Start-Up Nation Voices - World Jewish Congress

About

Start-Up Nation Voices is a podcast of Start-Up Nation Mentorship and the World Jewish Congress. Start-Up Nation Mentorship pairs extraordinary college student leaders with top Israeli industry and government mentors. The venture is currently operating on 20 campuses in 6 continents and enables students to develop meaningful, lasting relationships with Israelis who are in the centre of the dynamic global economy and hub of innovation. In Voices, we bring on top Israeli and international leaders to share a deeper look into their industry and personal background, exploring the importance of mentorship and partnership with Israel.

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Episode 1

In this episode, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum discusses her experience overseeing the complexities of Jerusalem, the future of Arab-Israel relations, and advice for college students interested in working in government.
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Episode 2

Ben Weiss discusses his experience building a global fund, the future of Israel’s relations across the Middle East and Asia, and advice for college students.
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Episode 3

Rafael discusses his experience building a high-growth multinational firm, Israel’s foreign relations in the tech space, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. WalkMe is one of the leading Israeli “Unicorns” that is making huge waves and helps companies work more effectively both internally and across all their customer-facing activities.
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Episode 4

Enon discusses the formation of his most recent companies Bosco and TheCaringApp, Israel’s start-up ecosystem, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
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Episode 5

Yoav discusses his experiences in high-tech, China, and Israel’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Zoog is a start-up building “the most interactive family communication and entertainment platform in the world.”
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Episode 6

Nate Meir discusses his experiences working at several VC funds and Amazon, the future of early-stage investing, and advice for those getting started in new jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Episode 7

Mickey discusses his experiences navigating key foreign relations posts in the Middle East, spearheading groundbreaking rail projects in Israel, and advice for aspiring innovators. Headquartered in Spain, CAF is a leading global manufacturer of railway vehicles and equipment.
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Episode 8

David discusses early stage investing, keys to success in venture, and the biggest differences between working with large and small companies.
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Episode 9

Eran discusses the transition from Investment Banking to Venture Capital, the pros and cons of being “young” in the venture world, and the key to “timing” in successful start-ups.
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Episode 10

Dov and Lotan discuss a variety of topics including how Dov invented the USB Flash Drive, how to be a successful early-stage deep-tech fund and other notable experiences that shaped their lives.
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Episode 11

Zvika discusses the impact of multi-stage funds on the Israeli startup ecosystem, how operational experience translates to investing acumen, the importance of a technical skill set, how the IDF has impacted Israel as a start up nation, and how the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE will impact investing.

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Episode 12

Chaim discusses how he got into VC, and the challenges he faced throughout his career as a technologist. Chaim also discusses the Israeli VC ecosystem and how he makes investments.
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Episode 13

Daniel shares why Insight chose Tel Aviv for its second headquarters, how Israel became a scale-up nation and not just a start up nation, and how he thought through the rewarding yet challenging move from New York to Tel Aviv to open Insight’s first international office.
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Episode 14

Jordan shares the two key inflection points that shaped his career, the ways students can approach mentorship, why GroundUp’s unique strategies have led to their success, and how he thinks about the balance between marketing and product focus.

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Episode 15

Kfir discusses his law background and what skill sets are needed to be a successful VC, his experience of being a co-founder in the newly established AnD ventures, and what it means to be a successful early stage investor.
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Episode 16

Ben shares his story on how he became a seed-stage investor at Innoviz and their journey to an IPO. Furthermore, Ben discusses why Israeli has become a global innovation and technology powerhouse, how his experience at AudioCodes as General Manager and Vice President shaped his career, and finally, new and emerging deep tech trends that he finds interesting.
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Episode 17

Dr. Tarif Bader gives an in-depth perspective on COVID-19, COVID vaccines, Israel’s humanitarian missions, and the reasons Israel leads the world of healthcare.
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Episode 18

Noa discusses what Zionism is and how the term has been misappropriated while describing why one can be both liberal/progressive and a staunch Zionist at the same time. On top of this, Noa gives her perspective on rising anti-Semitism and the BDS movement, how to stand up for your beliefs in a professional and respectful way, and finally, how the region can achieve peace.
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Episode 19

Yoav Degani, a 4x CEO, discusses the mindset needed to become a successful entrepreneur, why he doesn’t think in terms of trends, and what he has learned from his failures. Yoav offers a glimpse into the knowledge he’s gained from advising over 500 startups throughout his career.

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Episode 20

Elan Arnowitz sits down with Gidi Mark, CEO of Birthright Israel, who discusses his journey as the company’s first employee and how he built the largest educational tourism organization in the world. Mark also shares comical anecdotes that confirmed a successful marketing campaign and his thoughts on the greatest risks to the organization. Birthright Israel has generated more than $1.5B for the Israeli economy.
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Episode 21

Elan Arnowitz sits down with Ronni Zehavi, CEO of Hibob - a platform that allows companies to streamline HR processes and engage top talent. They discuss the shifting employee trends that lead to HiBob’s founding, frameworks for optimizing entrepreneurial success, and all things SaaS! Having worked within the SaaS industry since its inception, Ronni highlights its changes over time and why he chose to focus on an underserved segment within the human resources category.

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Episode 22

Elan Arnowitz sits down with Mark Gazit, CEO and President of ThetaRay, who sheds light on the difference between artificial intelligence and artificial intuition, the institutional perspective shift on cryptocurrencies, and cyber security at large!

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Episode 23

Or Benoz shares about the current and future trends that will shape fintech, the greatest challenges an entrepreneur will encounter, and what it takes to rapidly scale a startup
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Episode 24

Maxime Cohen offers his take on working with large corporations vs. start-ups, his own journey into academia at such a young age, insights on the future of retail, and the value of partnership with Israel for ambitious students.
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Episode 25

Yuval Cohen shares about the current state of institutional blockchain adoption, the differences (and similarities) between public and private blockchains, the biggest challenges being faced by blockchain/crypto users today and more.

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Episode 26

Meir Brand shares his memories of the early days of the internet, how he decided to join Google Israel, the importance emerging markets play in the global economy and more! Check out the full episode
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Episode 27

Former Ambassador of Israel to the UK, His Excellency, Daniel Taub, discusses Israel’s role in international politics and the critical position it finds itself in among nations with hosts Ben Spilg, SUNM CEO, and Asher Swidler, Brown University SUNM Campus Director. Taub discusses his career from serving as a combat medic in the IDF to serving as a speechwriter for President Chaim Herzog and working as the Director of Strategy and Planning for the Yad Hanadiv Foundation.

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Episode 28

Gai Berkovich, COO at Waze, joins SUNM CEO Ben Spilg and Senior Advisor Elan Arnowitz to discuss the critical inflection points throughout his career that led him to Waze, the unique and constantly evolving hi-tech industry in Israel, and many extractable lessons for the next generation of entrepreneurs and tech leaders.

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Start-Up Nation Mentorship is a project of WJC NextGen. Learn more about what the World Jewish Congress is doing with our future Jewish community leaders and what opportunities are available by clicking here.