The view from our startup space and entering the Challenge Cup

The Library (the space that we call our office) is situated on the 9th floor of Migdal Shalom. Built in 1965, Migdal Shalom was Israel's first skyscraper, and the tallest building in the Middle East. But even though we're only on the 9th floor, the view is amazing. You see the oldest buildings in Tel Aviv, built at the end of the 19 century by people trying to escape the overcrowded Jaffa. And of course you see the Mediterranean.

View from Migdal Shalom with Jaffa and the Mediterranean in the background

So Reliance  (רליינס) was asked to take part in the Challenge Cup 1776 (http://challengecup.1776dc.com/). 

This is (as they tell it)

"a global competition to identify and celebrate the most promising startups tackling the biggest challenges. The competition will center on startups innovating in four primary categories: education, health, energy, and smart cities"

I think we were only asked to fill in the numbers for the Smart Cities section. All the other entrants are up and running with users, whereas we will soon start our pilot. Different traction entirely. But we are looking at it as a learning exercise as the guys receive pitch coaching.

Update after the event: It went brilliantly. Both co-founders learned a lot and also had exposure to other startups. Omri (the CEO of Reliance Rent - www.reliancerent.com) gave the 1-minute pitch, and though I may be biased, it was a good pitch. As we thought before going in, we didn't have a chance as some excellent up-and-running products were introduced. But a good time was had by all.