“This is the best time in history to create a startup, but with opportunity comes fierce competition,” says Tzahi Weisfeld, Intel Ignite’s VP & GM. To beat the competition, Intel Ignite focuses its energy on pairing the most innovative startups with industry leaders to create successful businesses.
The serial tech founder, who has run other startup programs in 110 countries, continues to dedicate his life to connecting large tech companies with startups. He shares his wide experience and insights on the Cereal Entrepreneur podcast.
Tzahi’s passion is in line with Intel Ignite’s purpose to “reinvent big tech through startups,” and he comes to the accelerator with a founder’s perspective. He believes that focusing on early-stage startups in the late seed phase (most successful applicants enter the acceleration program with 6 to 7 million USD in funding) is where rapid transformation and scaling is key.
Intel Ignite offers a 12-week accelerator program for early-stage deep tech startups, that is “mentor heavy”, run entirely by experienced founders in “pods” around the world. The model is based on the concept of a “co-founder as a service”, a paradigm that these experienced founders would have wanted themselves.
The accelerator doesn’t just focus on the technical expertise required for success, but the mental health and well being of its participants. During Intel Ignite’s unique “Founders Circle”, participants can swap tales of challenges faced and be part of intimate discussion and support. This forum also has a strong focus on mental health and effectively navigating the pressures of leadership in a deep tech startup setting.
The program provides meetings with experienced mentors on a weekly basis to proactively help, guide and assist the founders. Participants find it invaluable not just for gaining knowledge and insight by experienced members in the field, but also for networking.
Intel Ignite is selective about the participants in the acceleration program and are all about pairing excellence with experience. “Intel is a trusted brand in the technology world. If you get a company like Intel Ignite to pick you, that’s a huge validation and value add,” says Tzahi.
But Tzahi says that the measure of success is not just about funding, but that the true metric is business traction. “It’s not just about how much you have brought in from investors but most importantly – how many customers do you have?”
To hear more about Tzahi’s insights and how startups are the face of the future listen to the podcast here.
