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Startup Weekend Comes To Israel
Jerusalem ---- December 14, 2009 ..... Startup Weekend is coming to Israel. A entrepreneurial concept which sounds and feels very Israeli was born in 2007 in the US by Andrew Hyde. Today Startup Weekend is operated out of Seattle, WA by Marc Nager and Clint Nelsen with development support coming from Cameron Preston, Mick Thompson and Timothy Ting. This creative and rapidly growing program has already met with success in over 52 cities and 12 countries from Los Angeles, New York and Boston to London, Paris and Tokyo. The participants that will attend Startup Weekend in Tel Aviv, Israel will decide what they want to tackle over the modified Jewish "weekend" and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Attendees from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ashdod, Hadera, Ra'anana, Afula, Holon, Sderot, Kiryat Shomona, Katzrin, Rehovot and Herzliya are responsible for bringing the same desire and passion to the project and leave the room with the task at hand, in a short 54 hours. The experience has been described as intense. And it appears that it is. As opposed to the rest of the world, Startup Weekend in Israel cannot take place over the weekend. As many Jews in Israel observe Shabbat and are not allowed to work, Startup Weekend in Israel will take place on a Wednesday and Thursday. Israel coordinators Amir Harel, Eddy Resnick and Shelby Zitelman describe Startup Weekend Israel as: "a kosher version, so the event will start on Wednesday, 16 December at 16:00 and will end Friday, 18 December, one hour before Shabbat." The organizer preface the event with a warning: "Since it will be Hanukah, we plan to stuff you with doughnuts and latkes, so be prepared." Amir Harel, one of StartUp Weekend Israel’s organizers was curious as to why StartUp Weekend was not being held in Israel. He posed the innocent sounding question to Marc Nager, the founder and CEO of StartUp Weekend. "How come you haven't brought the event to Israel?" Nager responded: "build it and they shall come". Harel, a software developer and experienced product marketing professional, then recruited Eddy Resnik to launch the conference in Israel.
According to Resnik, Israel was the next logical place for StartUp Weekend. “It is well known that Israel is the ‘Silicon Wadi’ next to the US West Coast "Silicon Valley". For any number of reasons – enjoying a hi-tech IDF army, a heavy influx of highly intelligent and motivated Russian immigrants, a lack of natural resources - Israel has become and is respected for being a hotbed for startups and innovation." The majority of participants that will join the sold-out IBM sponsored event in Israel, discovered the event as it was advertised on social networking Internet sites Facebook and Twitter. But why on the Jewish holiday of Hanukka? Resnik told the Israel News Agency that in order to accommodate for as many professionals as possible, the event was coordinated during Hanukkah, when many have vacation time to spare. "Sufganiyot (jelly donuts) and a Chanukah will be on site for participants to enjoy," said Resnik. Additionally, the 'weekend' will be ending before Shabbat, to ensure that Shabbat observance is not compromised. “We wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to participate could, regardless of their religious background” said Harel. The organizers state that Startup Weekend provides an unprecedented level of networking, team building, learning, and life changes for its attendees and their communities. This entrepreneur built event comes with 6-7 meals and soft drinks and plenty of coffee. "There is a reason that most attendees come back for every event – it’s just plain fun and provides amazing opportunities you can’t get anywhere else," says the organizers in Israel. "Sometimes a company emerges, sometimes one doesn’t. Some companies go on to produce revenue or get seed funding, but every time people leave with more experience, insight, knowledge, friends, and resources than they came with." Speakers will include: Nir Bar-Lev, Google Head of Analysis Products, EMEA., Ofer Adler of IncrediMail and Avichay Nissenbaum, CEO and Co-founder of Yedda, an AOL company. This Startup Weekend is the first ever Startup Weekend to take place in Israel. For this happy occasion, Startup Weekend has sent Clint Nelson, a partner at Startup weekend, to join us in the Holy Land. In addition to IBM Israel, other sponsors include Astrails, Tal Ron, Drihem and Co., The Marker. see.V and Newsgeek, Amazon Web Services, Zend, and Platonix Joint Ventures. The Israel News Agency will be reporting live from this Israel Startup Weekend via Twitter and Facebook status updates. A kosher 54 hour event where a bunch of Jewish technologists and web warriors will get together with the goal of creating a product and a community. Stay tuned as one can only imagine what can evolve from an American entrepreneurial idea which arrives on the shores of Startup Nation Israel. And one element remains unchallenged. Regardless of the number of companies created in Israel by Startup Weekend, the event illustrates Israeli determination to break through a global recession. A positive attitude by Israeli entrepreneurs which has not changed since 1948. An effective attitude of survival which serves as a shining example to every person, every political and corporate leader, every company and organization throughout the world.
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