Under the stars...
"All beginnings are hard"
Wishing a meaningful Sukkot to all those celebrating.
My latest essay recapping my experience in Israel this summer in ISRAEL21c: These tough days are rocket fuel for future growth
And my piece on Israel’s contribution to the creator economy: Israel’s influential place in the creator economy
If you're attending Money 20/20 next week, and you’re an Israeli founder (or a VC investing in Israeli tech), I’d like to speak with you about an article I am writing for an Israel based publication around fintech and the conference. If you're attending and would like to connect in person there, please respond to this newsletter directly.
LinkedIn Ghostwriting: I'm offering LinkedIn ghostwriting services, and have been helping founders, investors, and executives amplify their voice, share their expertise, and build a highly visible personal brand online, in order to generate opportunities. If becoming recognized as a thought leader in your space is something that you would be interested in exploring further, I’d love to speak with you. You can book a time by clicking here.
“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them”
-Ann Landers
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Hariri: I was excited to purchase this book as soon as it was published (and while I still believe Sapiens is his best work), the main theme of this book explores the evolution of information networks and their impact on human civilization, from ancient history to our current era of AI. So much has changed since Sapiens was published almost ten years ago, so this is a topical book on where the world is headed.
This book is denser (and I feel the author takes himself more seriously than his previous books). The main topics covered in the book are the role of information in shaping societies throughout history and how myths, stories, and data have been used to build power structures throughout human evolution. If there was one main idea in Sapiens it was the idea of a shared narrative (Harari termed it shared “lies”, I’ll call it narrative) which helped Homo Sapiens organize as groups, and build civilization. In this book it’s the role information has played in our development as a species. Of course, he also covers the challenges and opportunities presented by the AI-driven information revolution. What I always appreciated about his work as a thinker, as a philosopher, is his ability to synthesize complex historical narratives and scientific concepts into easy-to-understand ideas… not just in written form, but in all forms of video. Yes, he has been a bit of a doomsayer when it comes to AI, and there is merit in hearing him out. But it seems he is more concerned with how us humans will self-destruct, as opposed to Terminator style robots enslaving humanity. If anything, that’s a major theme in the book, how for all our technological advancements we are still driven by our biology.
Harari is a historian, but touches on evolutionary psychology, economics, and the study of human behavior in the face of dealing with technology which we are not equipped to deal with. This book, and his analyses help make sense of our world by understanding how we are hardwired, so while this book won’t help you predict the future, at least it could help you understand how humans may deal with it.
REACH Israel: Calling all real estate startups! Applications for the 2025 REACH Israel Scale up Program are now open. Are you solving a problem in the real estate industry & construction and looking for the support to grow both domestically and internationally? The REACH Israel Scale up Program offers unparalleled opportunities to accelerate your startup's growth through sales opportunities, global & local investors network, extensive global network, expert mentorship, and strategic guidance tailored to the unique challenges of the real estate sector. Don't miss this opportunity to join the 2025 cohort that's set to transform the real estate industry. Apply now and take your startup to new heights! Apply here.
Join Grappa’s Trusted Talent network: Grappa is transforming the talent ecosystem by building a global trust graph that maps who can be trusted on specific topics. Grappa is an invite-only network connecting startup founders, senior executives, and investors. Top founders (from pre-seed to unicorn) use Grappa to build their executive teams and hire trusted advisors. The network is expanding and allowing users to apply to join, so sign up and join the network with this link here.
Building Consumer VC Firms: Startup Grind feat. Sumeet Shah (VHS Ventures): Join them on Tuesday, October 22nd to learn how Sumeet Shah built venture capital firms that accelerate consumer product innovation—and how you can apply his strategies to your own endeavors. Whether you're looking to start a VC fund or scale a consumer product startup, discover insights that can help you create lasting impact in the industry. Oct 22, 6:00 PM. The Yard: Herald Square, 106 West 32nd Street, New York. Register here.
Disinformation: An Urgent Threat to Democracy: Disinformation has rapidly become one of the greatest challenges to democracies around the world. While disinformation campaigns have been utilized by intelligence agencies for years, ever since the foreign attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election, this malign trend has increased rapidly. Moreover, A.I. will now act as an accelerant. Often obscured by genuine attempts to protect free speech, disinformation agents hide among us, posting falsehoods on our social media and spreading conspiracy theories, whose impacts rebound through society and make attempts at understanding what is actually true increasingly difficult. Oct 24th, 12:00 PM in Eastern Time. Register here.
MiluimTech Community Event: Join them at the HaMashbir bar a more casual, community-driven networking event! You're in for an evening of drinks, conversation, and connection with like-minded miluimnikim who are navigating their next steps in the high-tech world. Sunday, October 27 6:00 PM. Register to See Address. Tel Aviv-Yafo. Register here.
Cornell Tech at Bloomberg: Molly Fowler, General Partner, Dorm Room Fund: Bloomberg, Cornell Tech, and Tech:NYC invite you to join them for the latest installment of the Cornell Tech at Bloomberg Speaker Series, featuring Molly Fowler, General Partner at Dorm Room Fund, in conversation with Sonali Basak, lead global finance correspondent for Bloomberg TV and anchor for “Bloomberg Open Interest.” Tuesday, October 29, New York. Register here.
Founder Drinks Roundtable: Join Startup Grind on Friday, November 1st for Founder Drinks Roundtable. They’re putting the "happy" back in "happy hour." Because networking events should be fun, especially on a Friday. Nov 1, 5:00 PM (EDT). Urbanspace Union Square, 124 East 14th Street, New York. Register here.
INVITATION: Night at the Israel Philharmonic + Drinks, Nov 6: For the first time, their young audience will experience an interactive program led by Conductor Lahav Shani, with you getting to vote on what the symphony will play from the some of the best blasts of classical past including : Beethoven, Mozart, Prokofiev and on and on and on...). Starts on Wednesday, November 6 pm IST. Charles Bronfman Auditorium. 1 Huberman Street Heichal HaTarbut // HaBima Square Tel Aviv-Yafo. Register here.