Solution Nation Podcasts

Angel investing isn’t for the faint of heart, especially when valuations are at nosebleed levels. Before you delve into any specific opportunity, you may wish to take the pulse of the market into account. You may also want to consider issues such as:

• What is different about Generation Z angel investors?
• What is the impact on angel investors of venture capitalists becoming increasingly involved in seed round investing?
• How can early-stage companies take defensive postures by being receptive to extension rounds, venture debt and warrants?
• What are the risks associated with Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs)?
• Why should investors be concerned about possible cramdowns and carve-outs?
• What can early-stage companies offer angel investors/groups to accelerate their decision making?
• What is the likelihood of Americans being allowed to fund their angel investments from their retirement accounts?

Combine the world’s greatest innovation machine with a fertile land hungry for development and you have tremendous opportunities. Cambodia is rapidly developing, more stable than many believe and already sophisticated in terms of banking, communications and regulation.

Where else can you glean fascinating insights into the Israel-Cambodia relationship? Listen and learn about:

• Israel’s program to train Cambodians in agricultural technology.
• Cambodia’s currency stability and repatriation laws.
• Why Cambodia is a launchpad for serving the ASEAN countries.
• How to communicate with Cambodians linguistically, culturally and technologically.
• The impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on Cambodia.
• The ease of creating businesses in Cambodia.
• The Cambodian industries that are best positioned to embrace Israeli technologies.

There is a ton of agricultural innovation in Israel. Whether it is precise genetics, targeted pesticides, indoor farming, robotics, precision irrigation, data management or supply chain management, Israeli companies are working hard to relieve the world of its current food insecurity.

This podcast discusses issues such as:

• How does precise genetics accelerate the breeding of seeds?
• Are organic pesticides overrated?
• How sensitive is indoor farming to prices of electricity and availability of water? How scalable is indoor farming?
• How can technology reduce food wastage?
• Who increasingly owns data generated by farmers? The farmers or the manufacturers of farming machinery?
• How exact is precision irrigation in terms of optimizing the time at which irrigation occurs?

Among the fascinating Israeli AgTech companies mentioned are Agritask, Agurra, BeeHero, BetterSeeds, FruitSpec, Plantish, Supplant and Weedout.

Compensating business owners in the aftermath of a tragedy isn’t easy. Financial records must be confirmed and reviewed. Financial projections must be taken into account. Apportionment needs to be considered. Valuing lost or impaired human lives is an even more sensitive subject.

Investing in Israeli IIoT Companies

Tal Paperin delivered an excellent primer on Israeli Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

He explained how IIoT interfaces with supply chain management software and artificial intelligence. He discussed factories procuring IIoT pre-installed on machinery versus retrofitting older equipment.

If you don’t know the answers to the following questions, you really should listen to this podcast.

• How important is 5G to IIoT?
• To what extent are employees and unions opposed to IIoT deployments?
• Can IIoT legitimately be called a ‘green technology’?
• How are IIoT sensors powered? What kinds of communications protocols enable IIoT communications? To what extent are IIoT systems and sensors interoperable?
• How important is cybersecurity to ensuring the smooth running of IIoT? How rapid are IIoT sales cycles?

One of the fascinating Israeli companies that Tal introduced us to is Augury.

Why should patent-rich companies value their patents?

Because, in many cases, the majority of a company’s value lies in its intellectual property. If you can’t value your patents, you won’t get the values you deserve when negotiating capital raises, patent sales, and licensing agreements of the sales of companies.

David Wanetick discusses how factors such as claims breadth, priority dates, ease of detecting infringement, overcoming invalidity attacks, prior art searches, forward citations, prosecution histories, litigation experience of the patent attorney and examiners’ allowance rates impact patent value.

This session addresses questions such as:

• How many valuation methods should be used when valuing patents? How can one make use of their varying conclusions?
• How can you value a provisional patent application? How can patents enable companies to prosper when they are subject to trade bans?
• Why might venture capitalists prohibit their portfolio companies from enforcing their patents against infringers?

Gain incredible insights into patent valuation from this podcast.

The food production and supply chain is breaking down. One need not look further than store shelves or grocery store receipts.

Fortunately, a tsunami of innovative Israeli companies is developing an array of protein, dairy and seafood replacements. Other Israeli companies are busy ratcheting up the health quotient of common consumables.

