Israeli VC on Sand Hill road

Election Day - viewed from the other side of the ocean

This year was the first time that I cast an absentee ballot.  For the Presidential race, it doesn’t seem like California really needs me, yet I felt compelled to cast my vote.

Actually, Jonathan, my oldest son was the one that went on-line and registered me. Once the ballot appeared, my middle son Yoav helped me “connect the lines” as we voted.  As a parent, it was a great “hands on” lesson in civics.  In addition to voting for elected officials, we voted on CA propositions, expressing our values with regards to peoples right to marry, women’s right to choose as well as supporting propositions for renewable energy.

Even though I reside 10,000 miles away, this election feels very close to home.  Israeli’s follow these elections very closely, as do citizens of probably most of the world.  We have up-to-date information on the progress of these elections from what are the police doing in Chicago, to the latest in New Hampshire. 

Tonight, on this side of the ocean, we will go to sleep before the polls close…Yoav has already told me that he can’t wait until tomorrow.

Tags: us+elections, absentee+ballot, jonathan+alush-aben, yoav+alush-aben

Entrepreneurship is cool

How’s that for a comment from a 5^th grader? 

These days, I have some spare time on my hands and figured to ask my son’s teacher if they’d like a guest speaker one of these days…. that day was Sunday.  My son Yoav wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea that I was coming to his class, given the high likelihood of him being terribly embarrassed, however he reluctantly agreed.

The subject which I was going to discuss was called Entrepreneurship, or as the presentation was titled: “A Star is Born” . (Note: A star is born is the English translation for Kochav Nolad, or as it’s known in the US – American Idol).

My objective was for them to understand that great companies start with ideas, often founded by groups of friends, which are not only smart, but determined and not afraid to fail. We discussed Google, Apple, ICQ, and Microsoft (needed some examples that they can relate to).  So for about 40 minutes, I had the attention of ~30 5^th graders.  They were very attentive, asking lots of questions and only occasionally interrupting (after all, it’s a class of Israeli 5^th graders…).

Try and explain venture capital to 5^th graders - it’s not easy.  I’m not sure that I got all my messages across, but the comment that made me most happy was from Yoav in the evening: “Mommy, that entrepreneurship-stuff is pretty cool”.

Tags: venture+capital+for+kids, yoav+alush+aben, entrepreneurship, entrepreneuship+for+kids

Green technologies have side effects...

I was recently talking with an ex-VC colleague of mine that has started to explore investment opportunities in Cleantech/Greentech (would somebody please explain the difference to me???).  Turns out, since Cleantech has invaded his life, he has developed an acute sense of “environmentalitis”. I can certainly relate.

Since I have moved back to Israel from Silicon Valley, I feel like a criminal every time I throw out the garbage… around here, hardly anything seems to be recycled.  In our family, we do what we can.  As such we take egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, etc., to Ben’s pre-school.  At least it will become “art”, rather than landfill.  Ben understands about recycling (or so we think).

In Yoav’s class (5^th grade), his teacher is actually dedicating time to discuss the environment.  He came home today telling me about a plant in Emek Hefer (where we live) which turns cow dung into electricity (600 tons of cow dung per day, resulting in 2–3MW of electricity).  He thought maybe I would want to work there, as long as I don’t smell when I come home.

Teaching kids is a great way to create awareness, as they share the news with their parents, as well as become environmentally-conscious adults.  But until they grow up, we have to find some more effective ways to deal with this issue.  On Kibbutz Evron in Israel, they are using a very practical approach to plastics bags – charging for them… you can read about that here. I’m in favor… after all, I have my “Whole Foods” foldable, reusable bag with me at all times . 

Tags: cow+dung+electricity, cleantech, environmentalitis, greentech, recycle, kibbutz+evron, whole+foods

Tu Bishvat - what does it mean for me this year

Every year Tu Bishvat rolls around, practically unnoticed as far as I’m concerned.  This year, in Yoav’s class (5^th grade), the teacher asked the kids for a few parent volunteers for the annual Emek Hefer Tu Bishvat Seder.  For Yoav, my professional change of course, means that mommy is available for all such activities (with great pleasure I might add).

Interestingly enough, the Tu Bishvat seder seems to focus these days around saving the earth.  So, in a room full of ~200 5^th graders representing the 6 different schools in the Emek Hefer region in which we live, we ate all sorts of dried fruit, drank grape juice, talked about mother earth and watched the kids as they performed their holiday dances.

Since comparing Silicon Valley with Israel is always part of my blog, I can definitely conclude that a huge difference between this event, and it’s comparable in the states (if there was a Tu Bishvat Seder there…), is the decibel levels! Israeli 5^th graders are very, very LOUD!

Tags: tu+beshvat, tu+beshvat+seder, emek+hefer, yoav+alushaben

Summer plans in Winter

As the US shuts down for Christmas, New Years and the multinational winter break, here in Israel, we’re actually very busy.  Although some of us join the club and take a vacation (not I), most are busy entertaining friends that have taken their vacation here in Israel. In my world, I actually find myself with additional meetings with those business people that have combined their vacation in Israel with a bit of work…

While we’re in the middle of winter (or technically, in the beginning of winter), I get a reminder to sign up my kids for Tawonga summer camp.  What seemed so “normal” while living in Silicon Valley, seems totally absurd today. Of course, if I opt not to register the kids, they will not even have an option of Tawonga…. looks like this year, I will keep to my newly planted Israeli roots, and make my summer plans in summer .

Tags: tawonga, winter+holidays+in+Israel

Traffic is traffic is traffic, no?

Sitting in traffic is no fun, anywhere.  So why is sitting in Israeli traffic different? 

