Influential Israelis Blonde 2.0 Boston bound

blonde_bostonNotwithstanding the sparkly element of the picture and that we are obviously superstars, the adjacent picture is at a recent event in London’s Soho House, with Mike Butcher, editor-at-large of TechCrunch, some bloke in the background, my good self and Blonde 2.0 founder Ayelet Noff .

Blonde 2.0 is an award-winning tech-focused communications company and was founded by Ayelet eight years ago in Tel Aviv. Almost a decade on, it has decided to open its first office outside Israel in the rarified city of Boston, Massachusetts. They are very good at their job.

The company’s clientele includes tech giants such as Viber, StoreDot and Yo, as well as more than 70 other clients and will focus on providing services to startups and technology-focused companies in the US. It also works for VCs such as Rhodium, Singulariteam and Shaked Ventures.

“Expanding overseas is the next logical step for us. For several years now, the majority of our clients have come from outside Israel, so we wanted to add a location that will boost our ability to service and communicate with clients from around the world. We chose Boston since we already have great clients there, and good ties to the business community in the city,” said Blonde Co-CEO Motti Peer.

Blonde 2.0 is headquartered in Tel Aviv and employs 25 people and you may have noticed from the picture that Ayelet is a brunette, not a blonde, a fact that has no relevance at all to the rest of the content of this piece.

150-WORD BOOK REVIEW: Secrets of Silicon Valley

Piscione-Secrets-of-Silicon-ValleyDeborah Perry Piscione is an achiever and winner, and the author of Secrets of Silicon Valley. In 2007, after living for 18 years in Washington DC and working as a White House staffer among other experiences, she moved with her family to Silicon Valley for better weather.

Her six years there render her awestruck at the different way innovators work on this side of the US and she has written a half-idiot’s guide to the culture there.

Glossing quickly over a failed job application to Google, she falls for the ‘nicer’ approach to business rather than the Machiavellian methods she was inured to in Washington.

She takes the reader back to the Californian Gold Rush and through the technology cycles that the Valley has been through, and introduces the innovators who were responsible for its growth.

It is a competent, albeit short, book although the final chapter (Can Silicon Valley be replicated?) is slight and completely ignores technology hubs in Europe and Africa, concentrating on Israel and Africa.

RATING: 6.5/10

Monty’s Social Outlook – Issue 17

The easy option this week would be to talk about the Egyptian protests that have centred on social networks, especially Facebook, and how the authorities have shut them down to presage the inevitable state killings that will happen after prayers this evening. Continue reading

Monty's Social Outlook – Issue 17

The easy option this week would be to talk about the Egyptian protests that have centred on social networks, especially Facebook, and how the authorities have shut them down to presage the inevitable state killings that will happen after prayers this evening. Continue reading