Spread The Word: The Israel Web Tour Returns To California

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Back by popular demand - The IsraelWebTour (IWT) has begun taking applications, so before we continue - If you are an Israeli entrepreneur with a startup in any stage, The tour is the ultimate platform for visibility, exposure and fast track access to Silicon Valley’s internet landscape. The deadline for applying companies is December 3rd at 5pm PST- file your application here. To stay updated with the the latest news from the tour, join the facebook group or read the IsraelWebTour Blog.

What is the IsraeliWebTour?
IWT is organized by the California Israel Chamber of Commerce (CICC), led by Shuly Galili, whom I recently met in the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco. In addition to the business opportunities that spurge from the tour, it has an educational element designed to expose Israeli entrepreneurs to the latest go-to market strategies and product feedback from the local experts.

Agenda
The tour starts as a contest. Operating Israeli start ups and aspiring entrepreneurs submit an application to be chosen to the tour. The fifteen lucky CEOs chosen to participate in the tour by the conference organizers and steering committee, will be flown to the US, to represent their startups in Silicon Valley in exclusive meetings with the Valley’s hot startups, VC’s and potential partners.

During the week long tour, the startups will meet with execs from Google, Yahoo, EBay, Adobe and more in addition to the private one-on-one meetings with potential investors. Last year, some of the issues covered by industry leaders included:Online Marketing, Raising Funds on Sand Hill Road, Building a Winning Business Model, Web2.0 Development Platforms and so on. The tour’s highlight is a Public Showcase, on February 5th, where each startup will have the chance to debut its products to members of the press and potential investors. The Tour will end with a closing night party in San Francisco on Thursday February 7th.

Last Year’s Achivements
The IsraelWebTour is a unique opportunity for any startup in an emerging market.

Five of the 15 companies who participated in 2006 IsraelWebTour raised venture funds from US and Israeli VCs.
Two companies were acquired. Most recently Yedda was sold to AOL.
Four companies have launched their US operations within 9 months of last year’s tour.

Testimonials:

“The Israel Web Tour had a great impact on Fixya’s ability to receive funding, form strategic partnerships with the biggest companies in the industry, and jump-start the process of positioning itself as a leader in its space.”
Yaniv Bensadon, CEO, Fixya

“The Israel Web Tour is an excellent, well organized and orchestrated initiative; it exceeded my expectation and provided ample opportunities for networking with top players in the Silicon Valley and exposed us to new business opportunities. This helped us to accelerate our success and contributed to expand our growing affiliate and partnership network. Well done !”
Avichai Nissenbaum, CEO, Yedda

Sponsorship Opportunities - Only $7000:

Opportunities are now available to sponsor the IsraelWebTour 2008. Please contact Shuly Galili, Executive Director, The California Israel Chamber of Commerce. shuly@ca-israelchamber.org, 408-343-0917. Application to the tour can be found here.