Tempus-Israel newsletter no 1

ISSUE No. 1 Tempus Biz 2010

EntrEprEnEurship n AcAdEmy n prActicE nEWsLEttErhigh tEch FEmALE EntrEprEnEurship

TEMPUS BIZ

School of Business Administration

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Forbes’ recent report on the Top 25 Hottest Tech Stocks reveals, from statistics gathered on senior management teams, that no woman held a CEO position, 13% of senior managers were women, and 1.9% of female senior managers held a technical position. Business Insider’s list of the 40 Hot Startups in Silicon Valley and New York City showed 87 founders, of which only three were women, and that 36 of the 40 startups were investor-backed companies – even a startup focusing on female-related areas was cofounded by three men. While many studies have calculated the rates of the genders distribution in this field, there is still scarce data about women’s narratives; facts do not tell their stories, and stories can reflect upon the reasons that may explain why there are so few women starting hi-tech companies.

This first issue of Tempus-Biz newsletter focuses on women entrepreneurs in hi-tech. We will present the stories and insights of women entrepreneurs in the sector and how they paved their way towards starting their own business. We will bring their reflections on the most salient milestones in their path towards success, and draw on their tips on the best practices for launching and managing hi-tech businesses. The premise of

this newsletter is that women entrepreneurs in hi-tech sectors should be heard so that their experience, ideas and practices are more widely accepted and adopted.

Hi-tech entrepreneurship is male-dominated; yet, men and women entrepreneurs in the hi-tech sector seem more alike than different. Research and statistical reports in many countries show that, on average, men and women in Hi-tech have equivalent education, share an early interest in entrepreneurship and similar motivations: the desire to make money, to be their own bosses and to see their ideas come to fruition; they have similar work experience and similar access to financing. Additionally, some studies illustrate women’s practical advantages in the hi-tech sector, e.g., Hi-tech startups headed by women generate higher revenues per investment, are less likely to fail, and are more capital efficient, starting with less capital than those owned by men but reaching similar revenue levels in the same time period. Venture capitalists have more faith in women entrepreneurs, as they are perceived as less impulsive than men entrepreneurs and favor a planned, organized course of action, which makes them more accredited for investment and a more trustworthy.

Welcoming Message

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Given these, explanations for the dearth of female in hi-tech startups is still perplexing. The gap is probably embedded in some social and cultural reasons that restrict women from carrying out their initiatives. Many technological-savvy women entrepreneurs portray their life course as being surrounded my male classmates, while the number of their female classmates was low; furthermore, they did not choose programs that involved higher levels of mathematical and computer-based curricula. In Israel, some military venues can provide an apparent advantage in technological knowledge and experience that may subsequently develop into a meaningful network – yet, the rate of women soldiers in these venues is poor.

Some women report experiencing female-related biases, especially from their male investors; for example, they are more often asked if they have children and how they plan to manage family and a fledging startup at the same time, while

the same question would not be asked of men. Others admit that they were “caught” by the entrepreneurial bug at about the same age they thought about starting a family, and this is a complex topic to choose. One the other hand, one of the most important criteria for an investor to fund a startup is the team; women favor startups as teams, thus may find investors for their businesses more easily.

The success factors are largely the same for both women and men hi-tech entrepreneurs. It is a common interest to craft an applicable roadmap for increasing women’s participation in hi-tech entrepreneurship; students, teachers, researchers and active entrepreneurs should trace the key success factors for both genders and for each gender group separately to be able to take an active role and disseminate the importance of engaging female hi-tech entrepreneurship. This will place them at the forefront of the economic efforts.

Tempus-Biz was established to help students develop entrepreneurial initiatives. It is aimed at expanding networking opportunities for students, academic staff and practitioners, who can share knowledge and experience with counterparts around the world in entrepreneurship-related areas.

Conceived and launched by Dr. Dafna Kariv of the School of Business Administration, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion, Tempus-Biz is a spinoff undertaking based on the Tempus project “Fostering Entrepreneurship in Higher Education (FoSentHE)”. An enterprise of the European Commission, FoSentHE caters to members from twelve European academic institutions; the grant holder is the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Tempus-Biz is supported and maintained by the School of Business Administration, the College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion, Israel.

We welcome any comments you may have about the content and structure of this issue of the Tempus-Biz newsletter so that we can constantly improve it.

Dafna Kariv

For their valuable contribution to this newsletter, I would like to thank the following people from the School of Business Administration, the College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion:

Prof. Adi Armoni, Dean, The School of Business Administration

Mrs. Irit Tuaf, Head of Administration, The School of Business Administration

Mrs. Bella Allon, Marketing Associate, The School of Business Administration

Tempus-Biz and Tempus team:

Mrs. Elisa Gotesman, Project Assistant

Mrs. Revital Alteberger, Project Assistant

Mr. Yariv Bernblum, Project Assistant

At a Glance

Welcoming Message

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Dr. Michal Tzur:

“For me, the criteria for working successfully include being interesting, working with friends, and not having to take orders from anyone. There are two types of projects:

a) Somebody has a brilliant idea and other people join in to develop it; a company may sprout from this endeavor. However, it is not always easy to find potential partners that are willing to take the same risks with you take.

b) A group of successful people willing to work and produce/develop something look together for a new idea.”

Hilla Ovil Brenner:

“It's one of the best experiences one can have, which brings tremendous satisfaction. When I’m asked how a single person can deal with raising a family while managing a business, I say: ‘You can do them both big time. I raised money from investors throughout my pregnancy, and went to business meetings abroad with a little baby. It is important to have a supporting family and an understanding environment, but it all depends on us. If the parents are happy, the family is happy as well.”

Sima Levi:

“Building something new is as fun and exciting as having a child. It brings satisfaction and it takes you to new places. As women in management, we have an advantage: less ego and more respect for others.

“How do we cope with fear? We must learn to take the best out of people, never be afraid to ask questions, believe in ourselves, and take things one step at a time. There are always problems (big and small) and as the company grows new and unexpected difficulties arise. Therefore, everything should be taken within proportion. Also, the support of the family helps. You profit from each step because you learn something new. You learn from experience and this is a real benefit.”

Esti Peshin:

“Entrepreneurship is a philosophy. It exists within an organization. You do not have to form a new company to put your ideas into practice. Entrepreneurship provides new solutions to existing problems. The high-tech lobby of the Israeli government makes laws meant to help hi-tech companies promote their ideas. Yet, it is important to keep in mind that a large number of entrepreneurs in this field not always succeed.”

What are the Characteristics of an Entrepreneur?From the High-tech women entrepreneurs Panel, on may 2010, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion

From the Ground Field – Israeli High-Tech Women Entrepreneurs

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Gali Ross:

“I owe my success to the fact that I grew up in a home environment that did not differentiate between genders”. How do we cope with fear? Fear is the most useless emotion... it has no practical significance. Depending on the stage of the business’ development, we should be loyal to the decisions we make.”

Daria Shuali:

“Being an entrepreneur is the hardest and the most fun thing to do. Start-up is a chaos of rapid learning which teaches you new things every day. This helps you deal with the chaos. What characterizes an entrepreneur? A distorted concept of reality, a perception of low risk.”

Ornit Shinar:

“The entrepreneur has always heard the term ‘impossible’. As a woman, I heard people say: ‘You are either a good mother or a good worker. You cannot make both ends meet’. But they don’t understand the excitement of a new business transaction.

