Hey all. After years of talking to entrepreneurs in coffee shops (or zoom @ 2020), I’ve decided to start summarizing my talks and answers in a single place for people to read and learn from.
Who am I? The short answer is that I’m an entrepreneur turned investor, who spends his time while his baby girl is in kindergarten to meet and mentor young startups.
You want the long answer? well…
Milestone 1: Childhood + Army
A bit about me: My name is Yoav Amit. I’ve been a computer nerd most of my life, learning to program from the age of 10–11 (early 90s). I served in “a technological unit of the intelligence core” (any Israeli knows what that means), as a “PC Kid” (someone who joins the unit without a course), where I server for 6 years, starting as a developer, team leader and section leader.
Milestone 2: Amimon
In late 2006, for no better reason that all of my friends already established their first startup, I’ve decided to leave the army and start my journey in the startup ecosystem. With no business experience whatsoever in the civilian high tech industry, I’ve decided to join an existing startup and learn from the inside. On January 1st 2007 I’ve joined Amimon, starting as a RT software engineer, later been promoted to manage the growing software division. Three years later, for the sole reason that all of my friends were already accumulating exists, I’ve decided to leave and go on my way to the next step.
Milestone 3: OpenRest
I’ve played around with many startup ideas with various co-founders. During that time, the delivery manager of two of the largest restaurants in Israel met Danny, and asked us to build a new online ordering system for these restaurants. We saw this as a cool project, and decided to take it on. Four years later, we had restaurants using the system in Israel, US, Canada, England, Belgium, France, India, Saint Kitts and Nevis, US Virgin Islands, and more.
Milestone 4: OpenRest’s Acquisition
During that time, Gig (Wix’s CTO) signed up and played around with the system (following a conversation he had with a friend of ours who sold his company to FB). I called him to follow up on his signup (seeing how he doesn’t have a restaurant), and we’ve scheduled to meet the following day. A couple of months later we were acquired by Wix. Since we were completely bootstrap, this allowed Wix to acquire us at a “small” amount, while the amount to reach my personal pocket was one of the larger ones around my friends.
Milestone 5.1: Advising
We were obligated to remain in Wix for 4 years as part of the acquisition, where we built and managed Wix Restaurants (which today, at beginning of 2021, if I understand, is one of the more active verticals in Wix). During that time, we made it a habit to meet 2–3 entrepreneurs weekly on Wix’s beautiful rooftop to try and give them advice from our experience.
Milestone 5.2: Investing
My first investments were before the acquisition, when I could invest only $10,000 in startups founded by friends (which both were acquired). Following Wix’s acquisition I could investment a larger sum, today ranging from $50K-$300K. I don’t believe I can make life changing money from startup angel investments. I invest in companies that I want to be an active part of their journey (as an active mentor/advisor). I believe a company should only take mentorship from someone who is willing to put their money where their mouth is, and that’s exactly what I do.
Milestone 6: Nowadays
Nowadays I’m on a permanent sabbatical (or retired). I enjoy being home with my family and seeing my daughter grow up closely. I feel this is a privilege I have, and I am not planning on missing it. So working on a new venture now is out of the question. I spend my days (while she is in kindergarten) continuing to advise and mentor entrepreneurs, with with a free 1h–1.5h consultation, or a more intensive mentorship based on investment.