Challenging the status quo

In the basement of one of the buildings on the campus of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya is a room that stands out because of its aesthetic appeal. In fact, one could be forgiven for thinking that it's a high-tech laboratory. There's a glass wall that acts as a divider separating the conference room from a wide-open space. Graphics, sketches, charts, and notes in English can be seen on the walls. Outside is a specially built computer station and other amenities.

"This is a different kind of laboratory -- a laboratory for the manufacturing of entrepreneurs," Liat Aaronson says with a laugh that has an underlying seriousness. Aaronson, an attorney by trade, is the executive director of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at the IDC.

This coming Sunday, the IDC will christen the new Adelson School of Entrepreneurship, the first of its kind in Israel. It is a venture that aims to inculcate young entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools to put their ideas and ambitions into practice.

It started with a decision years ago by Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson to build an academic institution to educate students in the values of entrepreneurship in the spirit of Adelson, one of the world's leading entrepreneurs. The motto that has guided Adelson in his 60-year career as an entrepreneur -- a career that has seen him rise from a lower-middle-class upbringing to being one of the world leaders in resorts and gaming attractions -- is: "Always try to challenge the status quo."

Indeed, the Adelsons have been challenging the status quo not just in the management of their businesses but also in the philanthropic world, building clinics and educational institutions and earning them a reputation as leading Jewish philanthropists.

Miriam Adelson is an Israeli doctor. All of the Adelsons' children are Israeli, and they are committed to doing all they can to strengthen the Jewish people and the State of Israel. They believe that Israel must maintain its technological edge in high-tech and innovation. That is why they decided to donate the money to build the first institution of its kind in the country.

The groundwork for the institution's establishment was originally laid by the Zell Program, which this year celebrates its 13th year in existence. Graduates' experience with Zell serves as a sort of blueprint for the new school as planners seek to get an idea of what the venture will look like in the years to come.

A long road

A student's road to becoming an entrepreneur is a long one, but as the heads of the new Adelson School point out, it is possible. The program allows just 20 students in the final year of their studies to gain acceptance, which of course is contingent upon passing a series of interviews and examinations. During their academic careers, they take preparatory courses in entrepreneurship, marketing and funding, all taught in English.

"We want to enrich them and turn them into global citizens with an ability to verbally communicate in English," said Aaronson. "The courses are offered from the beginning, and the students are also given mentors who are working in the industry. We take an idea that they have and we try to build a business. What happens is that it doesn't go so smoothly, and on the way a lot of ideas are 'killed,' though there are also quite a few instances where their ideas were bought by another company at a hefty profit. By and large, we look at this place not as a business development center, but a human development center. We give people the ability to be entrepreneurs."

According to Aaronson, the new school, which will be headed by Professor Yair Tauman, will serve all students.

"The intention is to develop the curriculum that was taught in Zell," she said. "The initiative will be expanded and made available to students who learn other disciplines."

That is the reason they call the university "interdisciplinary." At IDC, the faculty are proud to share a number of startling success stories. The wall of the entrepreneurial laboratory bears the names and logos of various companies founded by graduates of the program. Another wall bears the names of all the program's graduates with arrows that mark relationships formed within the framework of the venture, including couples who have married after meeting there.

One success story is that of David Weiss and Yoav Zurel, two IDC graduates who earned degrees in computer sciences. They laid the foundations of their start-up company while they were enrolled in the program. Yoav, who holds the rank of captain (res.) in the Paratroopers Brigade, is the CEO. David, formerly a navy captain, is the deputy CEO in charge of product development.

The company they founded is called FeeX, which offers technological products to the financial sector. It was founded in 2012 as part of the Zell Program, and has a staff of 20. In the company offices in Herzliya, the team gathers data from users who report on the commissions they pay for financial services such as pension funds and mutual funds. They then analyze the information and inform the consumer how much he or she is paying in comparison to others by using an index known as "SuckerMeter." They also offer solutions to improve the consumer's financial situation.

Blumberg Capital, the U.S.-based venture capital firm, invested $3 million in the company.

"I finished my army service in 2009 and then I was accepted into the IDC," Weiss said. "It wasn't easy to be accepted into the program, but I wanted to go for entrepreneurship. I know that most of the people here won't make a lot of money, but whoever has that fire inside and is ready to take risks is suitable for it. You need a push similar to the one we got during our studies. You need to meet people and to get the necessary tools."

One of the mentors to the two budding entrepreneurs was Uri Levine, a co-founder of Waze. The relationship between the men became close.

"There was a great deal of chemistry between us," Weiss said. "It began as a mentorship, and it continued [with Levine becoming] our first investor, and today he is a partner."

According to Weiss, start-ups are born as a result of concern for fellow people.

"We wanted to do something great that would make people's lives better," he said.

"With Uri's help, we understood that there is a major problem in the financial market, and we wanted to solve it. We launched a product here in Israel and now we are working on a product tailored to the American market. We understood that our company's idea was a universal, global one. This is a problem that many people around the world are facing, not just in Israel.

"It's not easy being an entrepreneur. And the entrepreneur doesn't always succeed. In order to be an entrepreneur, you need to come with this attitude from home. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs. There are traits that you have, but you also need other things, and I think we received those things from our military service, things like values. There are also things that you learn as you go and that give you the tools to get started. There are many people who want to be entrepreneurs and they are certain they will make money. It's not the case in reality. Most entrepreneurs don't succeed."

