Big ideas

Make money online selling anything

Candice Krieger — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:16:36 +0000

Fancy setting up your own online business? Now you can — and for $20 — courtesy of an innovative Israeli-start-up.
Founded in 2011, IzzoNet is an e-commerce platform that helps users to build a website from scratch.
It has been dubbed one of the hottest new companies to come out of Israel. It has over 500 clients and is already considering a listing on the London market later this year.

So, how does it work? IzzoNet offers a variety of specialised software packages. All of them include the basic features needed for the successful running of an online store. There is the option to add a number of functionalities that are needed for the development of a large-scale project.
Users sign-up and receive a 15-day trial. They will then be contacted by a support expert, who will recommend and support them through a specific package. Packages range from between $20 and $300 a month, depending on the plan.

Elliot Jaffe, who is on the senior management team at IzzoNet, says: “We are trying to revolutionise e-commerce and cover all the steps that other platforms don’t do.”
Competitors include popular website builder, Wix, but Mr Jaffe belives IzzoNet has the edge. IzzoNet has an extensive feature list and full flexibility, meaning users can adapt it to fit your needs, rather than the other way around.

“Competitors say that they help you build a website from scratch but how do they know what works? We provide the templates that work.” He adds: “We know how to get the best results for them.”

A former finance trader, Mr Jaffe, 35, joined IzzoNet in 2011 after he made aliyah from London. “I knew nothing about e-commerce before I started but I am amazed by some of the figures.”
The global e-commerce market is valued at around $20 billion, and growing, with the UK ranked number one in terms of how much people spend online. “It’s crazy. Billions and billions are spent.”
IzzoNet, which recently launched its new system, was founded by virtual store expert, Tallya Rabinovitch, the current chief executive.

It began targeting the US market but is also now focusing on the UK — it plans to open an office there — and is also eyeing up sites in Brazil, Russia and some Arabic countries.
“We have had interest from celebrity clients but we want to help ‘Mr and Mrs Smith with their cupcake shop’,” says Mr Jaffe.The company has even received a call from someone wanting to set up an online store for his “wine-sipping socks,” reveals Mr Jaffe. “They were socks that you wear while drinking wine. And they sold a fortune. You can make money selling anything online today. It’s the way you promote it and excite people about it.
“It’s a way to make a real income in this downturn. You can set something up online so cheaply and with low overheads.”

Mr Jaffe grew up in north London and studied at University College London. He trained internationally as a finance trading working in several countries including Switzerland as head of Brookland Securities.

He joined IzzoNet in 2011 as investor relations officer and is responsible for the raising of funds and the current investors at the company. He specialises in assisting with future flotation plans and global solutions for IzzoNet.

It's never been easier to surf the web

Candice Krieger — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 09:40:05 +0000

Israeli start-up WalkMe’s aim is simple: make anyone’s web experience as easy as possible.
With people becoming increasingly dependent on the internet and spending a significant proportion of their time online — in the UK, 50 per cent more that they were five years ago according to Ofcom — the need for clear and effective websites is greater than ever. Enter WalkMe, which was established for exactly this reason: to make websites easier for their users to navigate and understand.
Business owners and service providers are able to overlay on-screen “walk-thrus” that assist end-users to quickly and easily complete any online process, turning complex tasks into intuitive and user-friendly experiences.

WalkMe has created the platform, which guides the website hosts through the processes needed to improve its site. It provides tutorials that take users through webpages, providing pop-up balloons triggered by a user’s actions that tell them how to proceed. The technology works on top of a the existing websites so it doesn’t have to be built in, and can be tailored for the complexity or variations of individual sites.
It creates small interactive pop-up bubbles that appear over various points on a site to lead — or “walk” — users through a typical interaction, be it a bank website, insurance company or e-commerce site. The pop-up bubbles (aka, tip balloons) highlight the next steps of a process, and can be placed on the site where the user might want to add some extra information and/or tips to increase conversion rates and form submissions.
The company also has a video demonstrating how the application works. No technical experience is necessary, as WalkMe uses an easy drag and drop interface to create the menus and prompts.
Launched in April, WalkMe already has hundreds of high-profile clients including Expedia, Jewish agency, Wix, Deloitte, Cisco and Adobe.

