The Agritech Nation post-corona

Welcome to The Startup Nation Review, a curated newsletter where I will share insights from thought leaders, news, and opportunities around Israel, the Startup Nation. Every week you’ll receive timely analysis from off-the-beaten-path, an aggregation of this week's top headlines, and selected opportunities to further engage with the Startup Nation.

In Israel, a land lacking in natural resources, we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation, we transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology."

-Shimon Peres

For those in the US, wishing you a meaningful Memorial Day. No one could have imagined this is how we would enter the summer (or if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, the fall), but stay strong. We'll get through this. For some insights on how US states could benefit from tech cooperation with Israel, check out my latest piece in ISRAEL21c: Why are 4 US states building bridges to Israeli tech?

Agritech, foodtech, and food security have come into focus during the COVID-19 pandemic so I reached out to Adi Vagman who is the Founder and Managing Partner of AgriNation Venture Capital, to get her thoughts on what this space looks like post-corona. She is also the founder-investor of Tropic Bioscience, a company in the genome editing domain and founder-investor of Petsapien, a company in the field of pet’s nutrition. To hear Adi's thoughts directly check out this upcoming webinar here.

How is COVID-19 factoring into how you're looking at food-tech/agri-tech investments?

We are looking at companies which are prepared for the "next lockup" in case of COVID or another pandemic. In ag, we do not look at ventures with small features but rather at ventures that solve a true business case for the farmer. On the operation side, we are looking for autonomous solutions or a decentralized approach.

Food safety and traceability will become a key issue for the industry and consumers. During COVID, we saw the vegan trend "on steroids". This put a strong emphasis on how to create a safe and self-sustained supply-chain of protein. COVID times shifted trends as consumers preferred novel ingredients with "medical" or healthy applications.

What is the most interesting thing you're working on these days?

We are working on our investment thesis to see how we can leverage from this period.

What is a piece of advice you would give founders today that they haven't heard before from VCs?

First, enjoy the ride; this is what you signed up for and crisis is part of the cycle. Although this may be a once in a lifetime event, try to see how you can leverage your business and seize the opportunity. It's been a lock down long enough for customers/companies to gain new habits, change norms and gain new standards. Don't ignore the COVID elephant in the room. Think and learn to explain how it can work to your advantage. 

Do you see any new or surprising verticals or markets appearing which may have not been relevant in the past?

The global is now local. It has become the era of the super-local supply chain for everyone around the world. If in the past we were looking to win international markets, today we can win at home and try to duplicate it where we can.

What is something that you believe that most people in the (Israeli) tech space would disagree with you on?  

The Jewish people and the state of Israel have gone through rough times during history. Life taught us to get back fast on our feet and move on. People here are getting back to normal life and I personally believe it will take the world more time to get back to normality. As an investor I cannot ignore the impact of COVID. We are going through an historic event and I think it will be smarter to adapt rather than try and preach that "business is as usual".

Coronavirus Was a Disaster for Feminism, Says Head of Techstars Accelerator: We are only now starting to feel the society wide impact of COVID-19.

Hackathon To Tackle Domestic Violence, Abuse With Tech Solutions: Tech solutions to help solve social problems.

India, Israel fighting virus better with tech, innovation: This partnership is growing stronger.

Israel Fast-Tracks Optimized Elite Defense Technologies To Fight COVID-19: We'll see this trend increase in the coming months.

Pitango Partner Predicts Israel’s Tech Scene Will Only Start to Improve in Late 2020: This is not a conservative estimate .

A snapshot of the wellness tech ecosystem in the Startup Nation... one of the fasting growing verticals today.

Job Opening May 2020: A compiled a list of job-openings within companies in their network. Remember if you see something relevant, do not just apply. Solidify your story why you, find someone relevant within your network who can potentially open door etc. To view opportunities, click here.

Parachute - All the layoff lists together: They'll help you get discovered! Parachute is made by Rocket - their Recruiters and AI connect great talent with great companies every day. Schedule a free coaching session today. Check out opportunities here.