Another notable success story is that of Meirav Ben Ari, who has earned the moniker of "social entrepreneur." Ben Ari completed her degree in law and governmental studies. During her time at IDC, she was head of the student union. She won top prize in the television show "Darush: Manhig" ("Wanted: A leader"), which was devoted to finding a socially oriented leader. In 2006, she founded a community center in Netanya dedicated to helping children from poor socio-economic backgrounds with learning disabilities. Three years later, she founded another such center in Herzliya.

"Entrepreneurship is building everything from scratch, from choosing the color of the paint for the walls to choosing which children get to participate to putting together a program," she said.

"Being a social entrepreneur means taking a vision and translating it into a working plan. In this case, it was going back to the city I where I grew up, Netanya, and inculcating the youth with the idea that education is the key to success in life. When a business entrepreneur builds a company and creates job opportunities, he earns money. Here the investment is in youth and the product is rehabilitation of society.

"There a degree of difficulty in being a social entrepreneur. There's a personal price to be paid. You need to sacrifice a lot of things. It becomes the center of your life, and your personal life is pushed to the margins. On the other hand, there's nothing more satisfying than this. I don't have those 'Sunday morning blues.' When I go to work, I know that I'm changing people's lives. That's the best feeling there is.

"Social entrepreneurship teaches us that money isn't everything in life. You need endless dedication. Success is attributed solely to you, just as failure is. You need courage to dive into it with all of your strength. There's not much room for doubt.

"This isn't a program that only produces hi-tech start-ups. This isn't a place for anyone looking to build a pizzeria or import sandals from abroad. Entrepreneurship is something innovative. It could be in high-tech and it could be in other things. We had someone invent a patent that gave a smell to the caps of boxes of cream, so people could change the smell of each one according to his or her tastes. Someone else invented stickers for shoes that girls put on their sneakers, with all sorts of colors and styles. Today it's in use in a lot of countries, like Japan and Brazil. Another entrepreneur invented a perfume for hair. There's a lot in hi-tech, but not just there."

The IDC does not see any of the revenue from the huge financial successes attained by its graduates.

"The IDC does not profit from their graduates' success," Ben Ari said. "This could create a conflict of interest, and we see ourselves as educators of entrepreneurs and not as those establishing ventures. Nonetheless, when this initiative was founded, we graduates believe and feel that there's a sense of responsibility to give back to this place, this community, and the state. As evidence, a few of the graduates who sold their ideas for big money donated scholarships."

Being brave

The school's administrators know that in present-day Israel, with its porous socio-economic situation, it is not easy being a successful entrepreneur.

"In comparison to other countries in Europe, the situation in Israel is manageable," IDC President Professor Uriel Reichman said. "We tell the students, 'Don't just look at the local economy. Open your eyes. Think about something that can be done globally. Think about entrepreneurship that breaks down barriers and crosses borders.' This can be done while living here in Israel.

"Unlike those who are quick to eulogize Zionism, we are a Zionist institution. We believe in the State of Israel, in our abilities. We're not taking part in all of the whining surrounding us. We are here, and we need to be here. The next generation needs to continue the legacy. The question of whether one should live here or elsewhere is irrelevant. We live here. Every graduate who succeeded and doesn't reside here is to a certain extent a failure. It is possible to live in Israel and remain active in the global market."

IDC administrators offer their views on whether it is even possible to teach entrepreneurship. Is it possible to teach a person to be a leader? It is possible to teach courage-

"There's no course that we call 'Courage 101' or 'Leadership 101,'" Aaronson said. "Entrepreneurship is among other things the experience of growing a very thick skin. An entrepreneur needs to hear a lot of 'no'; an entrepreneur needs to hear things like 'You're no good,' 'This venture isn't good,' 'You're not qualified.' An entrepreneur needs to realize when an idea isn't good, kill it, and start over. The very experience of failure and getting back up is an educational one. Many times this is what happens with start-ups in Israel. They absorb a blow, and they need to get up and deal with it.

"When you're in a group and you're surrounded by people who get knocked down and get up again and there are mentors and businessmen, it's a collective experience. You learn to accept feedback and learn from it," she said.

"There's no doubt that a person's entrepreneurial abilities can be improved upon," Reichman said. "Once you provide the tools and teach them about funding and marketing, then you can improve upon their performance. I believe that it is also possible to positively influence a person from a psychological standpoint, specifically aspects like courage, belief in themselves, encouraging them to take risks.

"The idea of establishing a school for entrepreneurship is rooted in the world view championed by the IDC. This institution is unique in Israeli academia. It was built 20 years ago as an unsubsidized university. I didn't ask for, and I didn't receive, one agora from any public body. We embarked on an unbeaten path which may have seemed to some as bordering on insane. Some of my friends thought this. I said that this would be the Harvard of Israel.

"Our goal from the outset was to establish IDC as a world-class university which would serve the Jewish people. It was unusual, but that was my philosophy. Academia is rooted in the people, and it serves the people. We are in service to society by educating the future leadership. We believe in people, in the individual. We need to give students the tools and abilities to leave studies and realize their full potential.

"Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson personify the IDC's philosophy in that they believe in people, they believe in the entrepreneur, they believe in courage to take risks and contribute to society through entrepreneurship," Reichman said.

"By the same token, there is also a very deep commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. We tell students not to wait for government aid. They don't need to surrender to the status quo. They need to realize their desires and their dreams. Most importantly, though, they should never be afraid of failure. Whoever fears failure doesn't succeed."

The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.

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