"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!
Thank you, Tamir, for being with us throughout this hackathon! Your impact and advice were truly valuable. 👏🏼