Maya's Blog http://mayaelhalal.com ventures, adventures and much less Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:32:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 2012, Singularity or Apocalypse? [our new year's video greeting] http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/5GCmq_4j9z4/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2012/01/02/2012-singularity-or-apocalypse-our-new-years-video-greeting/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:15:46 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1469 From what was once an old Mayan village, Noam and I look back at 4000 years of human evolution and look forward to 2012 and the future of our species. Our traditional new year’s greeting, this time from Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, with our own 8 months old version of evolution.

Happy New Year!

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2012/01/02/2012-singularity-or-apocalypse-our-new-years-video-greeting/feed/ 0 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2012/01/02/2012-singularity-or-apocalypse-our-new-years-video-greeting/ Battlestar Galactica left me with a choice: I’m going for the option that takes the bigger leap of faith http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/c0RDwD9vrMk/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/07/26/battlestar-galactica-left-me-with-a-choice-im-going-for-the-option-that-takes-the-bigger-leap-of-faith/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:10:54 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1421
Perfection, that’s what it’s about. It’s those moments, when you can feel the perfection of creation, the beauty of physics, the wonder of mathematics, and the elation of action and reaction, and that is the kind of perfection that I want to be connected to” – Samuel T. Anders, Battlestart Gallactica.

I don’t want to be connected to perfection. I find perfection rather boring actually. But it IS about those moments for me. Especially the action, reaction and elation.

The final episode of Battlestar Galactica, left me with a choice I’ve been avoiding making for a while: I’m going for the option that takes the bigger leap of faith.

As for the context of the above quote, anything I add would be a poiler. Let me just say, if you’re into exploration of ‘the big questions’, this Sci-Fi masterpiece is for you. You can stream it from Netfilx.

And on a Freudian note, right before hitting publish, I noticed I slipped ‘fate’ for ‘faith’…

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/07/26/battlestar-galactica-left-me-with-a-choice-im-going-for-the-option-that-takes-the-bigger-leap-of-faith/feed/ 1 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/07/26/battlestar-galactica-left-me-with-a-choice-im-going-for-the-option-that-takes-the-bigger-leap-of-faith/ Hosting the live streaming of The Behavioral Economics Summit for Startups in Israel this August http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/nwqPC_F_m4U/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/07/24/hosting-the-live-streaming-of-the-behavioral-economics-summit-for-startups-in-israel-this-august/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:51:02 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1398 My friend Abigail Tenembaum and I are both behavioral economics sworn fans and now we have the huge privilege of delivering the above incredible gift from Dan Ariely to about 20 Israeli startups. If your startup fits the bill, apply! It will change how you do business.

The main website of The San Francisco Behavioral Economics Summit for Startups has more about behavioral economics and how understanding it increases site conversion rates, creates effective pricing strategy, improves customer and employee retention and overall help users change the ‘hard-to-change’ behavior.

And here’s all the information about the live streaming event in Israel.

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/07/24/hosting-the-live-streaming-of-the-behavioral-economics-summit-for-startups-in-israel-this-august/feed/ 1 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/07/24/hosting-the-live-streaming-of-the-behavioral-economics-summit-for-startups-in-israel-this-august/ [animated presentation] The Secret Ingredient in Kickstarting Ideas that Spread Far and Wild http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/-s9ewf83_XA/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/03/20/animated-presentation-the-secret-ingredient-in-kickstarting-ideas-that-spread-far-and-wild/#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:13:37 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1226 Inspring stories of successful entrepreneurs, artists, visionaries who follow their passion for an idea. They all share a healthy disrespect for the traditional way of getting things done and a flair for the New Media. Key viral marketing strategies and the secret ingredient in their success revealed…

This is the 3 minute, click-to-advance, version of a talk I gave last week at The Israeli Forum of High-Tech Executives in NY hosted by Shibolet.

Featuring: Cindy Gallop, Amanda Hocking, Diaspora, Kickstarter, Asaf Avidan and the Mojos, Emotiv Epoc EEG, Seth Godin’s first Domino Project title Poke The Box and more.

* Best viewed in full screen mode.

The Secret Ingredient in Kickstarting Ideas that Spread Far and Wild

And the auto play YouTube version:

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/03/20/animated-presentation-the-secret-ingredient-in-kickstarting-ideas-that-spread-far-and-wild/feed/ 1 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/03/20/animated-presentation-the-secret-ingredient-in-kickstarting-ideas-that-spread-far-and-wild/ Upcoming talk: Idea Driven GPSs. And why we insist on taking the longest route to ourselves http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/oo9fKLvnQY4/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/03/10/upcoming-talk-idea-driven-gpss-and-why-we-insist-on-taking-the-lognes-route-to-ourselves/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:27:51 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1209
I’m giving a talk this Monday, about the shift in the the way ideas are spread and about how now, like never before, companies and individuals can change an industry, reinvent science or reshape politics. Specifically, about how TED and Seth Godin’s new Domino Project do it. More specifically, why more often than not, we ignore our inner GPSs and fail to act on our ideas.

