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.

Working with a startup

Wow, it has been a long time since I added an entry to this blog. I have been working as a freelancer for three years. At the beginning I was very busy, and then life settled down. 

Me with the Reliance team

Today I work with four companies. I do the documentation for two companies and product management for the other two (plus documentation as required). There are times when I am rushed off my feet as all companies approach a similar deadline, and other times when I have hardly anything to do. Funny thing is that when I actually do a scan of my average income it isn't that bad; it isn't what I used to earn as a salaried employee, but then I work much less hours (which is a good thing as I find myself tiring a bit more). I have made the decision not to actively search for any more work, but am happy if someone approaches me to help them.

At one of the companies, Reliance (רליינס - www.reliancerent.com) I work for free. The idea belongs to my son and I believed enough in the idea to work on it with him. I'll talk more about it when the right time comes, but it is taking much longer than we anticipated, mostly because we are trying to get to the beta stage without external investment. As it is a company that will be dealing with payments, we made the decision that quick & dirty  was not an option. I do hope that we made the correct decision.

We have each (four of us) been working out of our own homes, and meeting once a week (or more as needed). We have just been accepted to "The Library" (http://www.thelibrary.co.il/). Tel Aviv municipality offers startups practically free facilities. So now we have an office - well a shared table - we can call our own. There is a meeting room where we can hold meetings, say with investors, and a number of other groups that we can brainstorm with. I see that the site is not yet updated, so we don't appear yet as residents.

The team at 'The Library'

Anyway, as I work less hours nowadays, I decided to offer my services as a mentor (no money involved) to anyone at the Library who needs advice on turning their idea into a product. That was yesterday, and that evening I saw that my LinkedIn profile had been visited my many people, and I also received new invitations to connect. Interesting.

It will also be interesting to see how I manage now that I need to get to an external site; I have become attached to my home office. 

Closing the Third Project

I was invited to Europe to pass across the project (#3). The trip was scheduled for just a few days before we go away on our 7-week trip, but that’s life. I made the most of it and saw friends in the evening. I believe that the project is in good hands and that they have hired an experienced technical writer.

I spoke to the CEO and head of product management to see how they saw our future connection. I was pleased to hear that they believe that there will be so much work that I will again be asked to help. If I am lucky, I might also receive some product management work as they are reopening a project that I was in charge of when it was created. So I come away feeling optimistic and knowing that I finished off in a professional way.


Notes on travelling and being a freelancer

I was told that I either collected receipts for everything or received ‘eshel’, a Hebrew acronym for food, drink and sleep. I did both and I’ll let the accountant decide. Company #3 paid for the air ticket, hotel and taxis to and from the airport. I only needed incidental expenses, such as food and local taxis.  So looking at that I think ‘eshel’ plus taxi expenses sounds about right.

This will be my last post until May as I will be in the far south with only satellite contact. But as that is a pleasure trip and not work, the only thing I could publish would be my diary…

Winter and Spring

Tel Aviv had a few days of absolutely wonderful spring weather. Clear atmosphere, small clouds lightly scudding across the sky, 23 degrees, absolutely the sort of weather we wished we had all year. Birds were busy singing and trying to attract mates, cats were hissing to get their females.

Then winter came back and that was also great, as we don’t have enough days of rain. I felt like I was back in London. Heavy rain then lighter rain; grey and perfect in its own right – especially as it is only for a couple of days at a time.

I am busy finishing off my large project (#3) handing over to the new and full-time technical writer. The release was delayed for a month, so she has time to get to know the subject and finalize the content. I have created a guide with steps of what needs to be done and how. Next release she can work out what the best process is for her.

Winding up the tax year

This is the first time that I need to actively submit a tax form. For the last three years my husband has had to because he is no longer employed, but now I have to declare my earnings and expenses. Today I visited my tax advisor and brought with me all the ledgers, receipts, and invoices, whatever I had collected for 2010. She was very pleased that I had done what she had requested of me back in October and then went on to point out a few errors that I had made – nothing too bad, mostly transport related. For example, you can register the full amount of a car expense (garage work, etc.) but only two thirds of the VAT. I had entered two thirds for both. For the buses, where you top up a card, you enter that expense, and not, as I had done, each journey.

She now has to sift through it all to make the correct claim. I still could not give her my 106 for the months I had worked as an employee last year, the bank form for all the taxes they took from me, and all the pension funds and other deductibles end-of-year summaries.

It will be interesting to see what the end result is. I have not yet paid income tax for the months I worked, so will that be more that the rebate we (the family unit) should receive? 

Need to look further afield

I have been busy of late, mainly with contract #3. Contract #1 had a product release at the beginning of the month, so there won’t be much work this month; #2 is cash-strapped so is only providing work when there is no other way out. #3 has a release date in March, so I should be chock-full with work, especially as I started late. But no, as I feared, the developers are so busy developing that they do not have time to provide details for me to document, or even to pass comment on what I worked out for myself by using the product. So far I have kept myself busy comparing what was there the last time I documented (in June) to what I see now, and updating the online help and written guides. To be fair, I have had some contact with a couple of developers on new features – but not nearly enough.

I was informed on Thursday that they have been interviewing local technical writers and that my services will probably not be needed after the upcoming release. I am going on a long holiday just after that, so it means that when I get back I’ll need to go project hunting. I thought of trying now, but companies do not want to talk now about their documentation needs in May.

Anyone need an experienced technical writer?

I can work anywhere

I needed to go to London to visit my ailing mother. It is wonderful being close to her, and now that I am a freelancer I can work anywhere, as long as I take my laptop with me. No more asking for favours from work, or using up precious vacation days. So here I am, working as usual, and mum can see me while I am working and smile.

Generally, I have been working hard since I last wrote an entry. There is a tremendous amount of work and my major problem is getting feedback from subject experts. But it is great fun and I am enjoying myself.

Now I just have to lug my laptop back home at the end of the visit.