Lessons from experience
Competitor Research: Your Customer’s Spreadsheet Is Competing Too
Define the need and audience, examine how customers solve the problem today, and compare competitors using evidence.
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More than 15 years in the field.
The lessons are yours to explore.
For more than 15 years, I have founded, managed, and advised businesses and ventures. These articles share what I did, the decisions I made, and what I learned along the way, alongside new perspectives on building and managing businesses in the age of AI.
15+years in the field
EntrepreneurManagerConsultantAI and innovation
Lessons from experience
Competitor Research with AI: A Good Answer, but Where Did That Number Come From?
Separate facts, company claims and interpretation, and keep a source URL and date beside each important finding.
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Lessons from experience
Competitor Pricing Research: 99 a Month, but What Are You Paying For?
Compare currency, billing period, allowances and offer conditions, and mark missing information instead of guessing.
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Lessons from experience
Business Plans with AI: When AI Agents Become Entrepreneurs, Where Will You Be?
How AI agents could change business planning and entrepreneurship, and what founders can do to turn research, judgment, and execution into an advantage.
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Lessons from experience
How to Do Effective Market Research Before You Invest
A practical guide to market research: understand customers, compare competitors, test assumptions, and avoid expensive mistakes before building your business.
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Lessons from experience
Finding a Startup Cofounder: A Partnership That Feels Like a Relationship
What should you look for in a startup cofounder? A founder’s perspective on compatibility, expectations, and choosing the person who will build with you.
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Lessons from experience
From Kickstarter to Amazon Launchpad: StellarNova’s Entrepreneurial Journey
The StellarNova story connects a Kickstarter campaign, Amazon Launchpad, technology entrepreneurship, and a mission to advance gender equality.
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Lessons from experience
Japanese User Experience: Perfection Meets Innovation
Reflections on Japanese user experience, the pursuit of perfection, and the tension between meticulous design and Israel’s approach to innovation.
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Lessons from experience
When a Crisis Creates Loyalty: A Customer Experience Story from Greece
A personal story from Greece about service under pressure, customer loyalty, and the business value of how a company responds when something goes wrong.
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Lessons from experience
Take the Money and Run? Lessons from a Hardware Startup Mentor
A firsthand account of fundraising advice, mentorship, and failure in a hardware startup, with lessons about choosing guidance and understanding its limits.
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Lessons from experience
Preparing to Raise Money for a Hardware Startup: Know the Differences
Explore the differences between hardware and software fundraising, including prototypes, manufacturing, financial planning, and investor expectations.
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Lessons from experience
Chapter 6: Build a Prototype Before You Commit to the Business
From furniture to aquaponics, hands-on prototyping helped Idan Keisar test business ideas, understand production, and make better startup decisions.
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Lessons from experience
Chapter 5: How We Raised $1.3 Million—and Why Hardware Is Different
A firsthand account of raising $1.3 million, finding a supportive investor, and learning how physical product ventures differ from software startups.
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Lessons from experience
Chapter 4: Israeli Design and Innovation—Is There Such a Thing?
A founder’s perspective on design thinking, Israeli product innovation, and the resources needed to turn creative ideas into competitive businesses.
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Lessons from experience
Chapter 3: Trying to Build an Incubator for Physical Products in Israel
The story of Artic, an attempted technology design incubator, and the funding, design, and ecosystem gaps facing physical product founders.
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Lessons from experience
Chapter 2: Physical Products, Digital Products, and the Value of Touch
Lessons from Smartag, early BlazePod research, and a furniture startup on customer experience, real needs, and the appeal of physical products.
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Lessons from experience
Chapter 1: From Accounting to a Startup—Trading Numbers for Wood
Idan Keisar shares his move from PwC into a physical product startup, from the first idea and business plan to the challenges of leaving salaried work.
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