For one, there is always the smart alec that thinks that moving swiftly from one lane to the next, will get him there faster than just staying put in the lane that you’re already in (mind you, nobody is actually moving…).

Secondly, the cellphones actually work EVERYWHERE…

And of course, we have GalGalatz !

GalGalatz is an IDF (Israel Defense Force) radio station, founded in ‘93, in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation.  But for most of us, it means great music combined with traffic reports.

There’s a whole following out there, as traffic reports are contributed by us poor souls stuck in it.  When one is lucky enough to clear a particularly nasty spot, you can call in to the station, reporting how long it took.  This is broadcasted back to all the listeners to help (or depress) them.

Last night, as Jonathan (my striking 14 year old – literally striking…) and I were stuck at 11PM (!) on a 3KM part of Highway 2, we heard Galgalatz report that there is a traffic jam on that particular sector.  Once we cleared (35 minutes later), I called in… within 10 minutes it was reported to the world of listeners that “Tali and Jonathan reported 35 minutes from Kfar Smarihau to Rishpon”.  For some very odd reason, it caused us to smile, even though it was just about midnight by then.

Tags: traffic, israeli+traffic, galgalatz, jonathan+alush+aben

Generation Y - so, so different

If I’m considered to be part of Generation X, according to generation researchers Neil Howe and William Strauss, my kids should be Generation Y.  In any case, generation gaps are not something new. 

Today’s kids do not know what it was like to live without the Internet, IM and cellphones.  But what continues to amaze me is their level of independence – especially the Israeli varietal.

A short story.  As my family was preparing for a trip to the states, the unions threatened to launch a general strike here in Israel, which included bringing Ben Gurion Airport to a standstill.  Given that I had ordered a ticket for my 14 year old Jonathan with some of the many, many, many miles that I have accumulated, missing the connection in Europe was not an option.  Like many Israeli’s, we looked for a way to get out before the strike takes effect.  For 40 euro, the airline was more than happy to adjust his ticket.  Only problem, this required him to prepare to leave for the airport within 45 minutes of our talking with them, and also required an overnight in Zurich. We didn’t blink once, and off he went; cellphone in hand along with some leftover swiss francs from one of my trips.  Jonathan arrived in Zurich, took the shuttle bus to the hotel, checked in, spent the night, had breakfast, checked out, took the shuttle to the terminal and boarded the flight to the West Coast.  For him, it didn’t seem like a big deal at all.  He had done that so many times with his family, and had traveled by himself several times as well.  I wasn’t really worried either.  But having talked about this with others (especially the grandparents), I realized that it is actually quite a big deal.

I can only wonder what else will these kids experience at this early age; and can’t even imagine what their kids will be like.  I guess that even for a venture capitalist that lives “on the cutting edge of technology”, I will forever be “old fashioned” in their minds. Long live Generation Y.

Tags: generation+Y, Jonathan+Alush-Aben, travel

Men - and why don't they notice obvious changes !

Was not sure if this should be part of my blog, but after a quick chat with Ouriel, here it goes.

The story is simple.  Since the day I turned 40, I’ve started to need “long arms” to read small print.  After awhile, you reach a point where your arms aren’t quite long enough.  Following quite a few months of pure denial, I came to the conclusion that it’s time to get multi-focals.

To shorten this story, while my multi-focals were being prepared to be mounted on my old (and perfectly good) Silhouette frames, I wore a temporary pair of glasses.  Silhouettes are minimal, frameless, almost not there. My temporary pair was red, plastic, with red sides, heavy and you could spot them a mile away.

Well, all the women at Gemini noticed right away…. In the office, only 3 of the men paid any attention.  We had our Monday staff meeting, so everybody had the opportunity to see.  How can you not notice something that’s SOOOO obvious?!

My 3 boys all noticed, with various comments: #1 “Yuck, they’re ugly”, #2 “Since when are you wearing glasses”, #3 “Why are you wearing somebody elses glasses”.  You can try and guess which comment to attribute to which boys (reminder: ages 13, 9, 3).

I wonder what will happen when my boys grow up to become men… will they still notice?

Tags: new+glasses, multi+focals, silhouette

When Mommy has a blog ... (Part III)

So I’m back from a weeks vacation in the French alps.  Took my oldest boys to ski.  It was a bit odd skiing in mid April, but given the changes in the world climate, perhaps I should get used to it (and ideally, take up sand skiing…).

But seriously, it was terrific to be able to spend quality time with my boys.  When we came home, and started to unpack, Ben (who’s almost 4 - will start skiing next year), spotted the helmet and gloves.  It took a good 4 days before he stopped sleeping with them…. isn’t he cute

Tags: ben+alush-aben

When Mommy has a blog...(Part II)

Passover vacation for kids is long (just about 3 weeks).  They kids love it, the parents struggle to keep them busy, but as they grow, they seem to keep themselves busy.

In Israel, one of the popular activities during this break is the Youth Movement Passover Camp (or in Hebrew “Machaneh Pessach shel ha Tnua”). In our Moshav, the kids starting from 4th grade, join the local youth movement of the Moshavim.  They wear a royal blue shirt with a red string.  Blue shirt represents the blue collar workers, and the red string communism.  Sounds perfect for the son of a venture capitalist…

Yoav just got back from his first Israeli camp experience.  I’ve never seen him so tired before!  They built their own tent, cooked their own food, did some night time exploring (“Ash Laila”), and bottom line - didn’t sleep very much.  Tired, but very, very happy!

Today, it’s D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) with his buddies.  Who wants to go back to 4^th grade???

Tags: yoav+alush+aben, Youth+Movement, Bnei+Hamoshavim