SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Dubbed the “Start Up King,” world-renowned start-up expert, venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur Jonathan Medved will return to his native San Diego from Israel on October 22 to speak to local business leaders and business students at SDSU and UCSD on how to learn from Israel’s start-up culture to build businesses and create jobs in our tough economy.
Medved has been both an entrepreneur and investor: He has been part of the founding teams at several successful Israeli startups, and as a venture and angel investor over the past two decades he invested in almost 100 Israeli startup companies, helping to bring 11 of them to values in excess of $100 Million. Medved has currently 14 startup companies in his personal angel investor portfolio.
The New York Times calls Medved one of the “ten most influential Americans in Israel.” The Washington Post calls Medved “one of Israel’s leading high tech venture capitalists”. Medved is helping Stand With Us, a global Israel education organization; launch its “Israel Start Up Nation Series,” which highlights how Israel solves global problems through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Medved is a highly sought speaker worldwide to journalists, business leaders, public officials and students on how other nations, business leaders can learn and benefit from Israel’s innovation and start-up success.
“San Diego is a national center of technology and innovation, so it’s the perfect community to educate and highlight Israel’s innovative use of math, science and technology to solve the world’s biggest challenges,” said Audrey Jacobs, Stand With Us San Diego Director. “The goal of our ‘Israel Start Up Nation’ series is to provide opportunities for businesses, academia and students to learn from Israeli innovation and how its entrepreneurial spirit has been used to transform the economy, redefine technology, feed the hungry and heal the world.”
Medved’s own personal entrepreneurial success was profiled in the best-selling and critically acclaimed bookStart-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.” The authors, Saul Singer and Dan Senor, describe Medved as “one of Israel’s legendary business ambassadors…(he) has taken on a role that – in any other country – would typically belong to the Chamber of Commerce, Minister of Trade, or Foreign Secretary.”
Between 2006-2012, Jonathan Medved was the co-founder and CEO of Vringo, a leading provider of software platforms for mobile social and video applications which completed its IPO on the NYSE:AMEX in June, 2010 (NYSE: VRNG). Prior to Vringo, Medved founded in his garage Israel Seed Partners, one of Israel’s leading venture capital funds which he co-managed until January 2006. Israel Seed had $262 million under management in four funds and has been an investor in leading Israeli companies. Major investments and exits include: Shopping.com, Compugen, Answers.com, Cyota, Mobile Access and Broadlight.
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Preceding provided by Stand With Us