WFH but Hiring: This is a listing of tech companies who are hiring right now focusing on SF and NYC. You can also post your info on the website. Link here.

CTO Co-founder for Traveltech: If you love to travel here is your chance to be part of an amazing team that is going to impact how people experience the world! A revolutionary early-stage travel startup, a member of ITTS (Israel Travel Tech Startups community), is looking for a brilliant CTO to join them and form/lead an exceptional team. Apply here.

Glilot Capital Partners: A stealth mode cybersecurity startup is hiring! They develop a SaaS solution for data-driven security operations, which will help customers make sense of the dozens of security products and thousands of security controls that exist today. They are looking for engineers focused on backend, but who aren't afraid of frontend, devops, backend, security products, etc, who can get to play a major part in architecture and technology selection. If you thrive in dynamic environments and want to make an impact, feel free to reach out to them: [email protected]

Imubit Deep Learning Research Engineer: Imubit is looking for a top-notch research engineer to help disrupt the manufacturing world with breakthrough deep learning algorithms! Imubit is revolutionizing manufacturing paradigms with specialized deep learning algorithms developed by world-class machine learning scientists. At this very moment, facilities of multiple Fortune-500 customers across the world are being optimized by Imubit, enjoying hundreds of millions of dollars per year in total incremental value. Apply here.

Mobbo Back End Developer: Mobbo measures the mobile world and offers powerful data driven market research tools, providing insights to help publishers, investors, marketers and analysts across the world make more informed decisions, and succeed in the global app economy. Apply here.

Intrellit Lead Designer: They've experienced 2.5X revenue growth since February despite COVID, and they are now looking to take their design to the next level! They are seeking an experienced UI/UX Designer to fill this crucial role and help them accomplish their mission more efficiently and with more elegance. To learn more about the position click here.

Teva Academic Affairs and Networks Project Leader: Academic affairs and Networks is a team within Teva's Global R&D, with a mission to identify and manage strategic academic collaborations and connection to seed innovation in Teva and help build Teva's future drug discovery and preclinical assessment of novel therapeutics. This fascinating task includes scouting for new collaboration opportunities according to Teva's strategic interests, managing collaborations, grant management, management of engagement in international and local consortia, and contributing in depth scientific knowledge to the projects. Apply here.

Stye Senior Product Marketing Manager: They are looking for someone who can research, strategize, collaborate with senior leaders from their revenue org, create collaterals, launch products, collect customer feedback and essentially - help their team crush it. Apply here.

Stye Content Lead: They are looking from someone who can plan, produce and scale their content strategy as they build thought leadership, create a category and help thousands of retailers deliver innovative consumer experiences. Both roles are high-impact, hands-on, strategic roles that are ideal for a pro with experience in B2B and a true passion for ecommerce. Apply here.

Waycare: More so than the technology behind their platform, they credit their success to the hardworking individuals behind the scenes. Their team members are motivated by their mission and passionate about their role. Interested in making a true impact today? Their offices in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles are looking for individuals who speak their mind, think outside the box, and want to be part of the AI-driven mobility revolution. Apply here.

DLD Sync: Welcome to their new, interactive webinar format. DLD Sync is your direct connection to outstanding DLD speakers, allowing you to get inspired by our community’s brightest minds. DLD Sync thrives on your participation, so please tune in and ask questions! Webinars here.

There is no "New Normal"! Disruption has become a fact of life...and while digital has enabled us to made aspects of our lock down easier to bear (and more difficult at the same time) and some are heralding the Tech Messiah to save us...human interaction and need has never been stronger or more valued. Thu, May 21, 10:00 AM EST. Register here.  

How Israeli and Florida Hospitals Are Innovating to Fight COVID-19: Hear from doctors in Florida and Israel managing their hospitals' coronavirus response + learn about life-saving Israeli technologies. Thu, May 21, 11:30 AM. Register here.  