I've raised five children successfully. My motto is ‘Do what you believe in’.

What characterizes an entrepreneur? When you find a good idea and you are not afraid to go after it, it becomes a way of life. How do I cope with fear? It is important to have a support environment that is willing to help and understands your needs.”

Einat Metzer:

“In this type of job, I have met hundreds of male entrepreneurs but few women entrepreneurs. This is the reason why I established a group of female entrepreneurs.

My motto is ‘there is never a better time to start your entrepreneurship’. How do I cope with fear? ‘Anything new is scary; fear is legitimate and healthy.”

Summarized by Elisa Gotesman, Tempus-Biz Team


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How did you start your business?

I had a small consulting company when we hit on the idea to develop an innovative product in the area of Business Intelligence. I used my personal financial resources to get the business started. We could not raise venture capital but were successful in selling the product to customers and soon enough the business became profitable. I was thinking about going global and decided that in order to succeed I had to get maximum benefits from a large base of customers. Unlike my competitors, I did not target one client with a variety of products and services. Instead, I looked for a variety of clients offering them a single, generic product. At the same time, I tried to implement into the basic product all the special demands my customers presented, and was able to enrich the product with diverse and highly competitive functionality. This strategy ultimately led to a very unique product, which was very well adapted to a wide range of customers and which could very quickly be offered to new customers.

We have to keep in mind that I had the advantage of starting the entrepreneurship in Israel, a small country where you are within a short driving distance from almost all the local Fortune 100 customers. This definitely contributed to the quick improvement of our products according to the customers' needs.

If you ask me what brought me here, I would have to say: First - determination. I failed three times with my previous projects before this one succeeded. Persistence, determination, dynamism, and a bit of luck helped me continue to develop new businesses. Second - drive. I am a determined woman with a desire to invest a lot in the business. Third - family support. As a mother of two, it was difficult to combine raising children with career development, but it has always been clear to me that I had to find a way to take care of my family while pursuing my career. I made compromises; for example, sending my children and husband on holidays while I stayed at home to work. We also hired help to take care of the children while both my husband and I were at work. Women find themselves facing a dilemma when they have to create ways to balance a career and family. It is not an easy choice, and this is one of the reasons why we still see a lower percentage of women entrepreneurs in hi-tech. HI Tech is a field which requires such an extraordinary commitment. A good entrepreneur "lives" the business, is always alert, supervising, thinking, and developing projects 24 hours a day. On the one hand, entrepreneurship requires a lot of oneself; on the other, it can bring amazing results and rewards.

Is there a gap in education between women and men that leads to more male entrepreneurs?

I do not think there is a gap in education today. I think that, genetically, as the person traditionally meant to take care of the family, women are prone to take fewer risks whereas men had to take more risks as breadwinners. In my opinion, these are traits that can be changed. Today, women are willing to take risks and become entrepreneurs. Moreover, women's traits can be an advantage in starting an entrepreneurship.

Rony Ross, Founder of Panorama (Sold Business Intelligence Technology to Microsoft). Mother of two

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Hilla Ovil Brenner – CEO, WhiteSmoke Inc.

How I came to begin this entrepreneurship

This journey has been an amazing learning experience, shaping and defining who I am in many ways and pushing me beyond my comfort zones many times. As a CEO and female business owner I am always both teacher and student, mentor and protégé. Overall, the journey has, and still is, one of self discovery, personal and professional growth, and despite all that I have accomplished, I am quite certain that I have a long journey yet ahead of me and I eagerly embrace it all.

WhiteSmoke Inc., is something that began when my father used to complain about the poor quality of English in the emails he received from foreign colleagues. I decided to tackle the problem with my husband, Liran, a computer engineer who had worked at the Israeli instant messaging software pioneer ICQ. We spent two years consulting with linguistic experts and teachers from the English-speaking world and eventually developed our technology.

The “Birth Story”

I was just out of labor and I had received a work-related SMS from one of our investors. I don’t think I even considered not answering! I sent him an SMS back saying that I just gave birth and I’ll talk to him later. Needless to say, he was shocked and replied “just now?!” I guess once you’re in it, you’re in it.

Recommendations for beginning entrepreneurs

Don’t be scared and believe in yourself because if you don’t – no one else will. Be enthusiastic, it’s contagious. And just as important – learn to say no to people, it can be risky at times but you’ve got to trust your gut.

Interviewed and summarized by Elisa Gotesman, Tempus-Biz Team


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Esti Peshin, Partner, Destino Ventures LLC, Director General (Vol.), Israeli Hi-tech Caucus

My career started off by serving 11 years in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), at an elite technology unit where I was Deputy Director. I view that period as the jumpstart of my career in the Israeli Hi-tech industry. The army was ready to put substantial responsibility on the shoulders of an 18 year old, found the means to encourage her, pushed her forward when she carried the burden well, and assisted her in recognizing her mistakes (there were many!) and correcting them. I believe that all of us make mistakes; however, I was fortunate enough to function within a supportive environment that could help me realize those mistakes and remedy them.

Looking back at those 11 years in the IDF, I believe they were essential for building my self-confidence, self-efficacy and traits, which were material in shaping my future managerial and entrepreneurial roles. The years I served in the army were also essential for building my Rolodex. The ‘old boys’ network’ (or, to be politically correct, the ‘old people’s network’ — women are included as well), is one of the driving forces behind the Israeli Hi-tech industry.

The ‘old boys’ network’ helped me land my first civilian position. I was appointed Project Manager at ECtel (NASDAQ: ECTX), where I managed large-scale international projects in the East European and Asia Pacific regions. Subsequently, when Verint Systems (NASDAQ: VRNT) acquired ECtel’s lawful interception line of business in 2004, I migrated to Verint, where I held a position of Account Director in charge of large-scale projects and account management for Asia Pacific.

I then had the privilege of serving as the CEO of Waterfall Security Solutions, an exciting Israeli startup, provider of a foolproof, physical security gateway for homeland security and mission critical installations. I led Waterfall’s successful penetration into the North American, European and Singaporean markets.

Since 2009, I have been wearing three hats:

I founded, together with two US-based partners, Destino Ventures, a private equity fund committed to investing in companies in distress and carrying out an accelerated turnaround process that takes advantage of the accumulated experience, global network and resources of Destino’s partners.

I am also engaged in several corporate development consulting projects through E.N.P Solutions Ltd., a consulting firm I founded

in 2004, and which has been growing and has been profitable ever since.

I serve, in a voluntary capacity, as Director General of the Knesset’s (Israeli parliament) Hi-tech Caucus. The caucus was founded by MK Robert Ilatov (of the Israel Beytenu faction), who serves as the Chair of the Caucus and as Chair of the Knesset’s Subcommittee for the Advancement of the Hi-Tech Industry (under the Committee for Economics).

The objective of the caucus is to promote Israeli hi-tech through legislative efforts, statutory and parliamentary work, and international initiatives. In the past several months, MK Ilatov has submitted, with the assistance of the caucus’ team, several legislative affidavits aimed mainly at encouraging both Israeli and international investments in this industry.

One of the affidavits calls for recognizing angel investments as a ‘capital loss’ on the date of the investment for tax deduction purposes. This is a ‘game-changing’ initiative. Following its approval, paradigms within the industry and market space will shift by demonstrating Israel’s government-level support for the hi-tech industry, which is the main contributor to the country’s outstanding GDP, and by creating a clear incentive for private investors who pay taxes in Israel to invest in this industry.

