What Influencer Marketing looks like today

Welcome to The Startup Nation Review, a curated newsletter where I 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.

The US just celebrated Memorial Day, many States have begun opening, and Israel looks to have reopened completely. We are not out of the woods yet of course. COVID-19 is hitting places in the Southern Hemisphere like Brazil hard, we still may face another wave of infections, and of course there is the economy... To learn more about what countries can do to combat COVID-19 check out my recent article in ISRAEL21c: What Israel can teach the world about beating a pandemic.

How people interacted on social during this time was particularly interesting to me, so I reached out to Gil Eyal, President and Founder of HYPR (they just sold to Juliusworks in April 2020) to gauge his thoughts. Gil has impacted the way many of the world’s biggest agencies and brands are running influencer marketing by focusing on the same data, analytics and audience demographic information relevant to traditional digital marketing.

He has been called “The New King of Influencer Marketing” by Nathan Latka, and has worked with over 200 celebrities ranging from Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Pitbull, Lance Armstrong, Lil Wayne and Serena Williams to Nash Grier, Bart Baker and Cameron Dallas. His company HYPR has run over 10,000 influencer activations.

What does your recent acquisition mean for the influencer space?

The influencer space continues to grow but it is bombarded by limited solutions that don't offer brands a complete solution that covers all influencers across all major social networks. The merger takes two companies from opposing ends of the spectrum. Julius offers the most comprehensive and deep database on 164,000 influencers while HYPR offers an automated database of over 12 million influencers. When merged the platform will offer the best of both worlds for brands that want to work with large scale and micro influencers with a comprehensive a-z offering.

What are the broader consequences and impact COVID-19 will have on influencers in the near term? How do you think this space will re-invent itself? 

From a platform perspective many of the lower end solutions will run out of money and we expect them to drop out of the crowded market, leading to a "culling of the herd" and only strong platforms will survive. Making money from home is becoming a major trend and more and influencer are finding creative ways to do this beyond just advertising other brands, including starting businesses of their own, selling food and teaching online.

What was surprisingly hard about this acquisition? 

At the end of the day I spent 7.5 years building HYPR. It was like sending my baby to college. Giving up control is not a simple thing after so many years!

What are you planning on doing now? 

I'm staying on as HYPR's president while working on a new project that will be announced soon!

Can you share with us something that you believe that most people in the (Israeli) tech space would disagree with you on?

Working from home is not a long term strategy. I think once Covid is under control most people will move back to working from the office. Therefore, building technologies that rely on people working from home is a bad bet.

6 coronavirus vaccine developments from Israel to watch: The pace in which a vaccine is being developed is ground-breaking.

Covid-19 has Not Lessened Israeli Companies’ Interest in Entering the Chinese Market: How will other countries react?

Israel to provide protection for institutional tech investment: Despite the hype, investing in tech is a high risk proposition.

Japanese interest in Israeli startups escalates: Business is getting back to normal.

Spy Agency’s Phone Surveillance Detected a Third of Israel's Covid-19 Cases: Not something that will be replicated in the West.

This infographic shows how robust the Israeli mobility ecosystem is, and what Intel is tapping into in the Startup Nation.

Career Opportunities at SJF Portfolio Companies: They launched a jobs board for SJF Ventures portfolio companies... currently 28 companies are hiring for 183 positions! Click here.

Getro.org: Last month they launched Getro.org to help connect tech professionals to companies that are still hiring. They recommend people in their network directly to companies they're working with on key roles. If you're hiring, go to www.getro.org and sign up (for free) to their Talent Newsletter. Click here.

Sixgill Open Positions: Their Customer Success and Support Teams are growing fast and they are on the lookout for talented and customer oriented professionals to join them. They am looking for a Support Manager in IL and Customer Success Analyst in the USA to join the team and help us bring even more real-time threat intelligence and business value to their customers. Apply 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.

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.

COVID-19 opportunities and challenges: Join them for an interactive discussion on how startups and investors are capitalizing on opportunities amidst global transformations. As some countries have started to reopen amidst medical uncertainties, staggering unemployment rates, supply chain disruptions, and consumer demand shocks, what will business in this new reality look like? They will discuss how technology startups and investors address these challenges and what opportunities are emerging. They hope you can join them. May 27, 12:00 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.