It has secured $5.5 million in series B funding from Gemini Israel Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners (which has invested twice putting in $1 million earlier this year) and Giza Venture Capital, and is credited as being the best tool for guiding users through websites.
Co-founder Eyal Cohen, who worked as a product manager at Intel, says: “My girlfriend (now wife’s) mother was asking for her help on a website and she didn’t understand why there weren’t any tools available to help her do things on the internet. Then it just hit me one day that I should do something and so I came up with a prototype.”

It took a few years in development but he teamed up with serial entrepreneur and former HP software designer, Dan Adika, and the now WalkMe president Rafi Sweary, and WalkMe has become the “go-to” interactive online guidance system. It is also believed to be the world’s first such system.

There are some 20 staff split between the company’s branches in Tel Aviv and San Francisco.
“Many people get scared by websites,” says Mr Cohen. “Even the best products can have complicated websites. And even I don’t understand some websites and need help — and looking for help isn’t easy to do.
“We are getting some really good feedback. People are spending longer on sites and end users are contacting our customers asking for more ‘walk-thrus’. One customer support team told us they that have thrown away their support videos and chat and now only use WalkMe.”

The WalkMe package starts at $97 a month, depending on the features.
The company is now targeting expansion and seeking to broaden its marketing activities. Mr Cohen is confident that the company will break even quicker than most start-ups.
Prior to WalkMe, Mr Cohen, 34, was a product manager and systems analyst at Leumi Card. Before that, he was at Intel.
www.walkme.com

There's a guardian angel for traders

Candice Krieger — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:28:58 +0000

Trading just got a lot less risky, courtesy of an innovative Israeli company which helps traders make better, and more efficient, decisions in real-time.

CPattern uses a unique technology-driven methodology to analyse traders’ behaviour and then directs the trader to the strengths and weaknesses of their trading style, prolonging their lifespan as an active trader.
It does this via its Guardian Angel tool — an automated guidance system offering “red warning flags” and “green lights” to traders in real time.

Oded Shefer (right), the founder of CPattern says: “Until today, trading was very lonely — there was noone to ask for help — and traders were wandering around in the dark. Many found themselves quitting trading after a few months with negative feelings.

“There are now options for traders today; such as automatic/robot traders that will trade for you to eliminate the psychological bias, and social trading, where traders don’t have to rely on themselves but can copy traders.
“Everybody is looking at ways to win the market in this industry and make the extra money. CPattern has spent past years developing a service that instead of analysing the market, analyses the traders behaviours.”
The CPattern “Guardian Angel” looks for hidden patterns in people’s trading. “The Guardian Angel might say: ‘Six out of your past 10 trades were successful but the four losing trades lost you more money than you one.”

The service is aimed at people who trade for a secondary income, or, as Mr Shefer puts it: “laymen traders. Many of these people will have a few lessons in trading, then open an account and make a deposit of anywhere between $100 and $10,000 and then start trading. But this trading could be very risky as when people look for quick wins, they also expose themselves to deep losses, because it is leveraged trading. So although you can make a lot of money in one minute, you can also make great losses.”
Founded a couple of years ago, CPattern is available to traders only via their brokers. It works with over a dozen worldwide brokers and marketing consultants, including YouTradeFX in the UK, Boston Technologies and AVA FX, and recently announced it is working with the popular MT4 platform.
Mr Shefer, who has an MSc in Industrial Psychology from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, says: “The aim isn’t to tell traders what to do but to empower them to make better and considered analyses of their behaviour and trade.”
“We analyse their behaviour in real-time and come up with feedback suggestions while they trade.” The tool is integrated within their trading platform, so whenever a trader opens a trade, there is a small window where CPattern displays feedback messages telling traders things they should be aware of.

“We are monitoring what every trader is doing to help then understand risk and money management better, and also to better understand their decision making.” He adds: “We are trying to help traders overcome their psychological biases and help them become rationale, stable, mature, aware. We also provide indications about the market and market situations and we will alert the traders if there is likely to be a trading announcement that is likely to influence their trades.” CPattern also analyses the volatility of the market.
According to a sample of global 1,000 traders that use the Guardian Angel tool, they make an average of 45 per cent more trades than regular traders. “They survive trading much better.

“We also have indications that they are more successful. We see that GA users manage to trade more responsibility and don’t lose as much as regular traders. These are significant differences.”
Mr Shefer, 40, has over a decade of experience in leading complex technological projects both in the IDF and in large Israeli companies. He has served as a product manager in CogniFit, and has experience in developing sophisticated decision support tools, online psychological tests, and electronic learning systems.