This initiative is expected to increase the amount of available capital for Israeli hi-tech in the intermediate and long term, will help nurture entrepreneurial efforts (Israel’s main strength), and will contribute to the resilience of the hi-tech industry and to Israel’s overall economic strength.

My role in the caucus is voluntary; notwithstanding, it provides me with an outlet for the ‘public service’ bug, which has infected me since my army service. Looking back at my accomplishments, Israel, through the army, played a significant role in building my capabilities, base of contacts and knowhow. Now I believe it is my turn to return the favor through my voluntary work in the Hi-Tech Caucus, and by assisting MK Ilatov with the mission of promoting the Israel’s hi-tech industry.

Interviewed and summarized by Revital Altberger, Tempus-Biz Team


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I made aliyah with my husband in July 2007. I was fortunate enough to find work as an editor on the Haaretz English edition for several months while I retrained to become a technical writer. I moved into technical writing in January 2008 and worked on a handful of great projects until August 2008 when I had my daughter.

During my maternity leave, the economy bottomed out due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Technical writing positions evaporated, with entry-level jobs being filled by candidates having a decade or more of experience. Knowing that I couldn’t compete with that, I went into business on my own building on skills I had learned before aliyah – web-based marketing, web development and graphic design. Pixel/Point Press was created in April 2009. Starting a company with a baby at home might have been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done.

I can’t say that I’ve got a motto on women in business, but I love one I read recently in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” and I think it probably sums up what it’s like to be someone who runs a home as well as a company. To paraphrase: “Someone who wakes up before dawn 360 days a year cannot help but make his family rich.” I work harder now than ever before, but I love what I do and value the amazing client and student relationships I’ve formed in little more than a year.

I don’t see a difference between being a religious entrepreneur and a secular entrepreneur, though I know several people seem surprised when I take the stage to give a presentation – I guess they don’t expect to see a religious woman explaining how to use Facebook and YouTube.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of being a small business owner in Israel is the other amazing women who have been role models for me. Israel is full of talented women leading organizations, corporations and providing consulting worldwide. I’m lucky to have so many amazing examples to learn from.

Interviewed and summarized by Revital Altberger, Tempus-Biz Team

Pixel/Point Press Founder and Owner Kelli Brown

Kelli Brown


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A Global Perspective in Female High-Tech Entrepreneurship

I am the CEO and co-owner of a Croatian company, Systemcom Ltd. The company was founded in 1993, has about 20 employees, and is well known for its successful work in digital and analog chip design. After ten years participating in great projects led by world-leading companies in the field (Compaq, HP, Intel, Bosch), Systemcom Ltd. competed at BICRO Ltd. (Business Innovation Center of Croatia) and won the project for designing its own product: an innovative analogue-mixed signal chip for highly sensitive environments. The project is called "The Input Interface Chip for Nanotechnology Biosensors" and has an estimated duration of 18 months. It is progressing well and in accordance with the business plan. Another Systemcom important activity is information systems and software development, especially for embedded systems, where our codesign capability is very appreciated. Since the year 2000 Systemcom has been recognized as the "Company in Good Standing" with the recommendation "With Whom to Do Business in Croatia" by the Croatian Institute for Business Intelligence.

I hold an M.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb. I manage the company together with my husband, Damir Vuk (who has a master’s degree in physics). We both started our careers at the RIZ - Semiconductor Factory in Zagreb, which developed and produced a wide range of bipolar semiconductor devices. I was also a technical manager (Assistant General Manager) for several years. In the 1980s, I moved to the Koncar company and established the ASIC Design Department, which was the first industrial ASIC design center in the former Yugoslavia (1984). More than 15 complex monolithic and hybrid integrated circuits (analog, mixed signal, digital) were developed in five years, to be applied in electronic devices and equipment developed and produced by Koncar. In parallel to my industrial career, I was involved in R&D projects and was also a part-time teacher at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb. That collaboration continued later with Systemcom and continues until this day, with beneficial results for all parties concerned.

My entrepreneurial career began in the 1990s, when Systemcom was established. Those were tough times for starting a hi-tech company. For the first several years, our core business was software development and building unique information systems, for example, developing and implementing integrated information systems at Meteorological and the Hydrological Service of Croatia and at the Croatian State Intellectual Property Office, the car cable factory Elcon, and the Institute of Economics in Zagreb. We also became the authorized representatives with the highest level of support approved of the Mathematic software systems (Wolfram Research Inc.) and StatSoft Inc.’s Statistica in the territories of Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia. In the fall of the year 2000, Systemcom accepted Compaq's offer to establish a design center, so that chip design and the corresponding software development became the core business,

starting with participating in the last generation of wonderful Alpha microprocessors. That mainstream led us to the current adventure of developing our own chip.

My professional expertise lies in the areas of chip design and information systems development (especially database solutions). I published many papers in the field. My managerial experience goes from project to company management. Many nice things have happened to me, but there were also rough moments. After many years of experience I must say that the main professional challenges have been making the right decision at the right time, being ready to take up (reasonable) risks, being patient and not losing faith.

It would have been quite difficult to do this on my own, without the involvement of my husband and some friends. I do not think that male support is necessary to become a successful woman, but I think that to do a responsible job you must have a high-quality team, at least one person you are fully confident in and open to. I have not experienced prejudice as a woman in such a ‘male’ field. There are very successful women in ICT field in Croatia and I think that we can motivate more women to follow this path.

Throughout my years in the profession, I have tried to do something for the community, too. Some of the most important endeavors were being a delegate to the Croatian National Science Foundation; member of the UNESCO working group for microelectronics (Brussels); Vice Chairman of IEEE Croatia Section Computer Chapter; coordinator of IEEE Croatia Section working group for the promotion of ethics in the ICT profession in Croatia; member of the Croatian Government's working group in charge of preparing the strategic document "Croatia in the 21st Century – Information and Communications Technology" (the document was adopted by the Croatian Parliament and by the Croatian Government in May 2002); IEEE Croatia Section Industrial Relations Officer (IRO). Currently, I am a Chair of IEEE Croatia Section Women in Engineering (WIE) Affinity Group.

Ms. Srebrenka Ursic

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Interviewed and contributed by Prof. Marina DabicTempus Grant HolderFaculty of Economics & BusinessThe University of Zagreb,Croatia

I appreciate the recognitions and awards received from the Society for Microelectronics MIDEM; the RIZ company; the Croatian National Science Foundation; the Croatian Information Technology Society (HIZ); IEEE Croatia Section. My biography has been published in the Marquis Who's Who editions: "Who is Who in the World" and "Who is Who in Science and Engineering" since 1991 until the present day.

I speak English and French fluently. I enjoy relaxing and spending time in natural environments, especially at Adriatic seaside. The islands of Cres and Brac are my most beloved places. I like listening to all kinds of music.

