PLUGGEDIN Eli Mandelbaum

In this episode of PluggedIn I sit with Avichay Nissenbaum, General Partner @ Lool Ventures and discuss how he started his career as a pest shop worker, ended up selling his last startup Yedda to AOL in 2007 and transitioned into a leading VC in Israel with Lool Ventures. Tune in to listen to that and much more as Avichay discusses his philosophy on startups and more including;

How he got started in his career?

What was his first startup?

How long did it take to build & scale SmartTeam? (4:45)

Before AOL acquired Yedda, what offer did they turn down?

What did he learn from working in a pet shop? (6:50)

What is the "Thin Wedge Approach"?

Why does Avichay believe that "consumer experience matters more than algorithms".

What mistake should startups try and avoid? (24:30)

Why being CEO is lonely? (43:52)



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In this episode of PluggedIn, I sit with Iri Zohar CEO of DFine and previously started and lead Oridian acquired by Ybrandt now Brightcom, eXelate acquired by Neilsen, & Freshub acquired by IKAN Technologies. It's an incredible track record and it's one of the many topics I discuss with him, what is the secret to his success, what keeps him motivated to keep building companies. When you listen to this episode you will also learn the following:

1st startup idea?

Pivoting and how difficult it can be? 

Overcoming the first failure?

Was founding his 2nd company easier or harder?

Challenges of building company culture at eXelate?

What did Iri want to be at 15?


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In this episode, I sit with Eli Hoffman, CEO of Seeking Alpha. Eli joined the company in 2006 after moving to Israel from Toronto to build the company's breaking news team. He is responsible for creating Seeking Alpha's flagship newsletter, Wall Street Breakfast, which is read by hundreds of thousands of investors daily.
The story on how Eli went from a principal of an elementary school in Toronto to CEO of one of the hottest and most relied upon sites in finance is amazing. Eli had no idea that teaching would influence his management style and how his habit of investing while teaching would play a much larger role later on. When you listen to the podcast you will also learn the following;

What pushed Eli into a career change (11:35)

What challenges did Eli see stepping in as CEO (29:30)

Thoughts on leadership and why have a strong opinion is critical

Building company DNA

The 3 Qualities he looks in employees


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In episode 3 of season 2, I had the pleasure of sitting with Dov Moran one of the more grounded entrepreneurs i know (there is no age limit to being one)who sold a company for $1.5B to Sandisk. He is pragmatism and realism are refreshing as he discusses the pros and cons (yes there can be some downside) to selling his company and why he decided he wanted to start something new, the mistakes he made along the way, and what he is doing now with Grove ventures. Dov even goes into how he became chairman of Tower Semiconductor and has to make some really hard decisions to save the company. But this is just some of the things you will learn when you listen to this podcast, here are a few more things;
1) What was his first job?
2) When did he realize that he had the wrong people in mSystems? (12:50)
3) When did mSystems start taking off? (15:45)
4) How many times did it take before mSystems sold to Sandisk? (20:40)
5) How instrumental was Dov in turning around Tower Semiconductor? (28:10)
6) Why is Grove Ventures focused on deep learning tech?
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In this episode I site down with Ofer Fryman, CEO of Syte Syte a leasding AI startup out of Israel which is redefining online and in-store retail with next-generation visual AI. Ofer takes us on his journey working at HP, Microsoft, Jungo and how his experience working at those companies have helped shape him into the CEO who just closed a $21.5M series B round and has grown to 70+ employees. 

Most of all Ofer shares his insights into his experiences and if you listen you will find out the following:
1) Why breaking eggs is so important and why Ofer loves to be the one to break them. (5:00)
2) How many tries did it take to find the right product fit for Syte?
3) Be a sales leader- why it is important not to rely on others to sell your product early on. 
4) Key to growth in Syte- Communication between sales & BD teams
5) What was most difficult management decision Ofer made? (38:20)
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In episode 26 I sit with Gil Dudkiewicz, CEO & Co-Founder StartApp a mobile media & data company and the 3rd most popular SDK after Google & FB. Before StartApp, Gil was the CEO of SweetIM, which was acquired by Perion Network (NASDAQ: PERI) in late 2012 for $41 million. In addition to this, In addition to this, I was also the CEO of MyDTV/MeeVee and the Entrepreneur in Residence at The Cedar Fund.

This episode we discuss how his career got started, when he caught the entrepreneurial bug, what keeps him motivated, how he handles adversity, creating a culture of success , hiring methodology, scaling company, and why he doesn't believe in doors in the office.
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