Published in

fresh.fund

5 min readJan 27, 2019

Israel is renowned for having more startups per capita than anywhere else— so one doesn’t need to look far to find a startup.

Much has been written about the growth-engine of this booming industry; namely, the role of the technological units in the Israeli military in training entrepreneurs coupled with the go-getter immigrant mentality that still reigns in this young country.

A growth-engine that isn’t mentioned as frequently is the nation’s excellent universities and academic institutions that play an important role in cultivating the next generations of audacious founders.

Students and academics affiliated with my university, for example, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has gone on to find world-changing companies like MobileEye, Lightricks, and BrainQ.

Indeed, from institutional resources to prominent entrepreneurial alumni, HUJI is a great place to be a student startup founder.

The resources below do not guarantee your success as a founder, but rather are available to increase the likelihood of success as you start out on your entrepreneurial journey.

The guide consists of 3 parts:

HUJI Entrepreneurship Programs
General Startup Resources
Additional Resources

Part 1: — HUJI Entrepreneurship Programs

One of the hardest phases of building a company is the very beginning. Doing this as a student can be even harder as you are not in an environment which revolves around startups. HUJI has identified this problem and in recent years started offering students entrepreneurial programs, hubs, resources and tools to make this journey easier.

HUJI Innovate

HUJI Innovate is the Hebrew University’s platform to encourage and assist students, faculty, and alumni to develop their Innovation and Entrepreneurship capabilities. They support HUJI’s 23,000 students and faculty in the ideation and development of new solutions for real-world problems while fostering a vibrant ecosystem that helps accelerate the creation of new ventures.

HUJI Innovate, previously known as HUStart, recently partnered with Siftech which has now moved into HUJI Innovate. Siftech is one of Jerusalem’s most renowned startup accelerators and was originally created on campus.

With multiple programs and events, this is the one stop shop for everything startup at HUJI.

They cover just about everything (but the dog)

Yissum

Yissum is The Hebrew University of Jerusalem technology transfer company. Founded in 1964, it is the 3rd company of its kind ever created and has a rich tradition of innovation and commercializing academic research. Through our efforts to identify and create breakthrough scientific research at Hebrew University.

Some of their well-known spin-off companies include Mobileye, Orcam, Collplant, Qlight, and Briefcam. Yissum’s business partners span the globe and include companies such as Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Intel, Google, Boston Scientific, ICL and many more.

Since its inception, Yissum has registered 10,000+ patents covering 2,800+ inventions; licensed 900 technologies and produced 130+ spin-off companies.

Part 2 — General Startup Resources

These are general resources which are not part of the HUJI ecosystem but are worth knowing

Part 3: Additional Resources

Although the entrepreneur scene at HUJI is centered around HUJI Innovate, Jerusalem has a vibrant community of startups and tech which might better suit you. Below is a list of some of these resources to help you navigate through your journey as an entrepreneur.

Clubs and Organizations

AToBE — AToBE is Azrieli Academic College of Engineering’s startup accelerator, gives you the chance of a lifetime to engineer your dream into reality and build your own startup.

They provide selected entrepreneurs with the following:

A 6-month unique program with free academic mentorship, lab support, and more.
An amazing entrepreneurship office within the college.

Assistance from top-notch partners who specialize in startup companies, and connects you with world-class mentors, advisors, and most importantly, investors.

SheCodes — She Codes is a student-run coding club for women who like to code and are interested in coding. You may find your next technical co-founder at one of the meetings, or you can go here to learn how to build programs yourself as they teach different languages.

Made in JLM — “Made in JLM” is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 and registered in 2014, with the goal of transforming and positioning Jerusalem, the capital of the Startup Nation, as one of the top 20 innovative cities in the world. By developing Jerusalem’s creative economy, we change perceptions about the city and create opportunities for entrepreneurs across the socioeconomic spectrum. Made in JLM’s ultimate vision is to establish our city as one of the world’s best places to live, work, and innovate.

Hackathons

HUJI Hackathon -An annual hackathon the past year it was centered around activism (hacktivism).

Events

There are many events in Jerusalem which cater to startups and technical people, most of them can be found in the Made in JLM Facebook page.

Funding

Fundraising can be very stressful for entrepreneurs when deadlines need to be met, people need to be paid, and growth needs to happen, but you can’t do it without a little extra capital. I have provided a few alternative avenues you can take as a HUJI entrepreneur if you need to seek funding outside of the university.

VC Funds and Accelerators with HUJI Ties

The following list of funds and accelerators either have a partner that graduated from HUJI or an individual with ties to the HUJI Entrepreneur Program:

Conclusion

While starting a business is hard, HUJI tries to provide you with all the tools needed. If there is a time in life one can afford the high risk, high reward endeavor, it’s now.

If there’s anything we missed that you think should be included in this guide, please feel free to send an email to eliahu@fresh.fund.

fresh.fund is dedicated to supporting student founders across the country and helping them reach new heights, recently we’ve launched our new and updated website and now offer even faster funding thanks to our different plans.

Working on a startup? Get in touch on fresh.fund or email me directly at eliahu@fresh.fund.