Contact data:

Company: Systemcom Ltd, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatiahttp://www.systemcom.hr/Headquarters: Kruziceva 4, HR-10000 Zagreb, CroatiaICT office address: Maksimirska 120, HR-10000 Zagreb, CroatiaPhone: + 385-(0)1-2339-592, 2339-591, 2335-880Fax: + 385-(0)1-2339-590, 4819-020E-mail: mailto:[email protected]


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"Do not fear! Go straight ahead. Learn from your unsuccessful experiences, but always treat them as one-time hiccups. Don’t jump to general conclusions and don’t give up when there are unsuccessful occurrences," says Ms. Sonia Ben-Yehuda, a serial entrepreneur, founder and president of MedCPU, NYC.

Interviewing Sonia was probably one of the most influential and persuasive evidences that theory and practice join together. Sonia is the typical entrepreneur, possessing each of the entrepreneurial traits and capabilities revealed in research. She is basically optimistic, dynamic, the ultimate opportunity exploiter; she acts by instinct and intuition, although she is well prepared and very professional when it comes to business. "If I had followed the feasibility diagnoses I run for my businesses prior to establishing them, I would probably never launch a business," she says smilingly. Sonia smiles a lot. She tells an amazing entrepreneurial story that encompasses tragedies and difficulties but with a permanent cheerful smile. Sonia was slightly surprised when I reflected upon her story and told her that it seemed to me she went through a tough journey until she reached her current success. She did not consider her personal story a difficult one; Sonia is a person that turns 'lemon into lemonade' very naturally. She considered her journey insightful, educational and beneficial. She believes that crises induce leverage. And she never looks back in anger or sadness.

Sonia was born in Israel to a couple of immigrants from Poland. At the age of eight, she lost her beloved father, a doctor in economics. Her mother, out of necessity, used their old truck to transport milk from TNUVA* to the company’s clients. This was new and very atypical of her mother, who had been raised in a cultured environment in Poland and upheld the same lifestyle with her late husband. Yet, she had to feed her daughters, so without complaining she established her business; it was called 'Regina – Queen of the Trucks As her mother could not afford any help at home but did not want to leave Sonia alone in the house, Sonia joined her to work; she even helped her mom write letters, pledges and messages to both suppliers and clients. It was then that Sonia's entrepreneurial training started. "We all adore my mother" she told me, "I learned so much from her hard work, determination and devotion to her business and family. She is always straightforward, controls everyone. She was always like this, even in the worse times".

A few years after her wedding, when the family settled down in Texas, Sonia divorced. With only $1800 in her pocket, two little children and jobless, she moved from Texas to Washington, where she decided to start a business in construction. "I had basic knowledge of construction but was determined to establish a business. Great people moved with me from Texas to Washington and as a team we established the business" Sonia says. "Even though I could hardly use the right building terms, I convinced the investors that we were reliable and valuable. I felt I was pretending to have more knowledge and capabilities, but as the businesses started to succeed I understood we had a great concept and a great team. We had the right capabilities and it was not pretense", she adds.

Sonia then took advantage of another opportunity. During the 90s, there was a boost of construction in Israel for new immigrants from the former USSR. The project appealed to Sonia, who was eager to expand her business and maintain ties with Israel. She was told that as the owner of an American business she had to bring in a large amount of money to incorporate into this business. This did not discourage Sonia, who, very proactively, courageously and vigorously took the 400 most-successful constructors in the US and called each one of them in person to propose collaboration in the Israeli project.

As time passed, she did not realize it was already evening. She tried the 19th name in the book and on the other side of the line was the president of a construction business in Saint Louis.

The Journey of a Serial Entrepreneur – Ms. Sonia Ben-Yehuda, MedCPU

* Tnuva was a cooperative of 620 agricultural settlements (kibbutz and moshav), which joined together to market mainly fresh milk. Tnuva was founded in 1929 before the establishment of the State of Israel, when the land was barren and there was a need to supply fresh produce to consumers. Today, Tnuva specializes in various types of fresh food, chilled and frozen, and maintains a partial or complete chain of production, marketing and distribution to the end consumer.

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Sonia told him about her initiative and he suggested meeting her the next day in Indianapolis, as he had a meeting there. She agreed. Sonia is a risk taker; she takes risks with enthusiasm and a full trust in her undertaking, and it shows! The meeting led to the breakthrough she was wishing for!

When things seemed to settle down for Sonia, another tragedy struck - her life partner was diagnosed with a severe illness. Sonia spent nights and days with him at the hospital for two years and sold her part of the business she had founded. She could not accept the deterioration in the state of her loved one and got hold of every possible doctor and therapist to try to cure him. Unfortunately, however, her partner passed away at the age of 51.

Sonia had to restart all over again. She was devastated. At that time, she took a job in an investment company where she initiated many projects, convinced investors to invest in Israeli companies and helped many others, one of which appointed her president. Sonia's spirit and dynamic activities boosted the company up very rapidly. During this time she worked with Doctor Eyal Ephrat and together in 2008 they launched a new company, MedCPU - an innovative healthcare IT technology designed to prevent medical errors and assure the delivery of best OB care. “Out of all my entrepreneurial vendors, MedCPU is by far the most challenging and rewarding experience,” Sonia explains, “it’s the sum of all my life’s professional know-how and wisdom. There is great satisfaction in being engaged in work worth doing. Knowing that your hard work is helping save lives and improving the quality of medical care around the world.”

Interviewed and summarized by Dr. Dafna Kariv

MedCPU introduced the first in a series of products – OBCPU – a cutting-edge healthcare

IT technology designed to prevent medical errors and assure the delivery of best OB care while

maintaining clinicians’ day-to-day workflow uninterrupted.

Uniquely designed as a plug-and-play, fast to integrate application that rides on top of any

existing hospital EMR, MedCPU's technology automates the state-of-the-art best clinical

practices available in medicine today, and assures they are delivered in real time to any patient,

anywhere and anytime.

To read more: http://www.medcpu.com/


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I had the great opportunity to interview Mrs. Pavithra (Pavi) Ratnakar, a hi-tech serial woman entrepreneur who lives and works in India and is the current owner of LIDO Telecom Pvt Ltd. Pavi describes her entrepreneurial journey in an illustrative, enthusiastic way, which conceals the hurdles she encountered along the path. "I didn’t plan to become an entrepreneur,” said Pavi, "it just happened. I didn’t know whether I would succeed or not, but I was determined to take the risks. I was born in a family that was attached to entrepreneurship and it runs in the family".

In her field, the emerging telecom space, Pavi meets mainly men, but this does not dash her motivation, and whenever Pavi recognizes an opportunity, she grabs it.

Pavi was raised in India in a family with two brothers and two sisters; however, her parents never discriminated against the girls. The sisters – as their brothers – had to effectively manage the challenges they confronted in their lives and gain success exactly as the boys were expected to. "Childhood is significant in crafting a person's personality", says Pavi. "Home is your starting point! India has a male-dominated culture; yet, my father, who was the founder of Pavithra Toolings, was different. He ran the business and was the driving force behind it, but treated us, my mother and the girls, equally. My mother was engaged in management and administration of the business. I have had a supporting family that contributes to my accomplishments in, my career".

Pavi graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Department at UVCE, India. In the fourth and final year of her studies, with the unfortunate loss of her beloved father, Pavi took over the business and became the person in charge. "The only way to do it is to just go ahead and give it your best," believes Pavi. But since Pavi is vigorous and fuelled with entrepreneurial spirit, she was searching for new unexploited territories and was keen to conquer the next challenge. I was intrigued by Pavi's entrepreneurial spirit and asked her about the main characteristics she possesses that push her towards it. In her modest way, Pavi thinks she has the sense for business development and

that she can easily identify a business potential; she also values innovation. I would term these traits as the ability to recognize and take advantage of opportunities, which is a critical factor in successful startups.