Mapping Big Data with Powerful AI: In today's world we are experiencing an explosion of information (both real and fake) while our attention span remains the same. Industry expert Yasha Neiman will explain how we can harness machine learning algorithms to bring order to the chaos - How can we crawl the internet and bring only the relevant content using AI. Thu, May 21, 12:00 PM EST. Register here.

Pitango Growth Academy: Adjusting your Sales Process & GTM Strategy: Their next Pitango Growth Academy will dive deep into Adjusting your Sales Process & GTM Strategy. Join Idit Muallem-Yedid, Partner, Pitango Growth for a hands-on session with with Amit Bendov, CEO, Gong.io & Tomer Levy , CEO, Logz.io. Tuesday, May 26th @ 5 AM EST. Register here.

Innovation, Venture and the Future of AgriFood: Join them to learn how the biggest players in the Agrifood industry manage their investments and how to stay innovative during Covid times. Tue, May 26, 10:00 AM EDT. Register here.

The Biggest VC Investment Opportunities Over The Next 5 Years: Join top venture capital investor, J. Skyler (Sky) Fernandes, General Partner at VU Venture Partners, whose investment team has invested in 250+ companies, with over 35+ years of VC experience, and were early investors in Beyond Meat, Facebook, Uber, Twitter, Venmo, etc. Not Israeli ecosystem focused but relevant. May 26, 2020 11:00 AM in Eastern Time. Register here.

Medical Innovation in the Startup Nation: Join Start-Up Nation Central and the Embassies of Israel in Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen for a webinar focused on the role of medical innovation and digital health in Israel, and hear from leading startups that are at the forefront of combating the coronavirus pandemic. Wednesday, May 27, 08:00 AM EST. Register here.

How to Scale Your Startup on a Covid-19 Budget? Following their first series of webinars about startup fundraising and corporate, this 6th Axis Webinar will bring leading international investors to share their advice and insights for startups on how to scale globally on a minimal budget during and after the Covid-19 Crisis. Wed, May 27, 9:00 AM EST. Register here.

Reinforcing the Links: Disruptive Technologies in the Supply Chain: The spread of COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains in retail and manufacturing, while also impacting insurers and governments both directly and indirectly. Supply chain technologies can form a pivotal role in the monitoring of production, automation fulfillment, freight and delivery during these times of a global crisis. May 27, 09:30 AM in Eastern Time. Register here.

Fighting Financial Crime During COVID-19: The coronavirus pandemic has forever reshaped global financial markets creating a sense of concern as these institutions begin to adapt to the "new normal". Join them for a special webinar to discuss the new aspect of financial threats during the coronavirus pandemic and the impact on compliance operations thus far fighting financial crime. May 27, 11:00 a.m. EDT. Register here.

A Giant Exit in Tricky Times: Emmanuel Benzaquen and Maty Siman have been growing Checkmarx together to global scale since the company's inception in 2006. In March the control of the software security company was sold to a U.S. private equity firm in a cash deal at a valuation of $1.15 billion. The regular challenges of an M&A deal were compounded by the Coronavirus lockdown. This event will be hosted jointly with The Jerusalem Post and moderated by journalist Hillel Fuld. Wed, May 27, 12:00 PM EST. Tickets here.

Eunike Ventures Webinar: Oil & Gas Pilots-Oriented Program: Eunike Ventures is the Oil & Gas industry’s only Hybrid Accelerator with its own Investment fund and works with technology startups to rapidly deploy paid pilots with Alliance Partners Equinor, HESS and TechnipFMC. Join them as we learn firsthand the technological solutions these leaders seek to overcome challenges related to field optimization, enhanced recovery, data, security, low carbon management and clean tech innovation. Thursday May 21st, 12pm EST. Register here.

CA's New NORMAL - Webinar Registration: The CICC and Squire Patton Boggs will discuss legal aspects in post COVID19 Shelter-in-Place return to the office. This webinar will cover the following topics such as: Health & Safety, Employer obligations to provide a safe workplace including modifying the space where people work, how they operate in that space, and what kind of PPE they need, and Return to the office policies, best practice and checklist. May 27, 01:00 PM in Eastern Time. Register here.

