Latest Venture news. » Personal & Family Posts http://www.venture.name Capital venture news Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:58:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Shana Tova תשע http://www.venture.name/2009/09/16/shana-tova-%d7%aa%d7%a9%d7%a2/ http://www.venture.name/2009/09/16/shana-tova-%d7%aa%d7%a9%d7%a2/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000 Daniel Cohen

Here it is, another Rosh Hashanah arriving, and the previous one still seems so recent. I looked back at my wishes from last year, and some of them came true. Obama won and showed the world what Leadership 2.0 is all about. Hapoel Haifa won, made it to the Israeli premier league, and did that with a lot of passion, commitment and style.

This year I decided to be a bit more specific, something beyond just general health and world peace. So, here are my 3 wishes for the new Jewish year:

  • 5 great deals: When I talk about deals, I mean it in the most broad sense. Some combination of exits, strategic accounts, partnerships or massive distribution. 5 amazing business deals that will make a direct or indirect influence on Gemini’s success.
  • 3 amazing rock concerts: I already have tickets for Leonard Cohen, Shalom Hanoch (1AM at the Barby) and Pearl Jam (again). Although we are back in Israel, I hope to attend at least 3 world class rock concerts with real emotional impact.
  • 1 historical championship: Between the Patriots and Hapoel Haifa, how about another historic championship. Odds are low, but hey – I am asking for just one.

Add 5+3+1 and it equals Nine(9), the Hebrew letters of the new Jewish Year: תש”ע.

Shana Tova!

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]]> http://www.venture.name/2009/09/16/shana-tova-%d7%aa%d7%a9%d7%a2/feed/ 0 Good Morning Obama http://www.venture.name/2009/01/19/good-morning-obama/ http://www.venture.name/2009/01/19/good-morning-obama/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:19:23 +0000 Daniel Cohen Today is January 20th, 2009. Today is a special day, one of those days that you will always remember. The US had 6 presidents since I was born (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr.), but this one is probably the most important. There are a few reasons for this: He is Black, He is a natural leader, and he is providing hope for a country that needs a lot of change.

But there is another reason why this president is so special. Obama is the first president that is truly from MY GENERATION. He is (almost) my age, he likes basketball, addicted to his Blackberry, and uses Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. He even likes some of the music I love (Bob Dylan, Miles Davis).

I hope Obama will show the world that my generation can make a big difference. Unrelated to his political views, Obama has 4 key attributes that I really like; Charisma, Professionalism, Addiction to Technology, and the ability to create hope for people.

I truly hope that 20 years from now people will ask: “Where were you during Barack Obama’s inauguration?”. My answer is going to be simple: “In the US, watching the inauguration online”.

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]]> http://www.venture.name/2009/01/19/good-morning-obama/feed/ 0 My favorite Silicon Valley (food) Places http://www.venture.name/2009/01/07/my-favorite-silicon-valley-food-places/ http://www.venture.name/2009/01/07/my-favorite-silicon-valley-food-places/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Daniel Cohen After being here for more than 2 years, there are few places that have become regulars for me. These are places I visit often, and that I usually recommend to others when asked. Since a lot of Israelis that come over here ask me for local recommendations, I decided to list here some of my favorite locations. I also decided to map all the places. Check it on Live Maps.

Most Favorite Place Almost there – 2nd Place Additional Places, if Needed
Coffee Farley’s San Francisco: I was introduced to Farley by Zev Laderman (ex-CEO of Aduva), and I still think it’s the best tasting coffee in the Bay Area. Not a great place to sit, and clearly too far from the south bay, it’s a must stop on the way to/from the city back to Menlo Park Caffe del Doge: This is the best coffee place in Palo Alto, and that’s why its packed with Israelis. Like a good neighborhood coffee, it’s the best place to run into Nadav or Omer or many other local Israelis. I love the coffee although it’s a bit too small Coupa Café (Wifi and chocolates), Bellano Coffee Santa Clara (Been there once, but good coffee in the South bay).
Food Chain Left Bank: Although it’s an Americanized version of French restaurants, I still think Left Bank is a real pleasure. The highlight is the Nicoise Salad. Although they have a location not far from Sand Hill Road, I usually eat at their Santana Row branch. The Counter: The all American Hamburger has seen some major updgrades in the past few years (and I loved McDonalds as a kid). The Counter provides great burgers, combined with a create-your-own-topics combination. Bring on the Chedder Cheese and Avocado. PF Chang, Outback are always good options for Gluten Free stuff, a personal choice that puts them high on my list.
Restaurant Evvia: Always packed, always fresh, always delicious. Their fish dishes are amazing, and I love the Greek salad. Clearly, that place has a nice flavor of home (Israel). The Village Pub. My friend Oren says that this place is way too high-end, and its usually filled with VCs at lunch time (Can be seen as a pro or a con). But the food is good, and the coffee at the end is excellent. Red Currant. A hidden gem in Menlo Park, the place is run by Ayelet & Nir, and it has a strong Israeli influence. Food is great, but the place is a bit off the path to become a regular.
Breakfast NO PLACE. Nada. I still can’t find a good place for a nice (and tasty) breakfast place. I think that a good breakfast place is not part of the West Coast culture. Cafe Borrone. Another packed place, the food is quite good, and although its a bit casual (A bit self service), it’s a nice option for a breakfast with a friend. Sundeck, Il Fornaio, Buck’s. 3 of the more common VC places are all located somewhat around Sand Hill Road. The problem is that all 3 provide food options that are below par.
Sushi Fuki Sushi. Ahh. My favorite place in Silicon Valley. By far. I eat there 3-4 times a week and I am still not tired. The Hamachi is great and I love the Salmon-Avocado hand roll. Kitsho. Located in Cupertino, the place is very authentic, yet not as tasty as Fuki. They usually have some rare fish selections, so its a great place for trying new things To be honest, I am so addicted to Fuki, so I can’t think of others in this category.
Supermarket Andronico’s. Sometimes lunch is just a salad. Andronico is a bit on the expensive side, but provides has a great salad bar, and some nice Sushi selections Whole Foods. Another good place for fresh dishes, usually Gluten free. Safeway? Never…