This fascinating podcast discusses issues such as:

• What is the difference in plant-based and cell-cultivated protein replacements in terms of processes, regulatory pathways, capital intensity, scalability and consumer acceptance?
• Are protein replacements compliant with kosher and halal strictures?
• How do foodtech products rate in terms of taste?
• Should production facilities be large—and few and far in between—to achieve economies of scale? Or should numerous smaller factories be placed closer to customers?
• What does the retail price trajectory for foodtech products look like?

Among the intriguing companies mentioned during this podcast are Aleph Farms, Zero Egg, Imagindairy, Amai Proteins and Better Juice.

Don’t even think about exiting via a Special Purpose Acquisitions Corporation (SPAC) without listening to this highly informative podcast.

Raj Shah shares a wealth of information about forming and structuring SPACS. The following are among the crucial issues discussed:

• What kinds of companies are good candidates for SPACs? What should management teams do before traversing the SPAC route?
• What are examples of sponsor misalignment and inappropriate SPAC capital structures?
• When do redemptions occur? What is the role of warrants in SPAC transactions?
• Do SPACs have insider lock-ups? Should SPACs anticipate receiving analyst coverage?
• What impact do forward purchase agreements and share dividends have on stock trading activity?
• How do the expenses and required efforts associated with exiting via a SPAC compare with those of an IPO?

Arizona’s Anti-BDS Treasurer

As Arizona’s Treasurer, Kimberly Yee safeguards roughly $30 billion in assets and is the steward of Arizona’s $63 billion state budget. During her term, Treasurer Yee has conservatively managed the state’s assets while generating impressive investment returns.

Kimberly Yee is a staunch and effective foe of the BDS campaign against Israel. She divested Arizona’s $143 million investment in Unilever when Ben & Jerry’s, its subsidiary, severed its ice cream sales in Judea and Samaria. Ms. Yee placed Morningstar on Arizona’s list of prohibitive investments due to that company’s subsidiary, Sustainalytics, using antisemitic sources to negatively rate companies transacting business in Israel. Under her watch, Arizona’s investments in Israel bonds surged three-fold.

The following are among the other issues discussed during this dynamic exchange with Treasurer Yee:

• What are the sources of inflows and outflows of the assets that fall under Arizona’s Treasurer’s management?
• Why did Treasurer Yee stand at the forefront of implementing programs in schools to teach students how to manage money?
• Why is the ESG movement detrimental to Arizona’s taxpayers and returns on assets under management?
• What can Arizona’s treasurer do to thwart institutions that deprive access of right-of-center and religious citizens to the financial system?
• What is Kimberly Yee’s stance on Joe Binden’s plan to forgive student loans?
• How can Treasurer Yee help protect Arizona’s citizens from the huge surge in IRS agents?
• What policies does Treasurer Yee support to mitigate the rapacious inflation crushing Arizona’s families?

If you don’t go to the desert, the desert may soon come to you. Each year, the equivalent of tens of thousands of football fields of fertile soil turn to dust due to soil degradation. Many other areas of the world’s landmass are experiencing desert-like symptoms such as sandstorms and extreme heat.

This fascinating podcast discusses issues such as:

• Why is it important that Israel more fully develop the Negev? How is Israel more fully developing the Negev?
• How can problems with deserts lead to problems elsewhere?
• What technologies are Israeli companies offering with respect to extreme climates? Water scarcity? Land degradation? Remote living?
• How portable is the technology that is being developed in the Negev to other deserts?
• What is being done to introduce Israeli Desertech to other parts of the world?
• Can Israeli DeserTech companies access funding offered by international or European development funding sources?

Among the intriguing companies mentioned during this podcast are Asterra, Salicrop, Solcold, Dots and Soled.

There are risks associated with investing in emerging companies. The technologies seem disruptive, the markets appear to be immense and the management teams seem invincible. However, not all promising companies are worthy of your hard-earned dollars (or shekels).

Edwin Dorsey, editor of the Bear Cave, does a wonderful job of discussing some of the due diligence that investors should conduct on early-stage companies. Everything from obtaining and understanding customer complaints filed with Attorneys General to deciphering SEC comment letters is explained. Learn how to determine when executive resignations are red flags as well as what the quality of auditing firms and auditing partners portends.

Edwin talks about questionable revenue recognition practices as well as how to access the quality of board members. We discuss what investors should look for in terms of a company’s patents, the turnover of retained law firms and the role of influencers as revenue generators.

