Saul Orbach’s journey: From New Jersey to Israel and back with startup after startup along the way

Designing Successful Startups

Summary

Saul Orbach discusses his background and his experiences living in different places, including New Jersey, Manhattan, Queens, and Israel. He shares how he ended up working in Silicon Valley and Maryland before returning to Israel. Jothy Rosenberg and Saul Orbach then discuss their time at Angle Technologies, a British company that focused on investing in super early-stage technologies in universities and labs. They talk about the challenges of working with tech transfer officers and researchers, as well as the potential of the investment model. They also discuss the technology behind creating indistinguishable digital doubles for movies and the market potential for this technology. In this conversation, Saul Orbach discusses his experiences with CGI technology and his medical startup. He talks about the growth of CGI in various industries, including film, commercials, design, and architecture. Saul also explains the challenges his CGI company faced during the 2008 financial crisis and the Screen Actors Guild strike. He then shares his journey with his medical startup, which aimed to develop an artificial kidney. Unfortunately, the company faced legal issues that prevented further progress. Saul attributes his determination and grit to his mother, a Holocaust survivor.

Bio

Saul Orbach is a highly accomplished Serial Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, Social Impact Investor, C-Suite Officer and Executive, Consultant, Lecturer, Thought Leader, Board Member, and Advisor, with over 35 years of extensive experience building and exiting startup and growth companies, turning around failing companies, as well as training the next generation of entrepreneurs. Saul was the Co-Founder and CEO of his 8th startup, NephFlo, Inc., a company developing artificial implantable and wearable kidneys. Formerly, he was the founder of the Elul Fund venture fund; Impact Jerusalem, a social impact organization focused on the underserved populations in Jerusalem. Prior to that, a Venture Partner at Starta Capital investing in East European technology startups. Saul shares his industry experience and knowledge in many outlets: as a Senior Adjunct Lecturer in the MBA programs at Tel Aviv University, the Technion, and Hebrew University; as a domain expert and mentor in a variety of Accelerator programs around the world; as a popular speaker and guest lecturer at conferences, universities, and other events; and, as a sought-after high-level advisor in both the private and public sectors.

Takeaways

• Saul Orbach has lived in various places, including New Jersey, Manhattan, Queens, and Israel.
• Angle Technologies focused on investing in super early-stage technologies in universities and labs.
• Working with tech transfer officers and researchers can be challenging in the investment process.
• Creating indistinguishable digital doubles for movies has the potential to revolutionize the film industry.
• The market potential for this technology is significant, especially with the increasing use of CGI in movies. CGI technology has become prevalent in various industries, including film, commercials, design, and architecture.
• The 2008 financial crisis and the Screen Actors Guild strike had a significant impact on Saul's Aguru startup.
• Saul Orbach's medical startup aimed to develop an artificial kidney to address the shortage of donor kidneys.
• Legal issues hindered the progress of Saul's medical startup, leading to its suspension.
• Saul's determination and grit stem from his mother, a Holocaust survivor.

Sound Bites

"Angle Technologies is the place where we met. I found that to be a very interesting investment model, except for one thing."

"There's no car commercial today that's actually made with a real car anymore. That's all CGI."

"The film industry was actually the smallest of the markets that we were looking at."

Links

Please leave us a review: https://podchaser.com/DesigningSuccessfulStartups

Tech Startup Toolkit (book): https://www.amazon.com/Tech-Startup-Toolkit-launch-strong/dp/1633438422/

https://www.manning.com/books/tech-startup-toolkit

Site with all podcasts: https://jothyrosenberg.com

Jothy’s non-profit that helps kids with disabilities get into high challenge sports:

https://whosaysicant.org

Jothy’s TEDx talk about why people with disabilities (and lots of grit) tend to overachieve:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNtOawXAx5A

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

07:51 Investing in Super Early-Stage Technologies

18:57 Challenges of Tech Transfer and Research

27:53 Indistinguishable Digital Doubles for Movies

31:04 Market Potential for CGI Technology in Movies

33:18 Challenges Faced During the 2008 Financial Crisis and Screen Actors Guild Strike

36:19 Developing an Artificial Kidney to Address the Donor Shortage

49:18 The Influence of a Holocaust Survivor: Determination and Grit