The CPattern service is currently free for traders to use but there are plans to introduce additional premium paid-for services. There are also plans to develop it in other languages — it is currently available in English.
What about competitors? “I know of some groups trying to do a similar thing but have not shown the results that we have. We have the edge on the behavioural science that we use here.”

www.cpattern.com

A new app that helps you make the most of your customers

Candice Krieger — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:42:47 +0000

Social media has become a key device in the savvy marketer’s toolkit. Yet many businesses struggle to capitalise on the opportunities it presents. Cue eDealya, an Israeli start-up that enables brands to engage with their customers on a different level.

Founded by Chaim Zucker and Ophir Sweiry, who worked together at leading software company Amdocs, eDealya helps brands spot and analyse their social communities’ activities and intentions and respond with a personalised targeted offer in real-time and real-context.
Mr Zucker, 36, explains: “Many brands can build up a social community such as Facebook fans and Twitter followers but the challenge is what to do next — how to develop a monetisation strategy that justifies this investment.”

Through its software platform, the start-up help brands engage with these communities in a relevant way using “engagement triggers” such as birthdays, weddings and holidays. “For instance,” continues chief executive Mr Zucker: “Let’s say there is a travel magazine with over 100,000 followers. One of the magazine’s followers might write that they are going away soon. They could then target that person with a personal message saying: ‘Enjoy your trip. Here’s a coupon for our magazine. Grab it at the airport’.”
The start-up has around 100 “engagement triggers” at its disposal. It uses “natural language processing” which attempts to decipher how the corporate fans are “talking online” before reacting.
Mr Zucker and Mr Ophir have raised around $1 million from two Israeli venture capital funds including one that is backed by The Israeli Chief Scientist Office.

Pricing is based on a monthly fee. There are three packages ranging from $49 to $499, depending on the features available. Customers choose a certain number of engagement triggers, automatic engagement messages and reports. There is also an enterprise package for very large accounts and special deals for agencies with multiple accounts.

Customers include many of the Fortune 100 and 500 companies. “We saw a great demand for products that enable brands to take social media to the next level,” says Mr Zucker. But is it not a bit intrusive? “The Big Brother question is a good one. There is an opt-out option on Facebook and on Twitter, and if someone is following the brand then they have already expressed a will to hear from them. We see people replying to brands, thanking them. We haven’t seen any complaints yet.”
Mr Zucker and Mr Sweiry, who both have MBAs, met while working at Amdocs. Mr Zucker was director of product and business management while Mr Sweiry was e-commerce product manager. They teamed up to launch eDealya in 2010. The company is based in the Negev, near Beersheva.

www.e-dealya.com

The new "kosher" app for foodies around the globe

Candice Krieger — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:31:54 +0000

Kosher consumers need never be hungry again. Novel new mobile app Kosher Near.Me uses GPS technology that allows you to find kosher restaurants in pretty much any location. Launched in the US last April, the service is now available via the Apple store in the UK, Canada and Australia with Europe, in particular France, also on the agenda.
Software developer Jonathan Myron, who is kosher, felt there was little information available for fellow kosher consumers.
He says: “I had always said that there was no one place for them to go. There were websites with a hotch-potch of information but often, these were out of date. There was no definitive source that understood the nuances of the kosher consumer.”
Mr Myron, 36, who has over 15 years experience in the internet and mobile space, wanted to develop an app and Kosher Near.Me was an opportunity to do it in an industry he understood. It started as a website, LocateKosher.com, but the listings became stale very quickly. Mr Myron decided to introduce his concept to smartphones.

How does it work? Users can download the app for free, tap in their location and be sent all the kosher restaurants within a 10-mile radius. Or you can do a postal search if you want to find a restaurant within a specific area. There is also the option to receive directions to a specific restaurant via the built-in navigation system, and a “click to call” button to make a booking for find out the restaurant’s menu information.
The app relies on user feedback, where diners can rate and review restaurants and suggest new listings. “We have tried to make it as helpful and as interactive as possible. The user community are a key part of how it works.”