Business Lessons with Jack McCauley

Listen to Oculus VR’s former Co-Founder and Chief Engineer talk about the Oculus story, from inception to exit. Jack McCauley discusses Oculus’s initial team, Kickstarter success, role of its venture capitalists, manufacturing in China, and sale to Facebook. Jack also shares his thoughts on the future of virtual reality, augmented reality and the metaverse.

The Israel-Vietnam Economic Ecosystem

The Israel-Vietnam relationship is very strong and multifaceted but the cultures are worlds apart. The Vietnamese culture is very hierarchical and great pains must be taken to avoid causing the Vietnamese a loss of face. In Vietnamese, there are ten words for “yes” but no words for “I,” “me,” or “you.”

The following are among the issues discussed during this fascinating podcast:

• How should contracts with Vietnamese partners be drafted to ensure maximum enforceability?
• To what extent is Vietnam a springboard for Israeli companies to penetrate other Southeast Asian countries?
• How developed is the infrastructure in Vietnam and how reliable is the electricity?
• Which Vietnamese industries have the greatest pain points, and thus greatest receptivity to Israeli technology?
• What is expected in terms of gift giving? How should one respond to inducements to pay bribes?
• What are the underpinnings of an increasingly warm Israel-Vietnam relationship?

The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Among the issues discussed during this fascinating podcast include:

• What is the primary reason that the UAE decided to normalize relations with Israel?
• What is the likelihood that other Arab countries—such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman—may normalize relations with Israel?
• What are the cultural inhibitors to Israelis and Emiratis transacting business together?
• Which Emirate industries have the greatest pain points, and thus greatest receptivity to Israeli technology?
• To what extent may warmer relations with the UAE help Israeli companies serve Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia?
• How might growing Emirate technologies in Israel foster better relations with Arab Israelis and Palestinians?

This excellent podcast touches on three captivating topics—assessing SaaS companies, Israeli companies outsourcing programming to Eastern Europe, and venture debt.

Listeners will learn when SaaS companies should embrace the freemium model versus charging for multiple years of service upfront, when to (and when not to) charge on a per-seat basis, and the calculation of retention rates.

Anton discusses various facets of venture debt such as maturities, costs, conversion, covenants, and collateral (or lack thereof).

This podcast includes a discussion of the pros and cons of Israeli SaaS companies programming software in Eastern Europe. Anton discusses some of his portfolio companies such as Comeet and Guesty.

Listeners will learn a great deal about Israeli innovation in the insurance sector. Among the issues discussed are capital requirements, regulatory regimes, the application of AI, protecting proprietary innovations and new lines such as homeowners association insurance and cyberinsurance.

Also discussed is the impact of Israeli military intelligence units on the Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem. Light is shed on the early identification of the most promising candidates, mission critical challenges pursued in elite intelligence units, and the transfer of critical technologies for commercial use.

Listen to Gilbert Ohana discuss some of Israel’s most promising insuretech companies. Among the companies mentioned are Hippo, Lemonade, Next Insurance and insurance.io.

Jeff Hoffman is one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors. Most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders only excel in one industry. Jeff has had amazing success in online commerce, music, film, publishing and professional sports—to name just a few. When Jeff speaks, it pays to listen.

Listeners will learn about how connected health companies navigate clinical trials, group purchasing organizations and the reimbursement landscapes.

We discuss how these companies protect their secret sauce, the importance of predicates and crucial tips on receiving capital from strategic investors. Light is shed on how connected health companies impact malpractice risks, benefit from local regulations and should seek a trade-off in terms of efficiency and bedside manner.

Listen to Levy Shapiro and Goel Jasper discuss some of Israel’s most promising digital health companies. Among the companies discussed are Biotax, Sweetch, and Theranica.

International Patent Filing Strategies

Filing patent applications around the world isn’t easy or inexpensive. Patent applications have to be drafted. Prior art searches performed. Filing fees paid. Translations commissioned. Small and innocuous errors can be not only costly, but catastrophic in terms of enterprise value diminution.

Don’t miss this critical podcast on International Filing Strategies. The following are among the issues discussed:

• Timelines for filing under the auspices of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and subsequent national phase filings
• Benefits of filing with the USPTO first versus under the PCT first
• Filing languages and required translations
• Quality of prior art searches and examiners at the USPTO versus through the PCT
• Ability to have interviews with examiners at the USPTO versus through the PCT
• How developed must provisional patent applications be in order to obtain early priority dates
• The extent to which NDAs extend grace periods for filing patent applications

Jason Greenblatt is one of the few individuals in the world who can be credited with bringing peace to the Middle East. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to listen to Jason discuss the brilliant negotiations leading up to the Abraham Accords as well as present day ramifications to those groundbreaking peace agreements.