Women in Tech 24h Virtual World Tour: Today more than ever Women are Taking up Space. Female astronauts have recently succeeded in an all-women spacewalk and courageous women all around the world are taking up the space they need to thrive in their professional and private lives. May 27th-29th. Register here.

World Hackathon Day: The first virtual World Hackathon Day aims to bring together the top talent in the technology community to tackle the massive challenges we will face as a post-coronavirus society. With the support of partners, start-ups, scaleups and established companies from the UK, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, and other countries around the world, the WHD will join forces to produce innovative solutions. May. 29-31. Register here.

The New Tomorrow: The Israeli-American Council (IAC) and the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation invite you to join us at the IAC-PC Global E-summit: The New Tomorrow. This unique four-day event will bring together the most valued Israeli and American thought leaders for a series of captivating discussions on our new reality in the wake of the Coronavirus through the lens of: the economy, innovation, medical breakthroughs, and social adaptability. The online summit will be held from May 31 to June 3. Register here.

Social Innovation Summit 2020: They are excited to announce that for the first time ever, Social Innovation Summit 2020 will be virtually convening our network of thousands of global leaders – with top Fortune 500 executives, foundation heads, philanthropists, celebrities, and social entrepreneurs – all coming together on June 2-4th for our largest and most impactful event yet. Register here.

Announcing the Second Round of COVID-19 Grants! On March 29th, the Differential Ventures team announced a $500,000 pool of funds to be awarded in $10,000 - $25,000 grants to startups that are using data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to find solutions for the myriad challenges created by COVID-19. Today they are thrilled to announce the second batch of awards to seven companies that have taken a leadership role in this fight. Apply here.  

Starta's free Online Pre-Accelerator Program: This is the perfect starting point for any budding entrepreneur. Learn how to avoid common legal and accounting pitfalls, do a competitive analysis of the US market, construct your pitch and pitch deck and lots of other useful information. They have real humans checking and grading your assignments and if you pass all of them, you can schedule a call with their NYC team and get on a fast track to New York! Find out more and apply here.

The Thiel Fellowship: Founded by technology entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel in 2011, the Thiel Fellowship is a two-year program for young people who want to build new things. Thiel Fellows skip or stop out of college to receive a $100,000 grant and support from the Thiel Foundation’s network of founders, investors, and scientists. Apply here.

WeWork Consumer Labs: Note: They do charge for this. An equity-free incubator that aims to build an environment, community and program that empowers entrepreneurs to invent the future of the consumer experience. They're building an end-to-end global platform for consumer products and retail innovation. Apply here.

365x: Application for 365x Scale Up IL is open! They enhance scalability for your Software or IoT Startup Company. Surrounded by talented Executives and Entrepreneurs, sharpen your business, product and technology, while accessing an international customer and distributors network to affirm solid traction towards scalability. Apply here.

Entrepreneurs' Competition: The Merage 45+ invites entrepreneurs with innovative ideas to a unique program with a 100K$ grant for the leading startup. In the last couple of years, we have seen an increasing number of entrepreneurs over the age of 45, with rich backgrounds from leading companies, taking the next step in their career and turn to the startup’s arena. While women are founding innovative startups more than ever before, yet only 10% of investor money worldwide goes to women-founded startups. Last day to submit: May 20. Apply here.

International Health-Tech Pilot Program: The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and selected foreign hospitals jointly open the International Health-Tech Pilot Program. Interested Israeli companies are invited to submit applications to pilot, test, adapt and optimize impact healthcare-related technologies, services, and devices in a clinical environment at selected first-class hospitals around the world. Deadline for Submission 07/02. Apply here.

Jonathan “Yoni” Frenkel has been involved in the New York-Israeli tech community for many years, mentoring startups on marketing, hosting events connecting investors with startups, and publishing on the topics of tech and venture regularly. Professionally, he heads a content marketing agency, YKC Media, focused on engaging millennials, Gen Z, and tech professionals through written content and social.