Michael Fertik is bullish on Israel.
Fertik, managing director and founder of Heroic Ventures and executive chairman and founder of Reputation.com, traveled to Israel this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Founded in 2016, his venture has invested in 75 companies. His quarter of them are Israelis.
“I am here to tell anyone who is not bullish on Israel either has an agenda or is simply wrong,” Fertik said. magazinejust weeks after Moody’s downgraded its outlook for the Jewish state from “positive” to “stable,” citing concerns about the government’s approach to judicial reform.
“There has never been a better time to invest in Israeli startups,” he said.
When to invest in Israeli startups
Fertik gave several reasons.
First, he pointed out, Israel has never had a successful entrepreneur working on a second and third company.
“This is very important because they now have a little money in their pocket and can finance themselves for a while. can be found,” he explained. “I have never seen these situations as rich as they are now.”
Second, many entrepreneurs are more sophisticated than they were ten, four, or two years ago. This is because he has worked for more global companies and incorporated the best of his international practices into his efforts.
Third, he observed, companies have become “sharper” about what to build, with a focus on solving market problems.
“I’ve seen good people spend three years making hammers and then starting to find nails,” Fertik said sarcastically. “You have to understand which nail you’re hammering in first. This sophisticated technique has just been picked up in Israel and it just keeps getting better.”
Finally, he said Israel as a nation is intended to lead the artificial intelligence revolution. Fertik said that “cyber” and “Israel” are almost synonymous and that many things that made Israel successful in cyber will make Israel successful in AI.
“So whether AI is a little hyped or not, here we are. Many of the underlying skills and technologies that make great cyber also make great AI,” Fertik said. I will explain. “Have you ever heard the term ‘product market fit’? Here in Israel, we have a ‘national market fit’ for AI.
“So I think Israel will become synonymous with AI,” he continued. “I am here to invest money. And I have invested money in Israel and will continue to invest money in Israel.”
His mandate, he said, is not whether Israeli society is developing, or even whether the technology created by entrepreneurs is being used in the country. Instead, “I hold the candle of an Israeli company that drives change globally.”
Heroic Ventures was founded after Fertik’s success with online reputation management company Reputation.com. He said that when he became financially successful at a young age, he started thinking about what he wanted to do next. Raised as a Zionist, he knew that he hoped that vision would somehow lead to Israel. He also wanted to be involved in investing the “first money” in companies. It’s not Round A, it’s actually early or pre-seed cash.
FERTIK grew up in Manhattan. His father, an American film director, partnered with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism to create a campaign called Come to Israel in the 1980s. Fertik had his Bar Mitzvah in Israel.
When assessing what kind of relationship he wanted with Israel, he said he had several options, from buying property in Israel to donating funds.
“We realized that perhaps we could do more for Israel if we were somehow involved in the startup community,” said Fertik. magazine“And I realized that if I started investing here, I could probably do the most. is a very good place to invest in. I am here to make money and to help Israel make money and be successful.In the process, Israeli entrepreneurs are helping other I hope it will be more successful than the methods of and help build this country.”
Before COVID, Fertik, a father of three, traveled to Israel several times a year from his home in California. Most of his non-Israel investments are in Silicon Valley. Recently he and his family moved to Paris. Now he said he plans to return to Israel more often.
He said he invests in a wide range of industries, but his strong focus is on high tech and life sciences.
The company sold its direct-to-consumer business, which focused on personal online data management, in 2018 and continues to strengthen its partnerships with large corporations and businesses around the world. According to Fertik, the company has helped millions of people clean up their online profiles and now helps hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world.
Advice for internet users
He offered Internet users the following advice:
“Before you post anything, you have to understand that it’s a digital exhaust. It will follow you like a trail in the sand, probably forever,” said Fertik. “So you want to do your best or not get too far forward.”
At the same time, he noted that today, digital stamps are often created without people knowing it or actively posting anything.
“Even if we don’t make it public, it is digitally available for companies that want to access it,” he said, referring to certain personal data records.
“The first trillions of dollars of wealth created on the Internet was almost entirely due to advertising. Or they could take your data without your permission and sell it to someone you can’t identify for any purpose.
“It was economic value and market value. But the flip side is that you become the product. So, to the extent that you can maximize your privacy controls and use encrypted communications, those choices are almost always recommended.”
He also warned parents to think a couple of times before posting photos of their children online. It is also for the purpose of doing so.
“You want your child to define who he or she is later on. Did.
He added, “There are very smart people around the world looking for data to predict your child’s future.”
For example, some are investigating whether children watching certain shows influence their success in school. It’s only accurate about everyone who looks like you.That’s the power and poor of statistical reasoning.
“You don’t have to pre-determine your kids’ college choices by the time they’re 10, based on their viewing habits,” continues Fertik. “Therefore, we should live in such a way as to protect ourselves from machines.”
He added that while technology creates the conditions for the problem, it also provides solutions. So if there is a challenge that fake news and real news look the same or nearly the same on social networks, technology and AI will eventually evolve to reveal them.
“We believe that entrepreneurship and investing in entrepreneurship can help clarify these issues and provide solutions,” says Fertik.
He called on the people to embrace the revolution.
AI is inevitable, he stressed. “It is our duty to act accordingly.”