The Israeli-Czechia Innovation Ecosystem

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind podcast that focuses on the special relationship that Israel and Czechia enjoy.

These two nations helped each other win independence and embrace capitalism. Support for Israel permeates the Czech political landscape and Czechia votes along with—or in support of Israel—99% of the time.

Israeli technology is found in cars on Czech roads, on Czech farms, and in mobile apps.

Some things you may not know are how Israeli fintech and cybersecurity companies tap Czech programmers.

How the two nations host joint hackathons. How Czech and Israeli universities collaborate on foundational medical research. And how Israeli defense technologies are deployed in the Czech armed forces.

The Israeli government has undertaken several initiatives to help Czechia foster its own innovation ecosystem while Czechia often serves as the springboard for Israeli companies to reach the broader European market.

This extremely thorough and insightful podcast discusses Israel’s recent elections and presumptive incoming coalition government. Alex Traiman of the Jewish News Syndicate provides an overview of the composition of Israel’s ballots and Israel’s voting procedures.

This podcast also provides a rare opportunity to learn about the composition of Israel’s Supreme Court, its interaction with Israel’s Knesset (parliament) and proposed reforms. Finally, the session covers Israel’s agreement with Lebanon for extracting natural gas from the nearby Mediterranean Ocean.

Among the questions answered by this podcast include:

• How much time does the political party with the most seats have to form a new government? What happens if a new government is not formed within that deadline?
• Which political parties are likely to form a coalition government with Likud? Which portfolios will such political parties be responsible for?
• In what ways is the Biden administration meddling in Israel’s internal affairs?
• How are Israeli elections administered? How much elasticity is there in voting in Israeli elections in terms of time and place?
• How are Israeli Supreme Court Justices selected?
• To what extent can the Israeli Supreme Court override legislation? To what extent can the Supreme Court require the Knesset to promulgate legislation?
• To what extent can NGOs put cases before the Israeli Supreme Court? To what extent does the Israeli Supreme Court look to foreign precedent?
• What is the history and likely economic and political consequences of Israel’s new agreement for natural gas production with Lebanon?

Over the past two decades, Jacob Rothman built a thriving manufacturing business in China. He has also established manufacturing presences in Cambodia, Vietnam and India. Jacob has researched opening factories in points as disparate as the Philippines, Turkey, Mexico and South America.

There are advantages and disadvantages associated with manufacturing in every country. Many companies are now considering divesting from China. However, Jacob points out that one should think twice about uprooting manufacturing from China. China has first-class infrastructure, a dedicated workforce, a deep supply chain and the ability to scale. Also, when one invests in a new plant, thought should be directed to the ability to sell that factory if need be.

Don’t miss this fascinating conversation that discusses the pros and cons of manufacturing in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Turkey. Issues such as addressable markets, inflation and currency controls are broached with respect to many of the aforementioned countries. As a bonus, Jacob also shares a few insights into the history of Jews in China and Shanghai’s contemporary Jewish community.

Danny Cohen segments the business-to-consumer industry into niches such as consumer Internet, e-Commerce, direct-to-consumer, games and digital media.

He provides key insights into scaling B2C companies, reserving options pools, setting founders’ and executives’ compensation, the trend towards short videos, and fraud in the reporting of subscriber counts.

Danny also reveals some of the secrets as to why Israeli companies have had so much success in growing B2C companies.

Danny Cohen introduces us to three fascinating portfolio companies — Lightricks, Worthy and Faye.

Israel is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Israel also has more than its share of traffic accidents: Israel’s police received 11,554 reports of traffic accidents resulting in casualties during 2021, a 6.6% increase from the previous year. As a result of its high incidence of traffic accidents and congested roads, Israel is making tremendous investments in smart mobility.

