24Nov
How Israel Became Start-Up Nation

For a relatively young country, Israel has managed to build a start-up community that has surpassed all expectations and benchmarks. The golden question is one asked by Dan Senor and Saul Singer in their book ***Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.*** How is it that Israel- a country of 8 million, only 69 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful nations, and more companies on NASDAQ than any country in the world?

What Israel has managed to do is create an ecosystem where innovation is rewarded and encourages a culture of entrepreneurial spirit. The truth of the matter is that the struggles that may have made it harder for Israel to become a start-up hub are the reasons behind its success.

The Military

Israel has one of the strongest and most intelligent militaries in the world. In the army, young soldiers develop valuable entrepreneurial values such as leadership, team work and sacrifice. Oded Hermoni, an Israeli entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley says that “in the US, you tend to salute the title and not the person. In Israel, it’s the opposite.” Israelis the army learn to test and experiment with innovations for years before enrolling into universities. Not only does this encourage “learning by doing,” Israelis enter university with a rich knowledge base. Furthermore, Israel has learned how to integrate experience on the battlefield into in the workforce. Whereas in the United States capable and young war veterans are struggling to find work, Israeli companies have learned to use army experiences to their advantage.

Research and Development

Israel invests more in R&D (relative to GDP) than any country in the world. This is estimated to be 23.86 million euros, which is approximately 5% of GDP. The source of most of Israel’s R&D funding is from government and public organizations. The amount of funding that universities receive also contributes to R&D success. Such can be seen by the amount of patents issued by Israeli universities. According to the Industrial Technology Report, Israel’s extensive research on military defense plays a great role in the country’s industrial, science, and research community, as well as its workforce. Major tech companies have also invested in research centers in Israel. Such companies include Intel, Google, Apple, EMC, Xerox, etc.

Immigration Policies

Almost half of all Israelis are immigrants. Israel doesn’t look at immigration as a burden. To the contrary, it is encouraged. The country continuously finds innovative ways to attract new and talented immigrants. For instance in 2015 Israel announced a plan to issue “Innovation visas.” According to the ministry, entrepreneurs who decide to obtain this 2-year visa will be given resources to develop new tech enterprises. Their visas will also be extended if they decide to follow through with establishing their start-ups in Israel. The importance of attracting immigrants can be seen during election seasons when politicians heavily debate ways on how they plan to attract immigrants.

The Jewish Mom

Crediting Jewish moms for entrepreneurial success in Israel might sound comical, but as they say: every joke has some truth in it. This is a notion that Yossi Vardi, the father of Israeli Entrepreneurship, strongly believes in. “Your Jewish mother will push you to succeed and push you to go all the time. My mother since [I was] six has been telling me, ‘All your cousins are smart’, and ‘How can you be an idiot? I’m the mother of idiot. How can this happen?’” he recounted during a panel discussion at SLUSH. According to Vardi, from birth Jewish mothers will tell you that you have to succeed and do your best. They are the secret.

Mentality for Survival

Living in Israel comes with developing a different mentality than those that live in peaceful and stable countries. This “refuse to die” mentality implies a will to always progress no matter the circumstances. In their book, Senor and Singer recount a story that can speak to this. When Warren Buffet was contemplating whether or not to buy Israeli company, ISCAR Metalwork, in midst of a war, the CEO of Iscar called Buffet and said “For our customers there will be no war.” This was a promise to deliver quality to customers at all costs.

Many countries and cities wish they can replicate Israel’s start-up culture. Though we mostly see coverage of the country during a time of war, the success of Start-Up Nation has not gone unnoticed. Montreal’s very own Dennis Coderre has been very vocal in praising the country’s open market, entrepreneurial and technological culture. In November he led a delegation on an economic mission to Israel. With this we can only hope that one day Montreal succeeds in reaching the ranks of Tel Aviv.