LA-based Mr Myron studied political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In 1997, when, he says “the tech industry was heating up” he began working in the internet industry, covering social media, online advertising, telecommunications, property and mobile.
Kosher Near.Me has been downloaded over 10,000 times and the plan, says Mr Myron, is to focus on building the user database. Potential revenue streams include offering restaurants premium services such as enhanced listings — the option to upload photos and their menu, in addition to relevant local advertising. Shwarma anyone?

Schmoozing for work just got a whole lot easier

Candice Krieger — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:55:43 +0100

Networking through social media is transforming the way we do business. And helping to make this happen are Israeli entrepreneurs Eran Ben-Shushan, Alon Alroy and Boaz Katz. The trio are the brains behind Bizzabo — the popular smartphone app that lets event organisers and attendees make the most of real-time networking opportunities at conferences or business gatherings.

Launched to the public in June after a successful private Beta, Bizzabo is a fully-automated self-service platform aimed at both event attendees and organisers.
Attendees use the app to discover and engage with new and relevant business partners, while organisers benefit from improved communication with attendees, analytical tools and a new revenue stream.
It has received investment from some of the world’s most high-profile angels including internet entrepreneur Jeff Pulver and Eyal Ofer, son of the late shipping tycoon, Sammy Ofer. It has also secured a recent $1.5 million worth of funding from leading Israeli industry figures including: Gigi Levy, a serial angel investor and former chief executive of 888 Holdings; the Kaedan Capital Group, investors in Playtika and 5min; Professor Yair Tauman, leading professor of economics and serial angel investor, and AfterDox angels group, plus other American and European investors.

“I believe people always wanted to connect with eachother but didn’t have the tools to do so,” says Eran Ben-Shushan, 32.
“The need for networking was always there but social networks have made it more efficient. In the past, people were perhaps more secretive about their businesses but are now more willing to share themselves on social networks.”

How exactly does it work? Currently free to download and use, Bizzabo enables event organisers to create an instant mobile social network for attendees prior to the event. They enter the agenda, speaker profiles and update information live, with the ability to post changes to the event.
The app helps attendees to discover people of interest who are also attending the event, and connects them to relevant contacts. It cross references users’ Linkedin profiles and recommends who will be the most beneficial contact based on it.

Once attendees have downloaded the app, they can use it across multiple conferences.
They can message each other through the app, which keeps a database of people met at each event. Conference attendees can also network on the app before the event but then check into the physical location of the conference.

Since its public Beta launch in June, Bizzabo has facilitated more than 100,000 social interactions. For every 1,000 active users, 700 have connected on Linkedin via the app. And the potential market is a big one. There are a reported 20 million conferences a year worldwide, with sponsorships estimated at around $50 billion a year. But with services such as CrowdVine, Schmooze and Omyconf! around, plus location-based networking apps like Highlight and Sonar, is it not a crowded market?
“It’s a hot space but we see that as a positive thing,” says Mr Ben-Shushan. “The competition shows there is a demand.”

Besides, Bizzabo seems to be setting itself apart from the crowd. Hundreds of tech meet-ups around the world are already using Bizzabo as their official networking app. It has been used at leading international conferences including the MLOVE ConFestival in Berlin — dubbed the “TED of mobile” — the Tomorrow Conference in Israel; NOAH Internet Conference in San Francisco; the leading telecom conference Uplinq, hosted by the telecom giant Qualcomm, and UK Israel Business event, Innovate Israel. It has also been selected as the official event networking app for Europe Internet Week, which takes place in London next month.

The three founders met on the sought-after entrepreneurship programme at The Zell Entrepreneurship Program at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. The programme is funded by Chicago billionaire Sam Zell.
The idea came about while they were working on a previous start-up, attending numerous events and meet-ups. Mr Ben-Shushan recalls: “We couldn’t believe that in this day and age, people were still wearing name tags. We were finding it really difficult to meet the relevant people so we looked into it. We couldn’t see anything that helped attendees create meaningful business opportunities at events, while enabling event organisers to increase social interaction throughout the event, so we went ahead and built one.”

Bizzabo is free to use — the founders are currently focusing on user growth — but the future plan is to offer premium pay-for features. Additionally, the Bizzabo team is working on potential partnerships with several big-name brands and organisations and are using the recent round of investment to expand in the US and grow the revenue streams.

www.bizzabo.com

The App That Proves it's the Thought That Counts

Candice Krieger — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:58:51 +0100

Ever wondered what the person sitting opposite you on the train is thinking? Now you can find out thanks to a quirky new iPhone app that brings yet another dimension to social networking.
Echoer, the brainchild of entrepreneurs Daniel Cowen (left), Davin Sufer and their Israeli tech team, enables you to see what people are thinking and experiencing in the places around them. Users post their thoughts, aka “echoes”, on a map and can see those posted by others, be it restaurant reviews, jokes, local tips, business and event information, or general rants.

