Jews make gigabyte mark on ‘techpreneurship’

MIRAH LANGER

With Jewish South Africans increasingly turning to the technology industry as a career choice, the digital dimension has become a hotspot of nachas (pride and happiness).

The SA Jewish Report spoke to a number of local Jewish “techpreneurs”, as well as industry expert Arthur Goldstuck, about some of the trends in this innovative space.

Goldstuck, who runs World Wide Worx, a technology market research company, says that while interest in technology-based careers is on the increase in general, the demands of the job resonates with values common in many Jewish communities.

“Jewish families tend to value both education and entrepreneurialism,” he says.

“The technology field lends itself powerfully to both, especially as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the internet of things places higher demands than ever before on information technology education.”

For Darren Cohen, an associate partner at Business Science Corporation (BSC), the popularity of techpreneurship is linked to how “Jewish people have always been creative problem solvers”.

“In the face of adversity and many challenges throughout our history, Jewish people have responded with adaptability and innovation,” he says.

In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, Cohen suggests that it therefore, is no surprise that Jewish people, with their entrepreneurial spirit, are contributing to rapid growth in this space.

Rodney Kuhn, the co-founder of a Johannesburg-based technology start-up, adds another facet to ponder when it comes to Jewish interest in techpreneurship.

“Entrepreneurs, particularly in tech, are drawn toward an ideal that is intrinsically Jewish – we want to create and bring meaning into the world but we also want to be free citizens and live our lives courageously without any fear of persecution. In addition we are comfortable with risk and uncertainty.” he explains.

Certainly, on a global scale, Jewish people have been behind some of the greatest technology success stories. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are all the ultimate Shabbat table guests.

Goldstuck lists a number of other industry greats who might once have been barmy boys saving up to buy a starter computer.

These include Larry Ellison of Oracle; Michael Dell of Dell Technologies; as well as Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar, and Uri Levine, the founders of Waze; and Dov Moran, generally regarded as the inventor of the USB memory stick.

Goldstuck believes the potential exists for their South African counterparts to make digital waves.

In particular, in South Africa, “we are seeing a large number of Jewish innovators in areas like blockchain [digital currency] and fintech [financial technology]”, he notes.

Yet, Calabash co-founders, Leanne Stillerman Zabow and Kyla Maimon Edinburg are proof of just how original technpreneurial projects can be. The two clinical psychologists noticed a gap in the market for technology to be used to assist professionals to rack up Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.

“We started an online platform where health professionals can earn CPD points by watching video lectures online.”

While initially, they focused on producing video lectures for psychologists and other mental-health experts, they are now expanding to a website that shares content for other professionals as well.

“This work… allows for sharing of knowledge in a manner which transcends the constraints of time and geographical location,” says Zabow.

Ultimately, the two hope their work will contribute to the growth of an international “learning community”, she says.

For Kuhn, a co-founder of Sortd, an email-based business productivity suite, the ability to transition from a small-scale business to one with a global reach is one of the greatest perks of the job.

“The strongest businesses like Dropbox or Airbnb just started with one or two people, and those businesses could scale.”

Sortd, started by Kuhn and co-founder Wayne Silbermann, began with the trio scratching their own itch. “We were faced with [the question]: how do we manage this continuous pipeline of emails that stream into your inbox like a firehose that never stops?

“From that, we thought, what could be bigger than trying to solve the world’s email problems?”

Once they had positioned their product as a solution on that scale, “You are immediately positioned in a global ecosystem. You are able to reach out to the greatest thought leaders in tech from around the world. That is what makes it exciting, and also makes it globally competitive.

“The nugget here is that you have to solve problems that are meaningful to you. If they are meaningful to you, it is likely they will be meaningful to other people around the world,” offers Kuhn.

Goldstuck says that as traditional careers like medicine, law, and business are “disrupted by emerging technologies”, it makes sense that information technology will become an increasingly popular professional path.

“The future of business and society is not a fixed destination. Information technology is a field that will define the future of business as well as the future of work.”

The symbiosis between business needs and technology is encapsulated in Cohen’s work at BSC, in which immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality are being developed for use in business, particularly for training.

“Because virtual reality (VR) is fully immersive, it offers a more holistic human experience. It appeals to the senses, the mind, and importantly, the emotions.”

“This technology moves people, thereby enhancing key concept retention and evoking behavioural changes.”

A primary focus area for the company has been in safety training – such as for mine workers. However, it has begun branching in other directions as well.

For example, in partnership with an American nongovernmental organisation, the company is creating a virtual reality tool which teaches meditation and martial art skills, to children suffering from cancer as well as recovering opioid drug users.

“This tool will form part of a clinical trial to assess the changes in neural pathways that immersion in VR and meditation can create.”

While these techpreneurs are already blazing a trail into the future, Goldstuck offers advice to those hoping to follow suit.

“Be fluid and flexible, and ready to change direction at any time,” he advises.

“It is up to individuals to combine [traditional] education with their own exploration of what is possible, and be ready to embrace new ways of doing things – constantly.”

Goldstuck says that in his experience “creativity and curiosity are just as important as information technology skills”.

Zabow and Edinburg’s experience perfectly illustrates this. “When we began working on Calabash, we did not have the required technological skills to realise our vision,” Zabow says. Nevertheless, “we did not wait to have all these ducks in a row; we pushed ahead in our desired direction”.

Soon a software developer noticed their forays into the digital space and came on board offering the required skills. Therefore, their advice to budding techpreneurs is simply, “Be brave, and start somewhere!”

As Kuhn quips, “startups take chutzpah!”