23Sep
A PME Success Story: Catching up with Revols

Daniel Blumer and Navi Cohen, founders of Revols, have reached and surpassed great milestones since we first met them in 2014. What started off as an idea to develop premium quick custom-fit wireless earphones is now approaching reality with shipping scheduled for early 2017. Earlier this year, in just two months their Kickstarter campaign raised $2.5 million (U.S.), breaking records and becoming Canada’s most funded project in Kickstarter history. We had the chance to catch up with the Revols CEO, Daniel Blumer, to talk about it his journey and what lies ahead for the company. He offers some interesting insight and some lessons learnt in retrospect.

Q: What helped you identify a gap in the market for your product when you founded your company with Navi?

A: Navi approached me with the idea of custom fit earphones and the whole concept was that custom fit provides this comfort level that is just so much better than a regular pair of earphones. That immediately struck a chord with me because myself, my wife, so many people, struggle with their earphones and are not comfortable. To me, that was the immediate compelling reason as to why we should go into this. Further justification came through doing the due diligence, doing the market research, seeing why people replace their earphones and why they buy premium earphones.

Q: You’ve had tremendous success with your Kickstarter campaign. It was the most funded Canadian project in Kickstarter history! Given that so many crowdfunding campaigns fail, what was your secret?

A: We spent around 3 months doing diligence, and learning about Kickstarter. We understood it. Some people think that you can just create a video and put it on Kickstarter. There is so much more to it. One of the biggest challenges which we saw right away was credibility. It’s not easy to be credible and show that what you are offering isn’t BS or a lie. You want to show that what you have is real, that it works, and that it can be trusted. For us one of the biggest things we did to succeed is that we hired a local PR firm and before the campaign started we went out to every single media outlet that would talk to us in Toronto, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and did the process on them. They then wrote reviews on us. If they liked us they would write good reviews which would then translate to trust and credibility and more people would back it. There was a direct correlation between when the media would release their review and how much we would receive on the Kickstarter.

Q: This success, while great, must come with tones of pressure. How do you feel about this?

A: More pressure than I’ve ever had in my life because to me the part that I hate the most is being in debt to someone else. I don’t have debt I don’t want to have debt. When you think about it you’re happy and so excited about the success of your Kickstarter and having all this money to make your product. But I’m so anxious to just deliver to all our backers. We have 12,000 people that supported us. A lot of them are Montrealers, friends, family, and people that have an interest in helping another Montreal company. Until we deliver there’s this pit in my stomach.

Q: What stage of development are you at presently?

A: We’re planning on delivering in November and December. We’re getting there.

Q: You are a Montreal-based company, what is it like having a hardware company here?

A: Hardware is not easy to build here. The first year and a half we were only in Montreal. It was difficult in terms of cost, and in terms of the time it took to make all product versions. Something that has helped us tremendously is our relationship with the hardware accelerator, Hax. We moved to China last summer for 4 months and now we have people on the ground in China overseeing production. Now we can iterate faster at a lower cost in China which is a great advantage.

Q: What are some pros of being a Montreal-based company?

A: Montreal’s start-up community is growing a lot. You see it. You see it by the events and by the different companies coming out of Montreal. It’s impressive. There are many advantages of being in Montreal. Tax credit-wise, when you’re creating a company with a lot of R&D requirements, the Canadian and Quebec government are phenomenal at helping fund projects. You don’t get that in the States.

Q: Now that Revols is doing well and growing, in retrospect, can you think of lessons learnt or things you wish you would have done differently?

A: To me, one of the biggest learnings is with something we’ve experienced over the past few months when trying to do everything in house. We wanted to have control over all our projects. Looking back, it’s okay to outsource to a third party who’s more competent in a particular project. It would have costed more but it would have saved us months. It would have been worth it, so that’s what we’re starting to do now. If it’s not your core competency it is okay to outsource to a certain extent as long as you have a certain level of control.

Q: How has PME helped you in your journey?

A: PME has genuinely helped us because they came in relatively at the beginning when we didn’t have a lot of money. There are 2 components to PME. There’s the money itself. The money allows us to develop and grow without having to look elsewhere. Our valuation at the beginning was smaller and we would have had to give up a lot more of the company then. So, that money was sufficient in allowing us to go to the point where we now have a nicer valuation, we’re going to get more money and give up less equity. That is because of what PME helped us with. On the other side which is equally, if not more important, is the mentorship side. The ability to have access to mentors who are tremendously experienced in different fields and the comfort in knowing you can go to them is phenomenal. A lot of people don’t have that opportunity.