Pavithra Toolings grew under Pavi's management; when it reached its peak, Pavi moved on to her next endeavor. In 1999, Pavi and her husband, an electronics engineer, started Apex Technologies, (Apex was started in 1996 in a small way and from 1999 I was able to join and chart out growth plans. This was done after a thorough market research on the growth of PCB industry and opportunities in PCB Testing that would give rise to. Apex is a company that focuses on PCB/ Embedded Board Testing and keeping up with changes in technology. Pavithra Toolings is now managed by Pavi's brother, although she still holds interests in the family business. Pavi and her husband faced difficulties in finding and recruiting the right skilled persons for Apex; she describes this process as a long, frustrating phase. She figured out that there was a limited connection between industry requirements and academic syllabus in the engineering domain, and proactively decided to conduct her research on various emerging industries, skills required and training provides. "I like business and technology", she says, and the difficulties they faced did not discourage them. While Apex grew under the couple's management.

Pavi then targeted her next undertaking. Again, by identifying unexploited opportunities, she launched LIDO Telecom in collaboration with The LIDO Organization Inc of USA. LIDO Telecom provides Telecom Education and Training to Corporate, Academia and Individuals. Hurdles uncovered themselves here too, including finding. clients The economic recession had its own effects on the business startup, making it difficult for them to locate clients. In times of recession, the emphasis on training decreases, businesses are concerned with their survival,

Mrs. Pavithra Ratnakar – an Inspirational StoryInterviewed by Dr. Dafna Kariv

Mrs. Pavithra Ratnakar during a-companies training meeting


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and therefore neglect the strategic meaning of their personnel's skills. Determined to go forward with her idea, Pavi worked hard, focused on the goals, and by 2009, when stabilization reached India, the difficulties of the business diminished. By 2010, now that the economic downturn is over in India, LIDO Telecom has begun to grow. "It is still a baby that needs to be carefully nurtured," she says, but she is very optimistic about the company’s future boost.

Today, Apex is managed by Pavi's husband and LIDO is managed by Pavi. I asked Pavi to share her experience in managing a family business with a spouse, and she advises: "Each one should respect the space of the other while encouraging and supporting one another. By identifying the strengths of each one of us, we were able to build a successful team.

Pavi says that successful entrepreneurships are built upon the family core. "My family laid my mental building blocks," she commented. As a result, she is aware of the effects of her conduct on her offspring. "India is traditional, yet there are many women leaders. The family’s 'rules' and priorities are clear – family comes first. Also, the culture in India drives women to take care of all aspects of family life, home and children; however, they are ambitious and the entrepreneurs among them will 'make it'. India demonstrates that women can do it. Every woman must find her way to achieve her goals and realize her dreams". In her case, having married a man that had been raised in a traditional small town in India, a major barrier she had to overcome was to convince his family and community that a woman entrepreneur is not only acceptable but also good for the entire family.

Pavi is a great advocate of the life-work balance and takes Saturdays and Sundays off to spend them with her family. Her mother was the role model of a hard-working woman who successfully balanced between business and family. Pavi is following on her footsteps.

Pavi believes in determination and says: "Don’t give up. You should try. You deserve realizing your dreams. Always think positive, think it will work. And it will!"

Please note; It is important for women to encourage other women. Men network naturally at work, during coffee breaks and in pubs. Business Women / entrepreneurs have fewer opportunities to do this. In each country, We should come up with special networking events for women. Here I would like to mention my business partner in LIDO Telecom, Ms.Lili Goleniewski who has been a friend and mentor to me. Without her encouragement – it would have been difficult for me to achieve anything in an entirely new field.

LIDO Telecom Pvt. Ltd. was created to serve Asia and the Middle East. It provides telecommunications essentials, eLearning

systems, seminars, and related educational products to universities, training centers, academic institutions, enterprises, small businesses, and professional services organizations. LIDO Telecom is operated under the direction of Pavithra Ratnakar. Ms. Ratnakar is an entrepreneur with an engineering background. She envisioned that India’s tremendous growth in the telecommunications and networking field has created the requirement and market for telecom training in India. Recognizing this trend, Ms. Ratnakar began evaluating potential partners and quickly realized that LIDO Telecommunications Essentials was the most comprehensive learning system they could find. Discussions with the LIDO Organization, Inc. quickly led to the formation of LIDO Telecom Pvt. Ltd., to serve the needs of not just India, but the entire Asia and Middle East region.

“LIDO Telecommunications Essentials provides the ICT knowledge needed to enhance the skills of our workforce to be able to compete globally and better serve global clients”, stated Pavithra Ratnakar. “The benefit of this venture to our community, indeed, the world at large, is that we can now provide on-demand learning to all levels, with excellent up-to-the minute information”.

LIDO`s founder, Lili Goleniewski lighting the lamp during the launch of LIDO Telecom in India

Mrs. Pavithra Ratnakar mom receiving the woman entrepreneur award on woman's day


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With more than 3,850 startups in 2008 (Senor & Singer, 2009), Israel is one of the largest centers in the world for startup enterprises. Indeed, about 75% of Israel’s industrial exports since the year 2000 have been accounted for by high and medium knowledge-intensive industries (excluding diamonds), mostly involving entrepreneurial, small and medium-sized firms.

Data published in the GEM 2007 Report on Women in Entrepreneurship show that in Israel, only about 30% of all entrepreneurs are women. While this percentage does not differ much from other high-income countries, it is still quite low. Moreover, if we examine the percentage of Israeli women entrepreneurs in the hi-tech sector, it becomes extremely low. However, among the younger generation there seems to be a growing trend of women seeking to establish their own hi-tech companies.

For example, two young women entrepreneurs named Daria Shualy and Yael Givon founded the Tel Aviv, Israel-based Sense of Fashion, which runs an e-commerce site where independent fashion designers can sell and promote their products. The site promotes discussions around indie fashion around the world. In May 2010, Sense of Fashion was able to raise a round of money from the Gemini Israel Funds venture-capital fund said to amount over $1 million.

Similarly, Dr. Michal Tsur, President & Cofounder of the startup Kaltura, is a young but experienced entrepreneur. She co-founded Cyota and was part of its management team from its inception until its acquisition by RSA Security, Inc. Kaltura, her current startup, provides online video solutions for any website.

These and similar women represent a growing trend among young Israeli women trying their hand at high tech entrepreneurship. While their individual experiences are interesting and provide an important addition to the startup clusters in Israel, presenting their stories is imperative when encouraging women to choose entrepreneurship as a career path. As various studies point out, knowing other entrepreneurs, interacting with them and getting to know their stories is an important factor in encouraging young people to become entrepreneurs themselves, especially when so few women hi-tech entrepreneurs are known. Moreover, if Israel wants to retain its edge in the global hi-tech, entrepreneurial world, it is imperative that they start playing a more significant role in this area.