This unique podcast covers the gamut of Israeli Smart Mobility. Listeners will learn about Israel’s shared mobility, scooters, light-rail initiatives, electric vehicle policies, autonomous vehicles, and connected cars. Among the specific issued addressed in the podcast are:

• What is the schedule for the roll-out of light rail services in Israel’s largest cities?
• How do Israeli scooter sharing companies balance the deposits and availability of scooters?
• Why is the availability of electrified bicycles especially important given the heat during Israeli summers?
• Why is charging of electric vehicles especially challenging given typical Israeli living situations?
• What incentives for the adoption of electric vehicles exist in terms of taxes on new vehicles and fuel?
• How do Israeli shared ride hailing services differ from those in the United States?
• What is the thinking behind launching autonomous driving with public transport?
• Which factors account for Israel so quickly becoming a hub of automotive innovation?
• What can be learned from the demise of Better Place?

Several hundred Israeli companies are developing food technology solutions in view of the unfolding food crisis. That is good because farmers, especially small farmers, are under siege. Consumers worldwide are feeling the pain too. Given the unavailability of food staples and skyrocketing prices of essential food, weekly visits to the supermarket have turned into traumatic events.

This podcast relates the history and mission of Solution Nation. Listeners will hear how the book came into being and about the Solution Nation First Forty Companies List.

Investing in Israeli Enterprise Software Companies

Erez Lahav segments the enterprise software industry into niches such as machine learning, Internet of Things, marketing technology and Big Data. He provides key insights into determining the potential revenues that may be derived from distributors.

Erez introduces us to three fascinating portfolio companies—Pente Networks, Anima and Cyrebro.

This fascinating podcast discusses the pros and cons of plant-based alternative proteins compared to cell-cultivated protein replacements. Issues discussed include:

• What are the capital requirements of plant-based alternative proteins compared to cell-cultivated protein replacements?
• How do the incremental production costs compare?
• How do the regulatory pathways compare?
• Do plant-based proteins have a significantly larger addressable market given that vegetarians may be more favorable to plant-based proteins versus cell-cultivated protein?
• What is the shelf-life of plant-based proteins?
• What does “clean labeling” mean and what is its significance?
• To what extent can different crops be mixed and matched in producing plant-based protein?
• How feasible is countertop 3D printing of plant-based meat alternatives over the next several years?

Chanan Schneider also introduced us to promising Israeli foodtech companies such as Phytolon, SavorEat, TIPA, TripleW, ansa, and Egg’n’up.

The Israel-Brazil Innovation Ecosystem

This is your opportunity to learn about the history of the Israel-Brazil relationship. You will also gain insight into the current diplomatic, economic and research relationships that the two countries enjoy. The following are among the issues discussed during this fascinating podcast:

• Was Brazil supportive of Israel gaining statehood?
• To what extent does antisemitism exist in Brazil? How strong is the BDS movement in Brazil?
• How will Brazil’s pro-Palestinian Authority president affect relations between Israel and Brazil?
• How large is the Jewish community in Brazil? To what extent is there intermarriage?
• Which Brazilian companies have situated research facilities in Israel?
• Which of Brazil’s industries are of most importance to Israel? Which Israeli technology is of most interest to Brazil?
• Which Israeli universities have research alliances with Brazilian universities and companies?
• How frequently does Brazil vote with Israel at the United Nations?
• How should Israelis negotiate with Brazilians?

Baruch Lipner discusses how Tmura facilitates Israeli companies donating options to charitable organizations.

For 20 years, some 800 Israeli companies have pledged options on their shares to Tmura. When these companies achieve exits, Tmura exercises its options and donates the proceeds to registered Israeli charities.

Baruch has helped build a charitable ecosystem in Israel. Venture capital firms encourage their portfolio companies to pledge options to Tmura. As many of Tmura’s supported charities are directed to the youth, more young people become coveted employees for Israel’s high-tech sector.

Exercise triggers, grant sizes, tag-along rights, cashless exercise, charity selections and much more are discussed in detail during this podcast. Baruch has advised organizations in other countries on establishing such charitable networks.

Listen to Jonathan Glazer speak about the factors that spell success for Israeli medical companies.

The following are among the issues discussed:

• Regulatory pathways
• Insurance coverages
• Targeting sales to decision makers and estimating sales cycles
• Collaborating with academia
• Adoption by physicians and other medical professionals

With a population of less than 10 million, Israel has roughly the same number of unicorns as Europe which has a population of nearly 750 million.

Listen to the factors that increase the chances of companies achieving unicorn status. Addressable market, scalability, management, portability, compensation structures are among the issues discussed during this informative podcast.

Israeli retail companies are underappreciated. Listen to this podcast to learn about successful Israeli retailers and Israel’s retail innovation ecosystem.