The app, which is free to download, lets users make real-time contributions by either adding a personal thought or amplifying others. Popular echoes appear more prominent, moving up the screen and those that people do not agree with get smaller and move down the screen.

Launched in April it received around 16,000 downloads in its first weekend. It won the 2011 Google People’s Choice award at LeWeb’s start-up competition.
Mr Sufer (right), 33, explains how the idea came about. “I travel a lot and was boarding a plane one day. The staff were really rude and I thought: ‘They are probably being rude to all the passengers but no one is doing anything about it.’ We have all these social networking tools but not really one where you can see what others are thinking.”

What about Twitter updates and Facebook statuses? “With Twitter you have to be ‘following’ someone to see their posts and you need to be on someone’s Facebook network to view their updates,” points out Mr Cowen, 31. “Echoer is a real-time, location-specific way of seeing the thoughts of those who are not necessarily in your network.”
Echoer is the duo’s second venture. They teamed up on pervious app Last Night Never Happened (LNNH), released last year.

The business partners met in Hong Kong. London-born Mr Cowen, a graduate of Oxford University, was working as a corporate lawyer for Slaughter and May, while US-born Mr Sufer worked at WowWee, a developer, marketer and distributor of high-tech consumer robotic and entertainment products. They co-founded Echo Labs to pursue their entrepreneurial desires and are particularly excited about Echoer. “We didn’t expect the kind of response that is has had. People are using it the way we hoped they would and we are really excited.”
As for monetising the application, there are several avenues including targeted advertising, the selling of data and enabling venues and event organisers to promote their own space through customisation. Currently available on the iPhone and iPad, it is soon to be realeased on other platforms. “We love bringing cool ideas to life,” says Mr Cowen.

There is help at hand for online shoppers

Candice Krieger — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:36:25 +0000

Talk about handy. Techno buff Robin Landy has created a real-time internet tool that automatically finds the lowest prices, without using a price comparison website.

Called InvisibleHand, the free download informs you when and where there are lower prices available on the product or service you are searching for. So, while you are sizing up an item, InvisibleHand is monitoring other stores and sites for better deals, subtly alerting you on your toolbar if and where it is available at a lower price.

It covers hundreds of major retailers and brands including John Lewis, British Airways, Amazon and Boots.

Launched in August 2009 the start-up has received more than 2.6 million downloads, finding £105 million worth of savings for UK users and for US users, over $500 million. Its average saving in the UK on products is £6.64 and in the US, $10.94.

The tool is available for all major web browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, which has recommended the service, and Mozilla Firefox, which lists it as one of the greatest Firefox add-ons of all time.

A former information architect Mr Landy, 32, came up with the idea while he was working at digital agency Forward Internet Group. "I was shopping for an iPod online but found it difficult and frustrating to find the best deal on the specific one I wanted. When you get an email, it comes directly to you -- you don't have to search for it. It should be the same with retail. The best price should come to you.

"Users shouldn't have to change their shopping habits or the sites they want to shop on."

He pitched the idea to the Group's founder who agreed to finance it. It has since been making the headlines, featured on BBC programme Click and in The New York Times, USA Today and the Guardian, among other publications.

Initially aimed at DVDs, books and games, the business has expanded to travel and car rentals with a daily deals service on the agenda. What about clothes? "This is our weak spot and something we are addressing."

He says: "When you are booking a trip you shouldn't have to open 25 different tabs and do multiple searches. We are cutting out the legwork."

InvisibleHand takes a commission on any sale made on its suggested retailer or service. Although Mr Landy is reluctant to disclose financials he says the company is aiming to achieve "tens of millions of downloads" this year and will shortly be launching complementary iPhone and iPad apps. "We have been going for around two years and are heading in the right direction. The vision is to cover absolutely anything so whenever anyone shops for something online, we will be there to give users the best prices."

Mr Landy, who lives in north London and has a masters in human-computer interaction from University College London, acknowledges setting up the company has been challenging.