Hi-tech Women Entrepreneurs in IsraelTamar Almor

Prof. Tamar Almor teaches and researches international entrepreneurship at the School of Business Administration, Academic Track, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Researchers Reflect on Female Entrepreneurship

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We have known for years from psychological literature that the incidence of depression in women is significantly higher than among men. This fact has been used to show the emotional weakness of women. Traditional psychology from the time of Freud has been concerned with emotional pathology and assumed that subconscious and genetic factors are at the root of the emotional problem, which can be solved in treatment. Organizational and business psychology has also focused primarily on crises and problems; organizations have been interested not in the source factors of their prosperity but in the roots of the problems they suffer from.

The last decade has seen the development, especially in the United States, of positive psychology, which has brought a new approach to psychology research. Positive psychology was developed to counter the growing incidence of depression in the Western world. This increased incidence of depression came despite unprecedented material wealth in the West over the past 100 years and despite extensive research in psychology during the same period. Positive psychology assumes that by focusing on depression and emotional difficulties, the potential for creating health and prosperity and for generating resilience is relatively low. The empty half of the glass, it transpires, is difficult to drink from – only the full half contains water.

One of the most incredible findings to come from positive psychology research in recent years has been that not only do women suffer from a higher incidence of depression than men, they are also significantly happier than men. Let's redefine the issue: on average, women have a wider spectrum of emotions than men; they experience a positive and negative effect compared with a narrower spectrum of emotions experienced on average by men. You will agree with me that compared with the previous 'depressive formula,' being a woman now seems a much more attractive proposal than being a man.

Well, it doesn't only sound attractive. This phenomenon also has clear benefits when it comes to creativity and entrepreneurship. But before we go into that, perhaps we should ask ourselves: How is that we didn't know this until now? The answer is simple: nobody was interested. Business and research have been busy with "solving problems" – psychologists and business consultants focusing on crises and ways to use them to improve how people and organizations function.

Up-to-date research shows that the root of a crisis is not necessarily the key to prosperity. For example, the absence of damaged items in manufacturing is key to preventing complaints, but it is not the key to gaining customer enthusiasm and building a winning brand. The positive affect is the root of happiness. An analogy would be that when looking at a forest, one could be worried about the beasts of the forest (negative emotion), something that will certainly make you pay attention to any lurking dangers, but it certainly won't let you focus on the beauty of the forest. On the other hand, if you are just focused on the beauty of the forest, you won't be watching out for the dangers that really do lurk there. So being able to put into play a wide spectrum of positive and negative emotions could be an effective way to cope with a volatile business climate – being cautious where caution is required, but being able to show flexibility and creativity where there is potential for growth and prosperity.

Many recently published studies deal with the need for both positive and negative emotions in order to function properly. More and more publications are presenting figures and facts about how women are resilient on the one hand, yet creative and mentally flexible on the other. These findings raise questions about traditional models of management, entrepreneurship, conflict resolution and crisis management. The fact that, contrary to the accepted myth, positive and negative emotions are not opposites but rather parallel lines, opens up new possibilities in dealing with the complex realities of the modern business world, in particular entrepreneurship and creativity. Women are perhaps better placed for success in this new world.

Gender, Depression and Happiness – Female Creativity and Entrepreneurship through the Eyes of Positive PsychologyOren Kaplan

Prof. Oren Kaplan is a professor of psychology and management, a clinical psychologist and an economist, the School of Business Administration, the College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion, Israel, [email protected].


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Entrepreneurship can be observed in almost every place of this world and there are countless forms of entrepreneurship that have developed in any given framework of historically developed regions and cultures.

In his book "When economies change hands", Dr. Dana takes the reader on a well researched academic journey, starting out in the former Yugoslav republics, giving insights about the east bloc of Comecon, the commonwealth of independent states and the Baltic states and finally heads toward the future, asking which implications the findings of his research could have for policy makers, educators, western managers and investors.

The Author of the book obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees at McGill University in Canada, where he started his academic career, and became an expert in the field of entrepreneurship in transitional economies over the course of countless experiences in foreign countries and publications.

Dr. Dana states that his idea he had in mind writing this book, was to give the reader a one-volume overview of transition in Europe, from the Balkans to the Baltics, providing him with the results of his inductive, ethnographic research, coupled with the essence of over 300 secondary sources he used on a topic, that in the past was only dealt with on a country specific basis.

With this ambitious goal given and certainly to a big extent caused as a consequence of the citation method used in this book, it does certainly not address the leisure-time economically and historically interested type of reader that seeks some distractions before going to sleep.

No, this book certainly aims at high academic standards and at an academic audience that is enthusiastic and hell-bent on getting profound academic insights into all aspects of entrepreneurship in transitional economies.

For example, in chapter 1, the introduction to this book, the reader will enjoy 5 paragraphs of 26 lines that will try to win his interest with 25 Citations. The non-academic (or just-out-of

flippancy) type of reader could easily be demoralized by the academic bonfire of compressed data and citations, dropping the names of the who-is-who of experts on this subject that will appear in his uneducated eyes like a concrete jungle he has to fight through turning each page of this book.

The researcher on the other hand will be happy to have a competent in-depth analysis of the situation in the discussed states and a magnitude of links for further readings and studies in his hands.

After the introduction every chapter is dedicated to a group of states. All chapters are structured in the same manner, after giving a historical overview the specific characteristics and backgrounds of the economies and entrepreneurship are explained, followed by a summary or a look toward the future at the end of each chapter. This clear-cut structure of the chapters makes it easy for the reader to find specific country based information he is looking for.

Book ReviewLeo Paul Dana on his book: "When Economies Change Hands: a Survey of Entrepreneurship in the Emerging Markets of Europe from the Balkans to the Baltic States" (Paperback)

Reviewed by Sasha Petschnig and Sebastian Hörmann 1

1 Published by Amazon.Com website, at: http://www.amazon.com/When-Economies-Change-Hands-Entrepreneurship/product-reviews/078901646X/ref=cm_cr_pr_redirect?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0

We wish to thank Prof. Leo Paul Dana personally for his permission to include this interview in Tempus-Biz newsletter.


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Dr. Dana highlights different dimensions of entrepreneurship in the countries. For the Austrian reader his view of the Slovenian Situation is especially interesting as Slovenia developed as part of Austria-Hungary and after the defeat of the latter in the First World War becoming part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) on 1 Dec. 1918.

This chapter discusses some interesting point of views (only a small typing error in the name "Hapsburg" which should read "Habsburg", has to be mentioned for the sake of completeness).

On page 42, a study of 1994 is cited, describing the attributes of the Slovenian character as introverted, inward looking, correlated with individualistic behavior, unstable emotions, pessimistic, psychotic behavior, disciplined, diligence, ambitious and envy. The finding of the study contrasts with a wide spread description (which is not the opinion of the authors of this article, but rather a widespread saying especially in Kärnten) of the Slovenian character as "windisch" which means in other words: unstable, unreliable and able of tricking people into something by their expressive, positive and extroverted character and behavior, especially businesspeople complain that Slovenians promise a lot that they never come up to.

The description of the introverted, pessimistic character of the Slovenians raises the question if it's possible to describe the character and people of a country out of secondary literature. Trying to understand the backgrounds and mechanisms of entrepreneurship in a country certainly implies understanding

the character and mentality of the people, but to which degree is that possible without making one's own experiences, speaking the language and spending sufficient time in a country to gain that experience?

All endeavors of educators and lecturers for cross-cultural management will be limited to the fact that they can never substitute the own personal experience and being in close vicinity to a country and its people.

