Hello from Tel Aviv (Kampinski hotel lobby to be exact which is also quite nice)…
I LOVE Tel Aviv. Nobody here cares about the $VIX but the intensity is 10,000 percent all the time (with a smoking kicker). It is my kind of city and the perfect opposite to all of Italy where the $VIX never rises above four and high intensity is frowned upon (which is also my type of place).
I am here for a few days of meetings and I have already run into a few friends I did not expect to see because Jeffries is having a big event at the hotel (which I have now crashed).
I am three weeks into my five weeks on the road.
I’ve gone from San Diego to Toronto, to New York, to Italy, to Germany and now Tel Aviv. Later this week I will be in London and end my trip in Ireland.
In the past I have gotten homesick for the United States after two hard weeks of travel.
This morning, after a long day of travel from the Alps via, planes, trains and automobiles, I woke up and was excited to get to work in Tel Aviv for an 8 am meeting. It could be empty nest life has lowered my stress and guilt as Rachel and Max do not need me, but I believe it is more the connected world. I am constantly able to chat with Ellen and the kids and my partners at Social Leverage.
The iPhone and iMessage, Google Maps, Gmail, Whatsapp, Zoom, Twitter, shared calendars, Uber, Stocktwits…I am connected to everything I need to ‘feel’ like I am caught up.
The long ‘post financial crisis’ boom gave us some ‘clown cars’ and many messes to be cleaned but we got wired up and networked. We are as connected as we want or need to be. The tools might change (features and privacy), but almost everyone can live in the connected future.
From this place that I try to live at the edge of, I can see why the best investors of the last boom have moved from the network and the ‘social graph’ to Web 3, alternative energy and climate.
Whether it is Fred Wilson doing regenerative finance and nuclear investments and Chris Sacca coming out of ‘retirement’ doing a carbon/climate fund, I am optimistic that new seeds of growth are being planted in new areas of high risk, pain and potential growth.
I am all about following people that have a long history of getting big trends right, not following MORE people. This is the greatest benefit of the connected boom. There is no such thing as information overload…only filter failure.
PS – Of course I have had my first falafel and Kebab sandwich. A fave spot is Miznon in the Sarona ‘Chelsea Food Market’ also the center of Tel Aviv tech scene…
Tomorrow, my pal Ronen is taking me to his new ‘fancy’ restaurant.
Life is good.