Invitation - COVID-19 Innovations: New Jersey Meets Jerusalem: The State of New Jersey and the State of Israel have experienced a long and well-established strategic partnership. Most recently, Choose New Jersey hosted a New Jersey business delegation to Israel, where we had the privilege of being hosted by BioJerusalem and began a collaborative relationship. Jun 1, 08:30 AM EST. Register here.

Global Expansion During COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities: Join them to learn how COVID-19 has affected global work expansion and mobility, as well as the opportunities it brings. This webinar will cover the following topics:Challenges in global expansion for tech companies in the COVID-19 era. US Immigration overview – trends and challenges. How has COVID-19 impacted companies in different segments? Jun 1, 11:00 AM in Eastern Time. Register here.

Accelerators: How They Work and How They're Evolving: An examination of how to access, navigate, and succeed in a relationship with an accelerator. Understand exactly what happens in an accelerator program, why these programs have become the bedrock of every startup ecosystem in every city, and how they are an even more important resource for entrepreneurs during and post pandemic. Not just Israeli ecosystem but relevant. Jun 2, 11:00 AM in Eastern Time. 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.

The Day After: The Impact of COVID-19 on The Global Economy: For the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, three world-leading economists, Olivier Blanchard, Jason Furman and Eugene Kandel, will share the virtual stage to discuss how the COVID-19 is affecting the global economy, and what this could mean for Europe and Israel. The speakers will address the key challenges ahead and the main engines of recovery, impact on supply chains, international cooperation, and trade. Jun 3, 10:00 AM in Eastern Time. Register here.

Cybersecurity Presented by the YU Technology Group: Featuring: Kurt John Chief Cybersecurity Officer, Siemens USA. Jonathan Nguyen-Duy, CISO, at Fortinet. Shira Rubinoff, Cybersecurity Executive and Advisor. Wednesday, June 3 | 12:00 p.m. EDT. Register here.

The Israeli Go Global Forum: Join us them for a webinar with successful entrepreneurs & investors:Wellness Technology & Investments Post COVID-19. Dedi Gilad - CEO @ Tyto Care, Galit Horovitz - Investor, Co-Founder @ Welltech1, Avi Price - Co-Founder @ Uniper Care, Alon Matas. Moderated by Sharon Vanek, Executive Director @ CICC - California Israel Chamber of Commerce. Co-hosted by Fusion LA, CICC & The Israel Go Global Forum. Jun 3, 12:00 PM in Eastern Time. Register here.

Virtual Fireside with Inbal Arieli Hosted by Further Faster: Join internationally acclaimed entrepreneur, innovator, and author Inbal Arieli for a virtual fireside chat hosted by Further Faster Venture Studio.They'll explore the themes of her latest book, Chutzpah: Why Israel is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.Tue, June 9, 2020 12:00 PM. Register here.

BIRD Foundation Funding for Food Manufacturing/Supply Chain Industry: From farm-to-fork, the food supply chain is reinventing itself to stay competitive in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. They invite you to a webinar on an opportunity to win a grant of up to $1 million for your next innovative development project. June 11, 12:00 pm. Register here.

Women of Startup Nation Accelerator: Are you part of an early stage startup with at least one female founder? The second batch of the Women of Startup Nation Accelerator, with the mission of accelerating the success of female-founded companies in Israel, will take place July 5 - August 13. Companies will have access to our incredible partners at Google for Startups Israel, participate in working sessions with the top executives and investors in Israel, receive mentorship with expert operators, and join a vibrant community of entrepreneurs. Applications are due June 3rd. Apply here.

Microsoft Global Social Entrepreneurship: Are you an innovator impacting our world for the better? Whether you’re addressing skills development, sustainability or accessibility, we’re passionate about supporting your social venture with technology, connections and community to help your team thrive. Apply here.

The Org Fellowship: The Org is a professional community where you can explore any company’s organizational chart. Founded in November 2017, The Org has offices in New York City and Copenhagen. We’re backed by some of the world’s leading investors including Founders Fund, Sequoia, and Balderton. They're a community of over 50,000 companies. 182,000 professionals and their teams are represented on The Org. Apply 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.?

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.