Israeli VC on Sand Hill road

Scandal du jour - this time it's HP

Even thought I’m living in Israel, my browser opens to the latest from the Mercury News. Every morning, I get my morning paper and the sense of the valley (although without the little blue plastic wrapper and assorted inserts… my version is better for the environment ).

I’m not going to describe what’s going on there (you can read it here, or for a very colorful description, check out the Newsweek cover story, entitled “Scandal at HP: The Boss who Spied on Her Board”.  It reads like a bestselling novel.

What the xxxx is going on in Corporate America? 

Of course, this impacts our start-up business too.  We no longer talk of IPO’s, given all of the regulatory and governance issues out there.  We talk all too much about liability, and when you read the papers, you know it’s not going to go away.  Definately not when you have Silicon Valley icon HP in the spotlight. 

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer last week said that a crime was committed… stay tuned for the next chapter to see by whom.

technorati tags: hp hp scandal 

Not to worry, all is fine...

Eight days since we moved back to Israel and my email is overflowing with notes from  friends and colleagues checking in to see that we're alright.  Thanks to all of you for your concern!

As remarkable as it may seem, things here remain pretty "normal", or perhaps "life goes on" is a more appropriate description.  It's not "normal" to turn on the radio and hear about funerals for the fallen soldiers and civilians.  But as remarkable as it may seem, people just go along with their daily lives.

This is not a political blog (-- although, you can imagine, I have plenty to say on the subject), so I'll stick to the impact on Israeli technology companies and the VC industry.  Yes, there have been reservists called to duty from our companies, but no changes to delivery schedules or customer installations have occurred.  Everybody shares the load.  At Gemini, we are working very hard on diligencing several new exciting opportunities... no change there. 

Certainly worth noting that it's August (very HOT one at that...), which means vacation time. It's always a pretty quiet month. I don't think that in the workplace, it feels different than any other August.

Sadly, the Global Technology Mission that I have been working on as part of the California Israel Chamber of Commerce has been postponed.  Even if there is no real threat to the safety of the participants, travel advisories (and thus insurance for corporations), would have prohibited many from joining, regardless of other considerations.  Not to worry, this too shall pass.

If I could upload photo's to my computer (yes, those technical glitches are not totally gone yet), I would share some shots taken this morning at one of the cafe's on the beach... a picture is always worth, as the cliche goes, a thousand words.

technorati tags: israel venture capital life goes on

The situation in Israel and it's impact on me

I’ve been putting off posting about the situation in Israel, not avoiding the subject, just procrastinating a bit.  These past few days, I’ve been asked by everybody with whom I interact about the situation, it’s impact on our business and of course, it’s impact on my own personal plans of relocating back to Israel on August 1st.

Firstly, there is no change in my personal plans.  My family and I leave August 1st.

As per the business aspects, unfortunately, this is not the first time this issue has been addressed.  In 1990, I joined Mercury Interactive, a tiny start-up situated in a villa in Herzelia.  Just as we sent the first beta system to Silicon Valley (Yes, Mercury’s first product was a system – specially designed hardware and all…), the Gulf War started.  For those with short memories, that meant that all Israeli’s started carrying gas masks, as  Scud missiles were fired at them, while they sat in “sealed rooms” in case Iraq fired chemical rather than conventional missiles.  Life went on.  It’s not fun, but a fact that Israeli’s lived with.  During this time, I flew back and forth to the states to train our beta customers, and start filling the pipeline with new prospects as GA approached.  Did this impact the business?  Not really. 

There are many stories (“war stories”) to this effect, not only from the Gulf war, but from pretty much forever.  The bottom line is that Israeli’s have demonstrated repeatedly that “life goes on”, and that in our business it’s “business as usual”. 

It is a fact that Israel’s neighbors are not exactly like Canada and Mexico.  Living with “not so nice” neighbors is not new to the Israeli scene.  We’ve just learned to deal with it, and unfortunately, more often than we’d like, the resolution requires military action.  Israeli’s would love to find an alternative solution, however, as the saying goes, it takes 2 to tango.

I look forward to the day when I don’t have to address these same questions over and over again…. 

technorati tags: israel lebanon middle east

Viva Italia

What a finale to this past month.  The world cup has been controlling my life, detemining when I can make phone calls to Israel (don’t dare while there’s a game!), when my  nanny will make it to work and of course, in what mood, and lastly, what social activities we do over the weekend (must have TV, prefer HD TV).  

This morning, we dropped off my oldest son at the bus depot as he left for 3 weeks of camp, and rushed to friends that lived nearby to watch the game.

Why am I happy that Italy is the world cup champion?

• My son Yoav (almonst 9) was cheering for them, for the very important reason that France beat Brazil.  That’s just like the saying about your enemy’s enemy being your friend….
• Moshe Gavrielov (ex-Verisity CEO, now Cadence exec and soccer fan galore) wanted Italy to win.  Of course, he thought they’d loose, since his first choice was Brazil, then Portugal, then all that was left was Italia…
• I really detest behavior like that demonstrated by the French icon, Zidane (sorry to my French friends).  I get it that it’s a stressful moment, but isn’t that what makes one an exceptional leader?  I suppose ending one’s career with a red flag in the deciding championship game, into the second overtime is probably punishment enough, however…

For the next Mondial, I would love to dream that perhaps Israel will have made it to the games.  Who knows, miracles happen

technorati tags: world cup mondial

Is this Seattle or Silicon Valley?

This is certainly beyond the "focus" of this blog, but I feel I have to mention it..... Here in Silicon  Valley, we're used to sunny skies, outdoor hiking and a smooth drive (usually) up to Tahoe for ski season.  Not this year!  It feels like Seattle - it just doesn't stop raining!  It does, however, make more dramatic picture taking opportunities... see dark skies in my photo of Pigeon Point Lighthouse from Saturday.