"Focus your energy on the challenges that truly matter and make a difference" This quote from Daniel Schwab at our BioFense Biohackathon finale perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the past two days. 🌟
Our semi-finalists pitched innovative ideas with the potential to transform our ecosystem to industry-leading judges. Two teams advanced to the finals, where they showcased their solutions to the judges and audience. 🏆
🎉 Congratulations to the winning teams:
🥇 First Place - Biomedical Sector -Daniel Engelberg, Gabriel Ganeles, Theodor Fuchs, Ran Benayoun, Eytan Merkin
🥈 Second Place - Ressiliance - Gabriel Berezovsky, Aviv Fedida, Jennifer Jehan, Joshua Blecher
🥉 Third Place - Ressiliance - Avital Yosupov, Lena Yadgarov, Vladimir Vinokur
💡 We also hosted two insightful panels:
Defense-Tech Ecosystem: Led by Itay Varkovitzky, an investment professional and former DDR&D (MAFAT) - Directorate of Defense Research & Development member, this panel explored Israel's defense-tech landscape. Our esteemed guests included Yaron Mayrovich (Director of Strategic R&D, Elbit Systems Israel, C4i), Guy Keren (CEO, iHLS Israel Homeland Security), and Duddy Rokach (Managing Partner, SOSA).
Israel Innovation: Sharon Goldberg, Catalyst Director at the Israel Innovation Institute, hosted this panel on innovation in Israel. Our panelists, Alona Barnea (Head of Neurotechnology Resilience and Rehabilitation), Gil Horsky (Founder & Managing Partner, FLORA Ventures), Daniel Schwab (Founder & Advisor, Brightmerge), and Yishay Falick MD MBA (Director, HealthTEACH & Bioconvergence), shared key advice and insights for young entrepreneurs in 2024:
1.Don't hesitate to ask for help and embrace failure. 💪🧠 Learning from mistakes is essential for growth.
2.Stay hungry and constantly remind yourself of your goals. 🚀🎯 Passion and perseverance are key to success.
3.Leverage the advantages of our small ecosystem. 🤝 Collaboration and networking opportunities abound. 🌐
4.Focus on impactful problems. 🎯 Don't waste time on issues that won't move the needle. ⏳
🙏 A huge thank you to our sponsors – the Walder Foundation, DDR&D (MAFAT) - Directorate of Defense Research & Development, and Teva Pharmaceuticals – for making this event possible! Without your support, BioFense wouldn't have been the success it was.
💪 And a massive shoutout to our Biohackathon participants – you are the lifeblood of this event. Your passion and creativity fueled BioFense, and we couldn't have done it without you!
Co-founder of the FoodTech community at Ben Gurion University
3wIt was an honor to welcome Daniel Gamsu to Be'er Sheva! We learned so much. incubator submissions are being prepared.