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.