“The companies that have the best chance of surviving the current crisis are the ‘real companies’. Over the past 10 years, the landscape has been dominated by the concept of the heroic entrepreneur, the Almighty King, in the style outlined by Elon Musk, who even starred in a Marvel movie. With growing egos came rising value and soon the ‘buzz’ became the most substantial thing,” said Ariel Maislos, founder of Anobit, which was sold to Apple in 2012 for $400 million. Maislos spoke at the conference “The New Normal in the High-Tech Landscape” held at the offices of Ibex Investors last week. law firm and LeumiTech The conference mainly discussed the adjustments that entrepreneurs, investors and employees of high-tech companies must make in the near future in order to turn the crisis into an opportunity for growth.
Nimrod Vroman (from left), Nicole Priel, Gal GItter, Ariel Maislos and Delia Pekelman.
“It’s not that the ‘jump’ isn’t important, it’s an important tool in the arsenal of starting a business, but it needs to remain a tool and nothing more,” added Maislos. “In my opinion, the companies that will survive are those that offer a real and successful solution to real problems and can also charge money for it. It’s harder for other companies and products.”
Adv. Nimrod Vroman, Yigal Arnon-Tadmor Levy High Tech Managing Partner and founder and CEO of consulting firm Consiglieri, explained that “for me, the fact that a company has to have a real business is the ‘Olympic’ minimum.” In the near future, one of the most important tasks for the management of a high-tech company will be to examine the vitality and commitment of its employees and their investors now. In the period ahead, there will be a “Darwinian screening” that requires companies to include investors and employees in their plans in order to increase their chances of successfully surviving the crisis.
When asked by Ibex partner Gal Gitter about the next steps investors should take, Eran Shir, co-founder of Nexar, who sold his previous company Dapper to Yahoo shortly after the 2008 crisis, believes that “the most important thing right now is to make decisions and quickly. It’s wrong to think that now is the right time to sit and wait, and a lot of people are wrong about that. They say to themselves, “I can’t see the tsunami coming to me, my clients are here and they all say I’m successful.” Then they encounter a crisis. and they don’t have enough time to deal with it anymore. Therefore, the biggest challenge is to change the perception quickly, and make the necessary adjustments. It’s difficult, especially when there are many companies that tell a story of continuous success and in a market that has employees who have never experienced a story of hardship.”
According to Nicole Priel, partner at Ibex: “Entrepreneurs need to be more realistic than they used to be. It’s easier than ever to start a business, but not every business brings something new. People need to be honest with themselves and think about profitability. Day one. Succeed those who solve real problems, not just offer fixes.”
Delia Pekelman, Deputy Head of Business Sector at LeumiTech, noted: “We are seeing technology companies return to a healthier economic outlook, focusing on growth, taking into account operational efficiency and the real business model. These are the companies we believe will succeed during this time. A capital raising solution may involve leveraging equity through debt.
