How The Founder of Waze Went From Getting Fired To Building a Billion-Dollar Business | Uri Levine

In this special episode of Big Shot, recorded live at the iconic Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., we’re joined by Uri Levine, the co-founder of Waze. Uri is a visionary entrepreneur whose journey includes building Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, which Google acquired for over $1 billion. Beyond Waze, Uri has co-founded several impactful startups like Moovit (acquired by Intel), FeeX, and Engie. He’s also the author of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, a must-read guide for entrepreneurs.

In our conversation today, we cover: 

• Lessons on failure and prioritization from Uri’s father

• A clever hack he used to pitch Waze with an incomplete product

• The cultural drive behind the Jewish ambition to create positive change

• The story of the many millionaires created by Waze’s acquisition

• And so much more!

A special thank you to ADL In Concert Against Hate. You can learn more here https://www.adl.org/adl-concert-against-hate-shines-light-heroes

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In This Episode We Cover:

(00:00) Intro

(01:40) How Uri’s father taught him the importance of failure

(04:55) A story about prioritization

(06:59) Uri’s solution for fundraising with an incomplete product

(09:00) The ups and downs of the start-up journey

(11:04) Why Jewish people are drawn to entrepreneurship and making a positive impact

(12:58) The connection between the kibbutz community and entrepreneurship

(13:25) The Google acquisition of Waze 

(13:58) The importance of keeping the main thing the main thing 

(15:11) How tikkun olam inspires Uri’s entrepreneurial ventures 

(16:48) Chutzpah and the Israeli experience 

(17:40) How Uri continues to be inspired by his father

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Where To Find Uri Levine: • Website: https://urilevine.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uri-levine/

• X: https://x.com/urilevine1

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Where to Find ADL:

• Website: https://www.adl.org/

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