Q: 10 years from now where do you see Revols?

A: 10 years from now Revols will be a recognized brand name in the premium retail space, but not just selling earphones. Selling many different ear-related products with a custom fit solution.

Revols has come a long way in the past 2 years. We can’t wait to see what is in store for Daniel and Navi moving forward!

Pro-Montreal Entrepreneurs (PME) is a social business model created to help young entrepreneurs build and strengthen their business roots in Montreal. PME offers business plan feedback, a network of mentors, and access to sources of funding. Entrepreneurs between the ages of 18-40 can also get access to capital of up to $50,000. Don’t hesitate to contact us for any questions that you may have.

8Sep
The Impact of Teaching Entrepreneurship to the Youth

Innovation is an attribute largely commended as the biggest influencer of where our world is headed. Unfortunately, despite this fact, innovation is also a characteristic that education systems undervalues. Though still very important, schools seem to be putting almost all of their focus on traditional subjects. What is missing in many elementary and secondary curriculum’s are courses that will teach students to solve future problems, collaborate with others, take calculated risk and learn from failure (not just get penalized for it). The Quebec Government has seen the value of entrepreneurship education. The Secretariat a la Jeunesse has even added a division focused primarily on supporting entrepreneurial initiatives amongst the Quebec youth. Unfortunately, not all schools have developed, or even considered this approach.

There is a common misconception that teaching about entrepreneurship is synonymous to teaching about sales. In actuality, by participating in entrepreneurship activities kids can gain skills such as, autonomy, leadership, creativity, initiative, perseverance, self-confidence, sense of responsibility and solidarity. Most importantly, all of these are transferable skills that will give them necessary tools to excel whether they aim to be entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs. Often times educational institutions are criticized for not giving students the necessary tools to cope in the real world. Just think about it. How many things have you learned in elementary and high school that you’ve either forgotten or have never used outside of the classroom? What entrepreneurship-based learning does from the get-go, is that it teaches students how to recognize opportunities and how to act on them. This is not a skill easily forgotten when properly implemented into different facets of an educational curriculum.

Implementing entrepreneurship-based learning into an existing school curriculum can seem daunting, but lucky for schools there are existing programs like Junior Achievement and The Incubator that can help make the process easier. These resources offer easily understandable step-by-step guides and computer-friendly activities that will teach students about entrepreneurship. Schools should also consider the benefits of teaching traditional subjects with an entrepreneurial approach. For instance, sensitizing students to writing by having them write stories and read them to others. Such activities permit students to make decisions on their own. With teachers acting as guides, students can learn from trial-and-error and that learning from failure is important.

The goal here is not to teach students to become entrepreneurs or ways to grow the economy. If a student winds up starting a business and creating jobs, that’s just a bonus. The objective is to have them gain skills that are applicable to all of their future endeavours. What entrepreneurship-based learning does is that it instills confidence within students early on. They are thus able to see that they can accomplish whatever they set up to do. When a young person realizes that they hold the key to their futures, this equals to limitless possibilities.

24Aug
How LOJIQ Can Help You

How L'OJIQ Can Help You Montreal is a city with a great entrepreneurial climate, and provides many resources for start-up growth. Many of these opportunities present themselves in the form of contests, prizes, loans or government grants. Resources are also available through organizations set up especially to assist young entrepreneurs, and lead them to success. Les Offices Jeunesse Internationaux du Quebec, or LOJIQ, is an organization for Quebec residents that provides opportunities for start-ups to build international business ties. Founded in 2007, LOJIQ aims to enhance the professional networks and enrich the entrepreneurial experiences of Quebec youth on an international level. They offer internships, volunteer opportunities, and conferences in Europe, Oceania, America, Asia, and Africa. Of all the projects they offer, most fall into one of three categories:

1) Entrepreneurship Training
LOJIQ offers international seminars for students and aspiring entrepreneurs who are not quite sure how to start a business. These trips are often organized as group projects aimed to teach students the basics of entrepreneurship and inspire them to launch a start-up. These programs include lectures by successful professionals in the world of entrepreneurship. In order to participate candidates are not required to have an operating start-up, but must demonstrate passion and interest for entrepreneurship during the application process.

