June 19, 2015

Newsletter – December 2014

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 

AND 

 AN EXCELLENT 2015!

From LebNet’s Board of Directors
Capture

and its Executive Director.

George_Skaff_Web

PROGRAMS 
LebNet Membership Program:

What’s new:

Mabrouk! You are now part of a 330+ member organization, an increase of more then 20% over the last  6 months.

Our board has vowed to increase the number of LebNeters to 1000, in the next 3 years!

How you can help:

Give a gift today: invite 5 of your qualifying friends/family/colleagues to become LebNet members for free. Send them this link.

Become a LebNet leader in your company/community. Contact us to see how.
            

LebNet Mentorship Program

What’s new:

1. MEVP-LebNet mixer event (September 9)  

More than 50 seasoned executives from Silicon Valley responded to the LebNet invitation, and shared their insights and experience with the 9 selected Lebanese and Arab start up representatives from the MEVP portfolio. See pictures from the mixer event here.

This event was made possible thanks to the participation of our following Members and Friends:

  • Abdo Kadifa, Fadi Micaelian, Mona Defrawi, Anthony Nassar, Maya Farah, Richard Rabat, Fadi Mahmoud, Ramy Adeeb, Ossama Hassanein, Khaled Nasr, Imad Jabbour, Gino Massoud, David Ajalat, George Akiki, Ghassan Bejjani, Elie Habib, Simon Khalaf, Najib Khouri-Haddad, Walid Mansour,Fehmi Hamdane, and Pierre Tager.

Shahiya, one of the nine Sartups present at this event, was recently acquired by Japanese Cookpad. More here.

2. Mentoring and Start-up event (November 10)

Our last event hosted at the Pillsbury law firm in Palo Alto, starring Rise Devices, founded by LebNet member Ron Isaac, was another LebNet sold out event with more than 80 attendees!

Rise represents the epitomy of the LebNet mentorship program even before LebNet launched this program! Michael Wakim volunteered to mentor Ron a few years ago and together, they illustrate how a program like this can work. The event brought together young entrepreneur Ron Isaac, his LebNet mentor Michael Wakim and seasoned senior Silicon Valley executive, a mentorship guru, and a new LebNet member, Nora Denzel. Click here to see the pictures of the event.

3. LebNet Startup Mentees

Since the launch of our mentorship program in March 2014, more than 15 start ups have benefited from connections, introductions and focused business advice from members. Three Lebanese start ups are being mentored on a regular basis:

  • Instabeat: Founder: Hind Hobeika. Mentor: Fouad Tamer. Read more here.
  • Band Industries: Founder: Hassane Slaibi. Mentors: Ramzi Haidamous and Anthony Nassar. Hassane Slaibi has been nominated Lebanon’s Top 20 Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology. Read more here
  • Implify: Founder: Paul Tauk. Mentor: Pierre Tager. Paul Tauk has been nominated Lebanon’s Top 20 Entrepreneurs In Science And Technology. More here.

How you can help:

  • By filling out our questionnaire, you get the opportunity to attend our invitation only events! This survey is short (less than 5 minutes). 
  • Our goal is to identify your area of expertise: software, hardware, e-commerce, wearables, internet of  things, robotics, gaming, etc. to pair you up with up and coming entrepreneurs. If you prefer, you can drop us an email with this information.
LebNet Partnership Program:

    • What’s new:

1. American University of Beirut (AUB)
LebNet is partnering with AUB  on their internship program. The students in their 3rd year are required to undergo an internship for a period of 8 to 12 weeks in the summer prior to their year of graduation. The purpose of this graduation requirement is to gain supervised experience and a practical  feel for the real professional world. AUB students graduate in their 4th year, but by the 3rd, they have already developed a range of skills, which makes them beneficial among the engineering group at any company. In addition, the internship will give the hosting institution the opportunity to test these students as possible hires. Internships can be paid or unpaid, depending on the company’s needs. Interested companies can fill the attached form and send it back to you or to me directly. Your support in this respect is highly appreciated, please contact us.

2. Lebanon For Entrepreneurship (LFE): LebNet is happy to announce LFE’s launch of Tech AcceleratorSpEED@BDD in Beirut. This accelerator will accept two batches of start ups per year or a maximum of 6 companies. LebNet will act as a mentor for these companies when they come to Silicon Valley.

3. Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shawn, & Whitman (Pillsbury Law): LebNet is proud to announce that Pillsbury Law is the legal sponsor of LebNet events in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for 2015 – thanks to LebNet member David Ajalat! We look forward to welcoming you in the beautiful offices of Pillsbury Law overlooking the Bay Bridge!

4. Lebanese Students Society at Stanford University (LSSU): LSSU is LebNet’s point of contact at Stanford University and as such, LSSU will advertise for LebNet events, encourage Lebanese qualifying students to register as members of LebNet, and help organize special student-driven and targeted events in the Silicon Valley. All sponsored by LebNet.

5. LebanonConnect: Check this link, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lebanon, to the Diaspora.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 8, 2014: CES@Anderson School of Management at UCLAOur LebNet member Jilber Najem is co-organizing this event, in the framework of his MBA studies. There will be two panels (one on wearables, and one on the internet of things) and a 2-hour period for booths/demos. Would be great to get anyone who is involved in the following topics as a panelist, or for product demos: Wearables, Internet of Things, Robotics, Virtual reality, Connected Cars. Let us know ASAP.

More details here.

January 14, 2014: MENA Entrepreneurial Showcase & Networking Reception

We are partnering with TechWadi and the Aspen Institute on their first event of the year in the Bay area. The event will showcase ten start ups from the MENA region in an open entrepreneurial marketplace with a networking hour on January 14, 2015. Come and engage with the visiting start ups and learn more about their products and offerings, while meeting other members of the high tech Arab and Lebanese community.

If you would like to showcase your startup within the Market Place at this event, please let us know ASAP.

The event is Free for LebNet members. More details here.

NEWS:

News from our LebNet Members!

We are proud to announce the following successes achieved by Lebanese and LebNet members:

  • Future of Mapping and Navigation: Led by LebNet member, Dr. Louay Eldada, Quanergy develops and markets smart sensing solutions for real-time 3D mapping and object detection, tracking, and identification (LiDAR). More here.
  • Foreign investment elusive for MENA start ups, says Lebanese VC, Khaled Nasr, LebNet member: More here.
  • Introducing DRIVE: Safe Connected Driving, by Lebnet member, Ronald Isaac. More here.

News for Lebanese Entrepreneurs!  

  • LFE Announces The Launch Of Tech Accelerator SpEED@BDD, in Beirut. Read more here.
  • Japan’s Cookpad to acquire Shahiya, the Middle East leading recipe website, for $13.5 million. Read more here.
  • Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), New Impact Fund. Read here.

If you have success stories to share please email it to us.

As the year comes to an end, we remind you that you can make a tax deductible donation to LebNet, by simply clicking here.

THANK YOU!

Let us know what you think, send your comments and suggestions to [email protected]

Take a peek of the latest LebNet events, news and job postings!