The Grass is "Greener"... on our side

Green skiing slopes

In your upcoming ski vacation - be on the lookout for the ski resort to be not only white, but also very Green:

It makes a lot of sense when you come to think of it:

Ski resorts have abundant sun, wind, height differentials, and more than most of us - are suffering from the warmer weather causing shorter skiing seasons.

Today's, the FIS ski championship downhill run was held in St. Moritz. As I watched the skiers, I noticed the shadow of a whirling blade - coming from the resort's wind turbine, located high up on the mountain.

It seems many resorts have already turned green - using wind energy powered chairlifts, solar panels, bio mass energy recovery, environmentally conscious building (with solar heating, earth heating, effective insulation) etc.

 

Technorati Tags: Green, Ski, Resort, St. Moritz, wind, solar, FIS

Bird's eye view of Israel

Rocketboom was in Israel last week (they were present at our last iDrink event), and have items all this week covering their visit.

Today they shared the helicopter flight they had in the Israeli skies... If you wait until the end you'll get a good view of Israel "VC land" and the high tech center in Hertzlia (Israel's Silicon Vadi)

Tags: Israel, Airial view, Hertzlia, Rocketboom

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Work and Play

A quick update -

1. Life is really crazy in the Israeli VC scene...  Hence very little time to Blog...

2. So in just the right timing - I'm finally taking a short break - a week, high up, with some blue and white scenery

Updates to come... both on work, and on play

(assuming I have Internet connection in the mountains)

Shimon Peres has just completed his presentation at LeWeb3 Conference

• What a brand Peres has build for himself outside of Israel. Whereas in Israel he is often known as Mr. "Number 2", out here - he's by far considered #1 in people's mindset
• I think each person in the audience has a new appreciation for him - and (hopefully) for Israel
• He's a great speaker... and really managed to capture the crowd
  • His comments on the Internet:
    • "solves the human need to remember - and leaves us more time to... Imagine"
    • "Free of prejudices"
    • "Educates the next generation"
  • Comments on the power of Technology, innovation, and economy
    • The strength of a country is not measured by land - but by patents
    • People, free knowledge, ideas, and innovation can create successful economies - modern and free. These might be the only things that can bring a solution to crisis, and situations, such as that in the mid-east

A good start to the day...

and later today... Nicolas Sarkozy

Tags: Shimon Peres, Loic Le Mer, Leweb3, Politics, innovation, ideas, Israel

The Bubble and an Airplane Escape

The last weeks have been crazy!

I really think the Israeli tech market is starting to boil – and I’m quite sure I can see the bubbles.

Especially if measuring by:

• The sudden increase of new deals we’re seeing - many of which actually seem very promising

• Valuations – Which have risen dramatically, and really seem outrageous at times

• The time to investment decision - which has been forced down to a number of weeks in some cases, given the competition within the VC community, and amount of money looking for deals

No doubt – it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur! The top entrepreneurs are definitely in the driver’s seat.

As a result of this - I’ve been working (very) long days (and nights), and have not had a proper weekend for several weeks now… (I’m not really complaining though, since this is probably the most exciting and challenging time to be in a VC)

Nonetheless – It’s been impossible to catch up on all my work. And only now, finally, as I sit in the plane (TLV to Paris… LeWeb3) – I realize the best escape – and most efficient workplace from all this mess is… On a plane:

• There’s no people / TV / kitchen distractions

• No new incoming emails / calls

• No connection to the web (which means I can’t google / read blogs / check my stats / or any other such time consuming activity)

• And its impossible to move out of the seat (given the big, fat, ugly guy in the seat next to me)

So not only have I finished 2 investment presentations… and cleared out my Inbox… I’ve also finally found time to blog about it!

(I just pray to the god of laptop batteries to give me more power)

Tags: VC, Israel, Technology, Bubble, Valuations, Efficient work

Non-Profit on a deserted Island -A good deed, A great adventure

My (very) good friends Joana and Rory have just begun an adventure that most of us will only dream of during our lifetimes!

The are living in Africa (Mozambique) on a (semi) deserted Island - with an aim to develop a tourism industry to help the residents achieve a better life.

"Joana and Rory are volunteers with a non-profit organization called TechnoServe, based in Mozambique, working on promoting tourism for a bijou undiscovered island called Ilha de Mocambique. Our role is to develop a plan to attract the right kind of tourism and development which will protect the island's exceptional architecture, and create wealth for the local community... and eat lobster and sunbathe !"

Both MBAs, Joana is an Ex-McKinsey Consultant, and Rory a former Loreal Marketing manager. So I'm sure the business plan they come up with will make a positive impact on the area... They have a great goal - and I have committed to bringing the first tourist group to the Island... (sign up form below, in the comments section ;)

They are not the most technologically sophisticated couple... But with some encouragement (and limited infrastructure) they managed to put up a blog, with their daily stories, photos, and now even movies!

BTW - they are not living in poverty... as you will see from their photos... Who thought Non-Profit projects could be so much fun?

The blog is here... Worth staying tuned if you want a place in the ocean view rooms...

Sun, Sand, and Bikinis at a business conference!(?)

One last story from my weekend -

Over the last 4 days I spent almost all my time indoors, walking the exhibition - while outside there was beautiful weather... What else can you expect when you're at a business conference?

Well, Actually - when in Amsterdam - it turns out there is a lot more you can expect.

At the RAI conference center (where IBC took place) there is an artificial beach next to a small lake - all outside  the exhibition halls. On weekends the Amsterdam youth head out here to rest and sunbath...

The only problem was... that I found out this place exists just two hours before I had to leave for my flight... (the "beach" is located immediately behind the building, so not easy to see it).

Oh well... IBC - there's always next year.

Afternoon in Amsterdam

Finally... I got a (short) hour to walk the streets. (in fact, from the moment I landed I've been mostly indoors - and I'm not sure I understand the logic of conducting a conference over the whole weekend). On the bright side - The weather is amazing, the sky is clear, and the streets are beautiful - Coming from Israel (where it was quite hazy and hot) - It feels as if someone removed the dirt of my eyes camera lens... (More on this in a bit, when I mention the experience of viewing the latest HDTV deployments).

So here are of few of the sights..

Tags: Amsterdam, photos

Jazz culture in the Red Sea...

I just got back from 24 hours in the Red Sea Jazz Festival (well, to be more precise - it was 5 hours in the Jazz fest, 4 hours (*2) driving, 9 hours (making up for lost) sleep, and a couple of hours looking for places to escape the scorching heat (43C).

Its the first time I've attended this event, and it was really great:

• Eilat is a beautiful place - and the drive to and from even more so
• The sea is blue (ignore the name), with clear water, and beautiful desert mountains in the background
• The event attracts top international talent, such as the Mingus Dynasty (pictured below), who put on one of the most energetic and exciting performances I've ever seen (Including one of the craziest trombone players in the world)
• Eilat is transformed during this week - and is populated with Jazz lovers - ranging from 15 year old music hippies (on their last days of school vacation) through to the countries top CEOs (and VCs ;)

I'll surely be there next year... and highly recommend joining!

Tags: Red, Sea, Jazz, Festival, Eilat, 2006

Good morning Boston...