2) Entrepreneur Resources
Established entrepreneurs can also take advantage of a multitude of programs offered by LOJIQ. Programs offered include partnership opportunities, lectures and events, and international development. Although small and emerging start-ups are prioritized, all entrepreneurs are welcome to apply. LOJIQ programs are mostly focused on growing start-ups on an international scale, and helping you build worldwide business connections. If you intend to set up shop in different countries and make important connections in the business world, LOJIQ should definitely be considered.

3) Mentorship
Finally, LOJIQ offers international mentors to entrepreneurs to allow them to grow their start-up on an international scale. Entrepreneurs are matched with mentors based on their area of interest as well as their preferred location. These mentors are crucial to start-ups who need advice on how to develop their start-up in other countries, and how to reach new markets.

LOJIQ is heavily centered on international expansion for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, it offers grants and bursaries to new and aspiring entrepreneurs that range from 1000$ to 2000$. Most of the programs that this organization offers require international travel, but you can apply for funding to pay for all of your travel expenses.

If you want to attend an event that the organization does not currently offer, you can pitch your own business travel idea, be it to a conference or an event, and LOJIQ may be able to sponsor you. For entrepreneurs with international ambition, LOJIQ is definitely worth checking out. Note that program information is only available in French but you can speak to someone at the organization that could help you in English.

27Jul
All About Idea Generation

Before you start thinking about sales and investors, you need an idea. You can’t start a business without an idea. However, finding an idea that would successfully launch a start-up is often easier said than done. Consider these tips:

Brainstorm

Again, this is easier said than done. Start by listing all of the things that interest you, as well as things you are good at. Also, ask yourself why you even want to start a business in the first place. This list doesn’t have to make sense: it is meant to make you think about your strengths and weaknesses, and how you could use them in your start-up. If your idea is something you are passionate about, chances are you will be successful.

You should also consider your financial situation, and know how much money you can afford to invest in your business, as this may influence your start-up ideas. Don’t start a business relying solely on investors: be prepared to use some of your own money as well.

Fill a Need

Think about your own life, and how you can make it better. You can think of small improvements or big ones. Ask yourself: how could my life be better as a father, mother, husband, wife, grandparent, etc.?

Look for inspiration in the outside world. Whenever you go out, think about how you can make it better. If you are thinking it, chances are you are not the only one, and your idea can fuel a start-up. Here is a good example: Reed Hastings once got charged 40$ of late-fees while returning a DVD. Instead of simply paying the fee and moving on with his life, he thought about how he could make this small aspect of his life better: and that’s how Netflix was born.

Think about the long-term

Get inspired by everything around you, but don’t forget to consider your business idea’s potential in the long run. Think about current market needs, trends, and demographics that are ever-changing and could impact your business idea. You can use the media to constantly stay connected to market trends.

You should also consider competitors when you search for an idea. Sure, every business has competitors, but you shouldn’t be wasting all of your money in a pricing war. Use something with minimal competition so you can invest money on growing your business instead of competition.

Above all, your idea is about you: your strengths, weaknesses, and interests. If you choose an idea you don’t care about, it will be harder to stay inspired and make it successful. Don’t forget that once you found your idea, protect it: use non-disclosure agreements, trademarks, and patents, to keep your idea to yourself.

Wherever you go, keep looking for inspiration: you never know when you will find the idea that will start a successful new business.

14Nov
What Montreal’s Best Startups Think of Montreal

ProMontreal Entrepreneurs is proud to have been a part of the organizing committee for the Rendez-vous des professionnels de l’entrepreneuriat, that took place on November 3rd 2014. This video, produced by Rachel + Michel, asks the entrepreneurs behind Montreal’s successful startups what made them choose this great city. We thought that asking the people that run the businesses their opinion was key in defining what matters the most to them. One of our alumni members, Noemie Dupuy of Budge Studios, is featured. Noemie also made top 10 in Profit Guide’s list of top 100 Female Entrepreneurs in Canada.