"There is a lot that goes along with start-ups such as building and managing a team and financials. But it has also been really fun and rewarding knowing that you are making a difference to the way people use the internet."

The Israeli-made camera making our roads safer

Candice Krieger — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:57:22 +0000

Many of the world's most serious traffic-law violations are difficult to enforce says computer expert Yaniv Alon. And so the 36 year-old, who specialises in algorithms, has established a company devoted to doing so.

RoadMetric has developed a video-enforcement system for recording violations from tailgating to illegal passing, drifting inbetween lanes and not yielding right-of-way to pedestrians and other vehicles.

Mr Yaniv says: "Our goal is to make the roads safer. When it comes to traffic-law enforcement there hasn't been much innovation over the past 20 years. We want to improve this."

The Israeli start-up installs discreet cameras in traffic-police vehicles. They can not be seen from outside.

The camera's video technology spot and record a variety of offences that Mr Yaniv says are traditionally complicated and expensive to detect. "There are many violations that the police can't enforce because they don't have the tools to do so. Speeding and going over red lights are easy to detect without investing too much money but other serious violations are not.

"Our system provides clear video evidence which may come in useful if a case goes to court."

Mr Yaniv, who used to work for vehicle-safety technology company Mobileye, believes the system will be beneficial to local authorities and governments as a more effective and profitable way of enforcing traffic laws. According to sources typical enforcement systems catch an average of one violation per hour. RoadMetric's system claims to catch between eight and 25.

With a masters in computer sciences from the Hebrew University, Mr Alon is an expert in computer vision.

He has been working on the RoadMetric system since 2007. Around $500,000 has been invested - comprising his savings and salary as a computer consultant. He also secured a start-up grant from the Israeli government.

The system is now ready for sale and Mr Yaniv has been in touch with the Israeli government about its implementation. He also hopes to raise $500,000 to expand internationally.

The automated traffic-law-enforcement-systems industry is valued at around $800 million. Mr Alon identifies Britain as a huge potential market. "The UK government has invested a lot of effort in traffic-safety technology and they have succeeded in reducing the fatality rate by close to 50 per cent over the past ten years. To further improve traffic safety new technology is needed."

According to recent reports traffic accidents in the US and Europe are the leading cause of death for those aged between three and 25.

"Effective and up-to-date enforcement is key to reducing dangerous driving behaviours, preventing accidents and saving lives," says Mr Alon.

Calling all businesses...

Candice Krieger — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:31:17 +0000

Iftach Ben Zvi is obsessed with start-up ideas. Unsurprising then that at the age of 70, he has come up with his latest: a video chat application for businesses.

TiviClick enables companies and organisations to offer a video chat option on their website so that visitors can initiate real-time communication with sales and customer support representatives.

Mr Ben Zvi, a former programmer at IBM, says: "I used to do a lot of consulting and found that when it came to meetings I was wasting time. People would often take calls and get distracted, and there was also quite a bit of travelling which took up time."

Consequently, Mr Ben Zvi began conducting meetings over Skype, which he says he found very productive and inspired him to set up TiviClick. Yet unlike with Skype, TiviClick does not require both parties to be registered and there is no software for "callers" to download.

"Only the re-cipient needs to be authorised," he explains. "The caller can even be anonymous if they wish - they don't have to use the video but can just hold an audio or text-based conversation."

Recently brought to market, the concept is proving popular for a variety of potential online applications such as conducting business meetings, offering therapy/coaching sessions, law advice, e-commerce assistance, interviewing job applicants - basically, says Mr Ben Zvi: "It's for anyone who wants to provide a face-to-face service or business meeting.

"We have found a lot of demand for this. I am sure about the potential.

"People don't like call centres. They are very robotic and you end up spending a lot of time on hold. People prefer to do things face-to-face - you can learn a lot about someone this way and provide better support. TiviClick is a catalyst to increasing customer loyalty and sales revenues."

He adds: "We have the technology to do things today that we couldn't do two years ago. It's exciting."

A veteran entrepreneur, Mr Ben Zvi has invested $500,000 into the start-up. He is seeking a further $1 million to enable market penetration.

He has been working in the software sector for more than three decades including stints at the Israeli Ministry of Finance and Technion Computer Centre. More recently he set up Intech Technologies and has been working as a consultant but says he is always thinking of new ventures. "I can't help it. I can't get up in the morning without coming up with some sort of new idea."