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גיליון 032 ינואר 4102
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קהילה
By Aviva Gat
Three years ago Alisa
Wills, 23, participated in
an event called "Three
Day Startup," in which
potential
entrepreneurs
camp out together to
brainstorm ideas, develop
business models and pitch
ideas to investors. The
event bore a company co-
founded by Wills, which
despite being developed
in just 72 hours, is still
around today and in an
accelerator in San Fran-
cisco.
With that success in the
back of her mind, Wills
has been working to host
her own "Three Day Start-
up" event that she hopes
will yield new businesses
and resources in Israel’s
periphery. "
I think the
economic potential here
is huge and I truly be-
lieve in the importance of
continuing to develop the
north", Wills says. The
event, which will likely
take place in Kfar Vradim,
is meant to pair potential
entrepreneurs with men-
tors and combine demo-
graphics and talents to
create something mean-
ingful, Wills says.
"3DS" is a nonprofit en-
trepreneurial educational
program that hosts events
where participants "brain-
storm ideas, conduct mar-
ket validation, develop
business models, build
prototypes, create brand-
ing, and pitch to investors
and successful entrepre-
Attempt to organize “Three Day
Startup” event in kfar vradim
neurs", according to its
website. The organization
has held 70 programs on
four continents that have
launched 41 companies
receiving $14.5 million
in funding. 3DS recently
hosted an event in Haifa,
where Wills pitched her
idea of hosting an event
in a more remote part of
Israel.
"
Having something like
that here is prestigious",
says Laura Herschlag, a
Kfar Vradim resident who
has been Wills’ mentor
through her project.
Herschlag had been work-
ing to bring industry to
Israel’s periphery when
Wills came to live in Kfar
Vradim on the SEE Gali-
lee program that focuses
on
entrepreneurship.
Wills’ arrival and deter-
mination seemed to coin-
cide perfectly with goals
Herschlag and another or-
ganization, Startup North,
had been trying to accom-
plish.
"One of the major prob-
lems with Kfar Vradim is
that we have no industry
here", Herschlag says.
With Wills’ connection
to the 3DS organization
through her own experi-
ence launching a startup,
Herschlag and Startup
North agreed to hand over
the reigns to Wills.
"Alisa is an entrepreneur
by personality", Her-
schlag says. "In the way
she is able to envision
something that she be-
lieves should happen and
she is able to make that
happen. An entrepreneur
is someone who can take
their vision and make it a
reality".
During her own partici-
pation in a 3DS event in
October 2010, Wills co-
founded Partender, which
allows bars to more easily
take inventory and reduce
loss. The startup is in the
500 Startup, one of the top
accelerators in the U.S.
She also worked at anoth-
er startup called Groove-
Shark, an online commu-
nity that allows people to
listen to music and make
playlists online.
While inspiration and
drive are universal, work-
ing in Israel has been eye-
opening and has taught
Wills to better explain
herself and approach chal-
lenges outside of her ele-
ment.
"
I think watching my vi-
sion change has been
exciting" Wills says. "I
definitely came with the
mindset of I’m going to
come to this undeveloped
area and "help" them, and
that isn’t the case at all.
Everyone here is incredi-
bly educated, capable, and
motivated. I’m hoping to
help people hone these
skills they already have
and leverage that for more
economic independence".
הכותבת אביבה גת ונושא
הכתבה אליסה ווילס שוהות
בכפר ורדים יחד עם קבוצה
של צעירים יהודים מאר
ז
צות הברית במסגרת פרויקט
ו
�
. הכתבה מ
SEE Galilee
פיעה בשפת המקור ובעמוד
ממול תרגום תמציתי.
Alisa Wills.
help people hone the skills they already have
