ICON - Israel Collaboration Network转发了
Now, that's a chapter worth writing Meet Yehuda Niv, Co-founder & CEO, and Nir Kenner, Co-founder & CTO of Spines – the startup transforming publishing by making it faster and easier for authors to connect with readers. Despite all the technological progress over the last century, the #publishing industry hasn't changed much since the invention of the printing press - until Spines came in. We’ll let Yehuda take it from here: ?? What led to Spines being founded? ?About two years before ChatGPT, I had just finished structuring the management team for my first company, Niv Publishing, the largest publishing house in Israel. Suddenly, I realized AI would disrupt every industry. I had two choices—lead the change in publishing or become irrelevant. That day, Spines was born. ?? Where were you when you first came up with the idea for your startup? ?Late at night, in bed, unable to sleep. I realized my life's biggest challenge had arrived. I got up and began working. ?? What inspired you to take the leap and turn your idea into a reality? ?For years, I wondered if I could publish a million authors in my lifetime. Once the idea struck, it seemed obvious I could pull it off. ?? What does Spines do? ?Spines is an AI-based publishing platform that offers authors an easy way to publish, distribute, and market their books. ?? What’s the most surprising thing you've learned? ?When you're short on runway and must fundraise to survive, no one returns your calls. As the company grows fast and doesn't need to fundraise anytime soon, investors will beg you to accept their money. ?? What’s your proudest moment? ?Reading all of our authors' reviews and knowing that we're doing it right. ?? Something we don’t know about you? ?My first book was rejected by 70 publishers—and rightly so. It was a terrible book. But thanks to that experience, I built the largest publishing house in Israel, and now we're building the world's leading publishing platform. ?? Key takeaways from SV101? We refined our US go-to-market strategy for accelerated growth, deepened our understanding of Agentic AI to strengthen Spines' leadership in publishing, and observed rapid innovation across industries, where value is delivered efficiently, feedback drives iteration, and products continuously improve. ?? Most valuable SV101 connection? ?At SV101, we had the privilege of engaging with some of the brightest minds in tech. These interactions provided us with fresh ideas, invaluable feedback, and exciting opportunities to further improve our solutions for our customers.