Hebrew/עברית

Ben Kidron, Founder and CEO, OmniVee
In July 2005 OmniVee was acquired by US-based DVTel for $6M.
OmniVee was established in 2003 at Ofakim Innovative Technologies, a privatized incubator. Since its founding a combined total of $600,000 was invested in the company by the incubator, the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor (totaling $500,000), and private investors. The primary shareholders are company founders Ben Kidron and Eyal Eshed, who according to the media hold 50%, and the Ofakim Incubator.
In July 2004 OmniVee sought the MIT Enterprise Forum consulting, resulting in the following letter from VP Sales and Marketing Ben Kidron (January 2005):
"In Mid 2004 OmniVee participated in a MIT Forum brainstorming session organized by the Forum's Executive Director, Ayla Matalon. The Forum proposed a list of prestigious potential attendees, and ended up building a well balanced panel with well-known and respected professionals, including Dr. Shlomo Kalish, Founding Partner of Jerusalem Global Ventures, and Yoav Avtalion, Co-founder of NICE. The meeting itself was short and focused. We ended up having our downside very explicitly put, and benefited from a few key suggestions for the best course of action. About half a year later, I can state a number of our main strong points today are clearly the result of things said in the MIT Forum meeting. We saw it as a 'step-forward' meeting; however its full impact became apparent only with the passage of time."

Amnon Gavish, CEO (ret.), Surf Communication Solutions
"I recall the meeting with Eli (Ayalon, CEO DSPG) and Aryeh (Mergi, Co-Founder and VP Biz Dev (ret.), M-Systems) was very good and their perspective of the IP licensing model was of great importance to me..."

Ofer Shoshan, Managing Director, CoreTech (currently: Founder and President, Qlusters)
"There is no doubt that without the help of the Forum in our early stages of development, we would have encountered serious problems in a number of areas at a time when the damage might have been irreversible."

Monica Eisinger, Founder & CEO, MIND-CTI (Nasdaq:MNDO)
"The Forum put us on the right track in terms of developing a realistic business plan, with proper benchmarks and milestones, thereby improving decision-making at MIND. The Forum afforded us the opportunity of developing on-going relationships with experts in fields related to our business, and also gave us insights into the intricacies of seeking venture capital, allowing us to avoid the pitfalls of hindsight by learning 'on the job' in the process of negotiations."

Yaron Baratz, Founder and CEO, PhoNet Communications (currently: Founder, President and CEO: Septier Communication)
"We primarily sought 'exposure' for our company and its products. The Forum's mailing list includes over 2,000 managers and investors in high technology. Based on the Forum's program flyer distributed in advance of our company presentation, we were approached by firms interested in cooperating with us, and in investing in PhoNet. Relationships with the Forum's panel of experts that reviewed our firm helped us secure an agreement with a well-known distributor in our field."

David Almagor, Former Founder & CEO ,Mysticom
"Participating in an MIT company review is not only a great consulting opportunity, but also a PR opportunity, especially since expert panels are always composed of industry leaders and luminaries, and attendance is typically high. When I presented Mysticom at the Forum, we had Kamran Elahian and Avigdor Willenz on the panel. I received great business advice, as well as good publicity. Foreign investors were present and that led to a few real contacts."

Shlomo Oren, President and CEO, ShellCase
"ShellCase used the MIT Forum to present and analyze a major strategic business dilemma. The panel of experts, which included senior leaders in the semiconductor industry such as Ken Levy and Avigdor Willenz, was capable of grasping the complexity of our business nature and recommending a specific direction the company should take. Furthermore, a few comments by the very experienced audience shed light on important aspects of our operation and supported the decision-making process."