nuconomy, in our latest interview on Vator.tv.

So what should an international starup do?

Speed is Everything

You might also want to check out our session on “lessons for entrepreneurs“. Like, Mike Cassidy, who I referenced a couple of weeks ago, Shahar is a big believer in getting a product out FAST.

VC Cafe on VatorTV: Are Pageviews Dead?

Eze Vidra — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:24:55 +0000

The space of online analytics is being transformed these days. Page views are quickly becoming the currency of the past while the importance of user engagement arises. But what exactly is engagement?

Join me, for a conversation with Shahar Nechmad, CEO of Nuconomy, a fast-growing Web 2.0 analytics company based in San Francisco and Israel. Shahar and I talked about the importance of insight-driven analytics, its implications on brand advertising and the gaps in the pageview models used by Google today.

Nuconomy recently won the TWS2008 award as one of the most promising Israeli internet startups. If you would like to measure engagement on your site, sign up for the Nuconomy Studio beta at www.nuconomy.com.

Are Pageviews Dead? is also fatured on Vator’s conrtibutor platform.

Watch the video:

VC Cafe Is Still Kicking

Eze Vidra — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:58:55 +0000

Thanks to all those who sent emails asking on my absence in the past couple of weeks. A combination of work overload and wedding prepartions kept me away from VC Cafe, but I’m now back from vacation in L. A. with refreshed energies.

Let’s start with a few announcements:

1. The VC Cafe Network on LinkedIn is pushing 1000 members. Sign up if you haven’t already and connect to a select group of members involved in startups and VC both in Israel and abroad.

UPDATE: Thanks to your passionate involvement the VC Cafe Network stands on 1012 individuals as of this morning 23/06/08

2. VC Cafe is now featured on Alltop – Guy Kawasaki’s aggregation board. See the latest at the new Israeli section http://israel.alltop.com/ and at the Venture Capital board located in http://venturecapital.alltop.com/.

3. VC Cafe is launching a series of video interviews in a partnership with Vator.tv. If you’re an Israeli entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley, I’d love to host you over at our studio for a quick chat. First episode of VC Cafe on Vator.TV will be live this week.

3. VC Cafe is looking for talented MBA students with a passion for startups and Venture Capital for a special project. Entrepreneurs and folks familar with the Venture Capital due dilligence process have a plus. If you think you fit the description, or know someone who does, contact me at eze [at] vccafe [dot] com.

4. Please give a warm welcome to VC Cafe’s new sponsors, Demo Germany. They have joined the number 1 mobile advertising agency, Ad Mob and would love to have more company. If you are interested in Sponsorship opportunities, contact me at eze [at] vccafe [dot] com.

5. Next Israeli startup roundtable is coming up in July in San Francisco. Stay tuned for more on this event.

Thanks again for your continued support. Fear not, all the latest Israeli startup fundings and product releases will be up on VC Cafe in no time. If you’re like your product to be reviewed, send us your information and executive summary through the contact form.

Clip D’jour: VC Cafe Debuts On Vator TV

Eze Vidra — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:52:11 +0000

Vator TV, Bambi Francisco’s video startup, is a marketplace for ideas and capital. Founded in 2007, Vator showcases hundreds of video “elevator pitches”, uploaded by people looking to pitch their ideas, businesses, skillsets or needs, such as capital, partner or staffing requirements. I had the chance to pitch VC Cafe on Vator, and the results brought me down to the San-Francisco based studio for an interview with AlwaysOn’s Ezra Roizen, titled “VC Cafe shining a spotlight on Israeli startups“.

VC Cafe shining a spotlight on Israeli startups – Watch it here:

The VC Cafe elevator pitch:

Looking forward to getting your feedback and suggestions.