By David Shamah
Startups here are a dime a dozen – or, as they say in Israeli supermarkets, “two for one.” Meaning that anyone with a couple of bucks (or access to some money) and a halfway decent idea can hang out his or her shingle, and start developing the “next big web thing.”
And there’s no doubt that many great ideas and products come out of the startup stew many Israelis are known to whip up. The question is, how many of them are economically viable in the market – ie, how many are capable of actually making money?
That is the question Israel’s [...]
By David Shamah
The computer age has redefined products – and relationships. Technology has forced us to look at objects and devices we thought we knew through a whole new set of eyes.
Take photography, for example. In the age of digital cameras, even the term “photography” is outmoded, as it refers to a traditional craft of developing on paper images captured through a specific technology. While the basic idea of picture taking hasn’t changed – i.e., capturing images and storing them on a permanent medium – the technology to take those pictures is far different than it was just a decade ago. As [...]
By David Shamah
There are at least two schools of thought about competition in business: Either it’s bad, because you have to work all the more intensely to maintain your customers; or that it’s good, because it shows that there are lots of customers out there worth fighting over.
When you’re operating in a space that has a lot of competition, you have to hone your message, letting potential customers know what makes your product or service better. And when many of your competitors are offering what looks like a similar product for free, while you’re charging money for yours, your message – laying [...]