Overall the book can be recommended for every researcher on the subject of entrepreneurship. It will also be very interesting for policymakers in the discussed countries, but as Dr. Dana admits, the optimal level of regulation and government intervention is culture-specific and so are many issues of policy making. It's certainly not possible to advice policy makers by the measures of western standards, without highlighting the many aspects of the specific culture of each individual state sufficiently.

The western manager that plans a business-trip to one of the countries can use this book as a briefing about the history and the macroeconomic environment of his destination that can help him to get an understanding of the situation of the people he will meet. Dana hints on the importance of networks and relationships in transitional countries and that will certainly be the main success-factor for any business traveler going to one of these countries and it's possibly easier to get connected with people and to understand the people of transitional countries after reading this book.


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Employee, Student and EntrepreneurBy Omri Shor, MBA Student, The School of Business Administration, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion

Another lesson in strategic management, this time an interesting one about a strategic model in a specific niche. A student with ADHD (me) browses the Internet and evaluates the niche the lecturer is talking about.

I have been initiating businesses and activities for many years, but only recently I learned this is called a “serial entrepreneur”. Already at age 16 I had my first entrepreneurial experience – the Young Entrepreneurs of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. In my army service, while during long-hours guards, I used to talk to friends about ideas that popped up in my head, tried to analyze them with the few tools I had at my disposal back then, and usually ended-up rejected them.

And then it came – my first enterprise. In parallel to my day job, I took pictures, collected, edited and burned them as screensavers on CDs for governmental customers that gave them as gifts to their foreign customers. Shortly after, Microsoft introduced screensavers in its Windows package, thus/alas putting an end to my first business. Now, here I am, eight years and two enterprises later, a student for an MBA in Strategic Management, learning about the “value chain” to identify opportunities in the niche sector the lecturer is talking about. And then I find one.

At that time, I was living far away from the college. It gave me lots of time to think about the lessons I just had during my 1.5 hours drive on my way home. Three nights of research led me to understanding that my new idea had not yet been implemented in that sector. It took me three more nights to investigate whether there was a solid foundation for a business. A few days after, I approached the lecturer and consulted him about the enterprise. “Excellent idea. I recommend you go for it” - his words were like music to my ears. So I jumped in.

For a whole year I faced several personal as well as business dilemmas, starting with the question of whether I had the ability to start such a complex enterprise, followed by whether I had the time to do it in parallel to my full-time job, studies, wedding and house-moving, as well as considering the risk at hand and how to fund the project during the hard times of the current recession.

It is said that an entrepreneur has 10% chances of success. Recently, a research was published stating that the chances of success of an entrepreneur up to 30 years of age are much higher.

So here I am. Thirty years old, with experience in several profitable enterprises. Now it is my time to look up and move forward. Neither risks (but opportunities) nor funding can stand in my way. The enterprise was established with my own resources, it is now in its pilot stage, so good luck to us all in the first round of fundraising!

Students Talk

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Soul Searching by an Entrepreneur at HeartTal Aizenfeld, Adv, MBA student, The School of Business Administration, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion

Entrepreneurs, wake up!

If truth be told, above all this is a wakeup call for me.

“Hey, dear, what do you think about this idea…”? This is how many of the SMSs I send to my husband or friends start when a unique business idea erupts from my mind (unique in my view, of course), in the middle of a lesson or meeting.

I suppose that many of us are “entrepreneurs at heart” – which is what I call it. Ideas pour out, the drive is there, but there are still those of us like myself who get up every morning to go to their salaried jobs until the right idea comes at the right time. In the meantime, like me, you may be studying for your MBA in the afternoon (to be ready when the right time comes…).

So, are we entrepreneurs at all? What does an entrepreneur say? An entrepreneur doesn’t say but does!

So perhaps we are not entrepreneurs. Yet, there are those who have no ideas and no drive. Besides, the word “entrepreneur” comes from the word “enterprise”, so maybe we are given some points for our nice ideas, which in the meantime remain in our heads (and hearts).

A recent article in The Marker (17 May 2010) provided some information that should interest all those entrepreneurs at heart that have not yet found an outlet for their entrepreneurial drive for various reasons (my official excuse is that I need to make a living at the same time; what is your excuse?).

The article stated: “The chances of a new business increases as the age of the business owner decreases. From a study conducted by The Israel Small and Medium Enterprises Authority, it emerges that among businesses started by entrepreneurs up to 30 years of age, approximately 60% survive, compared with only 14% among businesses started by people 41 years old and above.”

The Marker did not write anything about the chances of success of my own age group (30 to 41) but the trend is clear. If I don’t wake up, I will only be able to write the greatest book on ideas in my old age (there’s an idea!).

Having the heart of an entrepreneur is a good start – but we must also take action. By the way, when I was 16, I was a young entrepreneur in a project of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. At 26, I participated in a group of other “entrepreneurs at heart”, good and creative friends, most of them, as opposed to me, hi-tech professionals. We met once a week to develop the ultimate idea and implement it. The ultimate idea did not turn into a startup, but we had so much fun! So here it is, the objective for the thirties plus: pick an idea form the book and let’s do it!

Students Talk

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Students Talk

Tips for the Future EntrepreneurBy MBA Students, The School of Business Administration, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion Shir Etgar-Greenberg, Nitzan Bargi, and Jackie Castiel

• It is important to start with a clear picture of where you want to go.

• Passion is an essential component in an entrepreneurship. It drives and fuels the project and its leader.

• Be flexible and learn quickly to cope with surprises.

• Be open minded to new things.

• Establish social and business relationships – networking.

• Look ahead but do not forget to look back.

• Avoid skepticism.

• Learn to market yourself in all platforms.

• Learn to listen to others – you don’t know everything! And even if you think you know everything, be open to hear other opinions.

• If you feel it is time for a change, take a break, think of the next move and go for it.

• All individuals – men and women alike – must realize themselves.

These tips are part of the students' final assignment in the seminar they participated, entitled: "Women in the labor market" instructed by Dr. Dafna Kariv

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Recommended Academic and Professional Conferences

Women Entrepreneurship Seminar 2010

This seminar is aimed at: Women entrepreneurs.Businesswomen. Employers associations and groupings. Women’s associations and organizations. Institutions working in training women. Support institutions for women entrepreneurs.

Downtown Conference Center, 157 William St., New York, NY 10038 US July 28-29, 2010http://events.linkedin.com/Women-Entrepreneurship-Seminar-2010/pub/176403

DIANA International 2010 Research Conference

Extending Women’s Entrepreneurship Scholarship in New Directions,

Banff, Canada, University of Alberta, School of Business August 3-4, 2010http://www.business.ualberta.ca/Conferences/DianaInternationalConference.aspx

China Global Entrepreneurship Conference (CGEC)

Nanjing August 7-9, 2010

http://dragonbn.com/events/218

European Entrepreneurship as an Engine for Post-Crisis Development – Challenges and Opportunities

Borovets, Bulgaria September 8-10, 2010http://www.ecsb.org/eng/news_&_events/?nid=347

Making Cents International’s-2010 Global Youth Enterprise & Livelihoods DevelopmentConference Center, 1350 New York Ave., NW,Washington September 14-16, 2010 http://www.youthenterpriseconference.org/

5th European Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

September 16-17, 2010http://www.academic-conferences.org/ecei/ecei2010/ecei10-home.htm

Women as Intercultural Leaders: Imagination, Innovation, Integrity

Second interdisciplinary conference exploring the intersections of women’s studies, international and multicultural education, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.

Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN USA September 30-October 2, 2010http://www.centerforwomeninleadership.org/research-and-scholarship/cwil-conference-2010

2010 National Everywoman Conference

The conference provides the ideal chance for female entrepreneurs to hear from and question women who have started their enterprise from scratch and with hard work and determination have turned it into a successful business.

Grand Connaught Rooms, London November 17, 2010http://www.everywoman.com/Conferences/Conferencecalendar/?id=2088”

Our Recommendations

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Academic Journals1 Journal of Business Venturing http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08839026

2 International Small Business Journal http://isb.sagepub.com/current.dtl

3 Small Business Economics http://www.springer.com/business+&+management/business+for+professionals/journal/11187

4 Academy of Entrepreneurship journal http://www.alliedacademies.org/public/journals/JournalDetails.aspx?jid=6

5 Gender, Work & Organization http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673

6Entrepreneurship and regional development http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/08985626.asp

7 Entrepreneurship theory and practice http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1042-2587

8 Entrepreneur http://www.entrepreneur.com/

9The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and innovation http://www.ippublishing.com/ei.htm

10Journal of small business management http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0047-2778&site=1

11Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship http://www.jsbe.com/

12Journal of International Entrepreneurship http://www.springerlink.com/content/112039

13 The Journal of entrepreneurship http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal200956&crossRegion=eur

14Journal of business & entrepreneurship http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5424/

15International Journal of Entrepreneurship http://www.alliedacademies.org/public/journals/JournalDetails.aspx?jid=7

16 Suggested books http://onstartups.com/Resources/ReadingList/tabid/3356/Default.aspx

Our Recommendations

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Dr. Dafna Kariv

Dr. Kariv is a senior lecturer and researcher at the School of Business Administration of the College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion. She is the first Israeli recipient of the Tempus project. She specializes in entrepreneurship and is involved in various research projects with researchers around the world. Her book on “Entrepreneurship: An international Perspective” has recently been signed for publication with the UK publishing house, Routledge.

Dr. Kariv is also a member of the Chair of Entrepreneurship at HEC, the University of Montreal, Canada, and spends several weeks a year as an invited Professor of the Chair. Her

research focuses on comparative empirical assessments of entrepreneurial phenomena in different regions and countries worldwide. She develops questionnaires and uses quantitative methods to validate them, gathering data from entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Recently her paper: Managerial Performance and Business Success: Gender Differences in Canadian and Israeli Entrepreneurs was chosen by Emerald as an Outstanding Paper Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009. See her latest book http://www.routledgebusiness.com/books/Entrepreneurship-isbn9780415561204

Mrs. Revital Altberger

Revital Altberger is a lecturer and research assistant at the School of Business Administration, the College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion.

At FoSentHE, Revital assists in data collection, monitoring and data processing of the survey and writing guidelines. She also helped in the collection process that took place in each of the participating countries and overviewed and revised the questionnaire according to the partners’ notes.

Another task Revital has in the Tempus Project is to be responsible for all the papers that will be presented at the conference in Israel next November, including preparation of conference sessions by topic; participation and documentation of the conference;

welcoming the participants; and helping with the organization and management of the conference and its proceedings.

Currently, Revital is working on her master’s degree, researching the unique phenomenon of the growth of the professional lawyer in Israel in the last two decades.

A personal point of view:

When Dafna asked me to join her in a new project, I was instantly curious. I’ve been working with her for several years and know that, usually, her projects are very interesting, enthusiastic and fulfilling. Then, when I learned that Tempus is all about entrepreneurs, I jumped in thinking that maybe now I will finally understand what goes on inside the head of men, with whom I’ve been coexisting for so many years… I’m still learning.

The Israeli Team for Tempus-Biz

Revital Altberger, Dafna Kariv, Yariv Bernblum

Tempus-Biz Team

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Mr. Yariv Bernblum

Yariv Bernblum: Age: 31, lives and works in Tel-Aviv. Married to Yafit Riklin and the father of 5 month old Carmel. Yariv is an accountant, graduated (in excellence) the Hebrew University and the MBA (on excellence) the program in marketing and advertising at the School of Business Administration, the College of Management, Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion.

Yariv has 5 years experience in managing marketing & financing budgets, and in advertising campaigns.

Yariv is Tempus and Tempus-Biz assistant responsible for the financial-related areas.

Yariv is the Marcum Manger of Gottex Models Ltd.

Ms. Elisa Gotesman

Elisa Gotesman is an economist and social activist. She has had experience in banking and investments stock market for more than seven years and she is a graduate of MBA. Lately, she has been active and has gained experience in environmental and social responsibility fields of business in Israel. In this area, she developed and incorporated the environmental and social strategy of one of the largest investment houses in Israel. At the same time she is a social activist who counsels organizations and advises on issues of business development and financial management. In this position she has become part of and counseled dozens of nonprofit organizations in various fields in Israel. Elisa was an active partner in establishing a non-profit organization, called Midot, meant to measure and rank non-profit organizations in Israel. At present, she is a committee director of the NGO – Elia, which assists the needs of children with vision problems.

Elisa the assistant of the Tempus-Biz Project. www.tempus-biz.ning.com

Tempus-Biz Team

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The School of Business Administration is Israel’s largest business school with some 3000 undergraduate students and another 1500 in the School’s MBA program.

The School emphasizes a reality-based curriculum, the development and implementation, a “learning friendly” atmosphere and state-of-the-art teaching programs. This framework has provided the School’s alumni – more than 15,000 - over the past 20 years – with the know-how they need to cope with complex business and managerial environments both in Israel and abroad. At the School of Business, teaching students to be entrepreneurial and attuned to market trends means setting an example. We pride ourselves on having built a Business School that is market-minded and nimble – in which we can act quickly to meet needs we identify. Our innovative spirit and high standards have engaged both public and private sectors, enabling exciting and groundbreaking programs geared for the global market and tailored for our students.

This sense of ingenuity has led to the creation of a series of cutting edge programs unique to Israel – a symbiosis of academic excellence and proactive initiative – including MBA programs specializing in: Management & Business Psychology; Corporate Finance; Taxation; Joint BA degree in Accounting and Law; MBA with Thesis, among others.

Research is an essential aspect of the program, with both faculty members and students participating in two unique frameworks: Focus on Applied Research (FAR) and Perspective on Europe. The FAR project springs from the School of Business strong practical and applied orientation. Projects deal with current issues or specific problems of a business sector or industry, sometimes also focusing on challenges at the society level. Faculty members from the MBA programs lead the projects, with students involved in the research process and outcome.

The second dimension of the research activities is Perspective on Europe. In addition to establishing cooperation agreements with various European business schools, Perspective on Europe focuses on European economic activities in general and Mediterranean in particular.

Both FAR and Perspective on Europe enable the school to create strong links with the professional and business communities in Israel and around the world.

The School of Business was the first Israeli college to be accredited by the Council for Higher Education for its BA in Business and MBA, and the only one whose MBA with thesis is accredited.

The School of Business Administration

“We are daily

witnessing the

phenomenon of the

impossible of yesterday

becoming the possible

of today.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Project no. 144713 TEMPUS 2008-HR-JPCR.This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Documents

Tempus-Israel newsletter no 1