The PulsoConf speech agenda was kicked off by Ran Harnevo, co-founder and CEO of 5min Media and Senior VP of Video at AOL. With a presentation called Competing Globally from a Small Country: Our Story from Israel, Harnevo outlined his experiences as an Israeli entrepreneur who has successfully created a global company and his background as part of the Israeli internet ecosystem that has proven to be of world-class relevance.
The story of 5min Media is not a short one, and as Harnevo explained, it is largely tied in with the strong Israeli tech ecosystem as well as the company’s global nature. Born in 2006 in Tel Aviv, the company found its true business model over two years after its birth, shifting from a destination to a digital syndication platform. Despite the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009, 5min Media successfully turned into a U.S. – Israeli hybrid and was acquired by AOL in 2010. Today, Harnevo heads the AOL Video team of 130 professionals, noting that AOL runs only second to YouTube in the video realm.
Harnevo emphasized the importance of the Israeli ecosystem in his own success. The Israeli government has expressed significant interest in the tech industry in the country, as have other sectors, and the entrepreneurial avenue is applauded by the Israeli public in general. He referred to tech entrepreneurship as “the new dream” and highlighted Israel’s achievements in technology, entrepreneurship and business. Today, the country has the third-largest presence in NASDAQ, following the United States and Canada, and is the home of over 70 VCs.
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