With so much negativity around us, I want to share a tiny act of kindness that will bring you and your community joy. You are probably familiar with the word “schadenfreude” – pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune. It turns out that in English there’s no antonym for that words, but there’s one in Hebrew and it’s called “Firgun“. Let’s start with a simple definition:
Firgun is an informal modern Hebrew term and concept in Israeli culture, which describes genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person.
According to Wikipedia, “The word can be traced back to the Yiddish word farginen (a cognate of the German word vergönnen). A relatively modern addition to Hebrew, the word was initially used in the 1970s, and gained momentum in subsequent decades. It doesn’t quite have an English equivalent but it’s commonly used in the day to day in Israel.
It turns out that sharing good news has benefits for the sharer and the receiver, according to Psychology Today. By sharing the good news, you create intimacy that deepens relationships. And you make it clear to others that you care:
Sharing good news also impacts how we feel about those around us. People who honor and acknowledge our good news signal that they are open to being shaped by our interpretation of experiences.
Zachary White Ph.D., The Challenges (and Benefits) of Sharing Good News
Readers of VC Cafe may have seen my weekly “Firgun” posts on LinkedIn, celebrating the good news in our “small” tech community. It’s especially fun when I can tag people I’m directly connected to, but regardless, it’s simply astonishing how there’s consistently great news to celebrate. With so many negative headlines and division in society, a bit of good news is a breath of fresh air.
This week was particularly festive as Israeli startups celebrated an IPO (Taboola, at $2.6 billion), Three newly minted Israeli unicorns (Drivenets, Melio and Ownbackup) and even an Emmy Award (Beamr).
I encourage you to try it in your own community or even startup. Keep a small list of recent good news by friends or colleagues. It can be a new job/hire, fundraising news, an exit, award, landing a big client or launching a new product. Share that news publicly and see the magic unfold. If you need some inspiration, there’s even a Firgunator (automatic Firgun Generator), that will write it for you. There is also an International Firgun Day, on July 17.
He is a former General Partner at Google Ventures (GV) in Europe, former head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe, and founding head of Campus London, Google's first startup hub. Eze writes on Israeli tech, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and founder strategy.
He is also the founder of Techbikers, a nonprofit that brings together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read.
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