]]> http://www.venture.name/2009/01/07/my-favorite-silicon-valley-food-places/feed/ 0 The future of my music collection http://www.venture.name/2009/01/05/the-future-of-my-music-collection/ http://www.venture.name/2009/01/05/the-future-of-my-music-collection/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000 Daniel Cohen In the past 20 years I have built a nice music collection. A lot of CDs, tapes, albums, and online music. All now represented in about 40GB of music. I still consume it in all formats (Even cassettes sometimes…), but mostly on my iTunes/iPod (Usually when running and when traveling). So far so good.

But lately, I am starting to get frustrated with the level of understanding/interaction I have with my own music collection. There are great technologies out there that help me find music that I may like (of course, there is a business model in that). Those include Pandora, Last.fm, and even Amazon.

But I am looking for something different. I want a technology that will help me discover and understand my own music collection. Apple recently launched Genius, which is a first step in that direction. The problem is that Genius is very predictable. I pick a Led Zeppelin song, and it doesn’t matter what song, I get the same suggestions: Jumping Jack Flash by the Stones, Highway Star by Deep Purple. I don’t need to be a Genius to do that.

So here are the 3 elements I want from my iPod in the future:

  1. True (Business) Intelligence: What do I listen to? Not only the songs, but Genres, Albums, Artists. In what songs do stick till the end, and what songs do I skip? All that information is there. I want it.
  2. True Discovery. What are some songs that I ALREADY HAVE, and that are left behind? Based on what I listen to, what songs I may actually enjoy (and are a bit less obvious than Light my Fire by the Doors).
  3. And finally, a bit unrelated, Additional information on the Albums (and the bands). Can’t I have on my iPod a bit of information (from Wikipedia?) on the band and the album? Here is an example. I started listening to the Silos. To be honest, I know nothing about them (I do own the album). Some local information would have been great, and would have helped me engage more in listening to the music.

Anybody interested to take the these ideas and implement them? Maybe there is a business there… The only company I know that is somewhere in the area is TuneUp. Maybe they will add what I want.

]]> http://www.venture.name/2009/01/05/the-future-of-my-music-collection/feed/ 0 Another Holiday Break (and Happy New Year!) http://www.venture.name/2008/12/18/another-holiday-break-and-happy-new-year/ http://www.venture.name/2008/12/18/another-holiday-break-and-happy-new-year/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:30:12 +0000 Daniel Cohen Last year, just before the holidays, I wrote a short post “Holiday Break (and Happy New Year!)“. At that time I was just going away for a 2 week vacation, and as I was leaving, I wished for a few things:

  1. Great and happy year (That works.)
  2. No recession (Oh well.)
  3. Strong IPO Market (What is IPO?)
  4. and wishing the Patriots will be the world champions (Lost at the Super bowl to the Giants).

This year I am not wishing for anything. Happy Holidays.

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]]> http://www.venture.name/2008/12/18/another-holiday-break-and-happy-new-year/feed/ 0 PVR Blues http://www.venture.name/2007/12/06/pvr-blues/ http://www.venture.name/2007/12/06/pvr-blues/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:40:04 +0000 Danny I love Mondays (Really). Since our partners meeting starts early (6AM US, 4PM Israel), I can be back home rather early, and get in front of the TV at 5:30PM for Monday night football. This week, should have been even better as New England were playing Monday. Unfortunately, I was speaking on a panel for the BLC (More details here).

Since I couldn’t see the game live, I was happy that I have a PVR. I easily set the system to record the game, looking forward to seeing it on Monday night. At 9PM I was in front of the TV (wearing my old Drew Bledsoe shirt), pretending I am seeing the game live. It was a great game, although New England were not playing well (2nd week in a row). Toward the end of the 4th quarter, with a couple of minutes till the end of the game, the Patriots were trailing, but Tom Brady was leading them to a great run down the field. I was anxiously watching the play, the clock ticking down, when suddenly…

The show stops. The programming guide was configured for 3 hours, and not a minute more. With a minute left on the clock and the Patriots still trailing, I was left hanging. What a frustration! What a bad experience! Well, a couple of thoughts following this:

  1. New technology is great. If you get 99% uptime that’s amazing. But that 1% can really hurt sometimes.
  2. Luckily, everything goes online quite fast. I was able to catch the last part of the game on You Tube (Check it here).

Finally, something to the Israeli, Hebrew speaking crowd. This reminded me of the great Uri Zohar scene: La Marmur by Ferlesh. I searched for it (and found it!) on the net, and couldn’t stop laughing (again and again).

]]> http://www.venture.name/2007/12/06/pvr-blues/feed/ 0 Green Opportunity http://www.venture.name/2007/11/28/green-opportunity/ http://www.venture.name/2007/11/28/green-opportunity/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:21:29 +0000 Danny Not related to anything, I thought this photo represents a nice investment opportunity in clean tech (Photo was taken during the Thanksgiving weekend in the Santa Barbara area).

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