We’ll also play, You’re It! with my copy of Poke The Box.

The event is hosted by Oren Heiman, the ultimate mover and shaker for Israeli business people in NY, as part of Fish – The Forum of Israeli High-Tech Executives in NY. Some really great people gather at Fish and I can bring a couple of guests. Drop me a line if you’re in town and wish to join.

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/03/10/upcoming-talk-idea-driven-gpss-and-why-we-insist-on-taking-the-lognes-route-to-ourselves/feed/ 0 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/03/10/upcoming-talk-idea-driven-gpss-and-why-we-insist-on-taking-the-lognes-route-to-ourselves/ What do TED, The Domino Project and anti-aging eye serum have in common? Bees. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/z9bOz_LD8VY/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/05/what-do-ted-the-domino-project-and-anti-aging-eye-serum-have-in-common-bees/#comments Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:57:12 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1091 You’re not supposed to admit you favor one piece of your published work over the rest. My favorite is QuotesDaddy. Why? Because it’s the only one I built for me. I wanted to find, save, tag, share, contribute and show off all my favorite quotes. Nothing out there came close. One night, working on an upcoming lecture, I decided to co-grow my own. And today, more than two years after parting from ownership of it, I still use it. Almost daily. Last night, for example, I watched The Bee Movie, noticed a quote I liked, added it to QuotesDaddy, and now I can share it with you:

The utter bliss of products that do exactly what you want

You know the feeling of engaging with someone or something that’s in complete alignment with your values and beliefs? That speaks your dialect? That vibrates on the same frequency with you? Times of utter bliss! My life is spent looking for them in companies, technologies, people, ideas, movies, books, whatever. And when I find one, I suck it’s sweet nectar and I evangelize. I spread the word, flower to flower, so ‘my favorite‘ lives on to become a sustainable source of bliss.

Evangelism is driven by pure selfishness

Dr. Hauschka is a rare cosmetics company that’s powered by compassion, rather than driven by greed. It’s also the only cruelty free, chemical free, all-natural product my husband likes the smell of. It’s pricy though, which makes me fear for it’s survival in a competitive cosmetics market. So I tell everyone I know about it, hoping they too find the bliss worth the money.

Products that thrill me are harder to make and impossible to fake. They take true passion, offer exquisite user experience and practice what they preach in every feature. They shake the status quo, take a stand, earn enemies. Without a hive of busy fans keeping them alive, they can’t make it.

I like going to TED. That’s why I share TED Talks and organize TEDx events.

I also like books that offer exceptionally high quality ideas, created with total disregard for what bookstores and middlemen want. I like ideas packaged with urgency in mind and delivered tightly, not a word wasted, no filler. And I want to be able to read them on my Kindle, iPad or iMac, listen to them on my iTunes or my iPhone, and be able to afford getting one as a gift for all my close friends.

Seth Godin‘s, powered-by-Amazon, disruptive Domino Project, pledges to publish just these kind of books. That’s why I recently joined The Domino Project Street Team.

Poke The Box, the first title of the project, is not even out yet, and its pre-orders drive such a powerful domino effect, it’s already in Amazon’s 100 top bestsellers.

In the coming months, I’ll share with you more from the behind the scenes of the project and insider news of what’s coming. I hope you like the books too, because I really want to see more published.

p.s.

I took advantage of the snowy weather for a much needed facelift. Welcome to my new website. You can now get my blog updates to your email, on facebook, via twitter or RSS.

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/05/what-do-ted-the-domino-project-and-anti-aging-eye-serum-have-in-common-bees/feed/ 3 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/05/what-do-ted-the-domino-project-and-anti-aging-eye-serum-have-in-common-bees/ The husband is always the last to know and the founder last to admit http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/r02rJfo4mok/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/04/the-husband-is-always-the-last-to-know-and-the-founder-last-to-admit/#comments Sat, 05 Feb 2011 01:51:26 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=1095 If you’re like me, you think you’re really good at reading people’s body language, picking up the subtle cues of their true intention and spotting every tell tale sign. Well, you’re not as good as you think you are. Not with the people you love, that is. Or with those you have a high-stakes relationship with. You’re thinking: “on the contrary!”, but the fact of the matter is, that just isn’t the case.

Paul Ekman, father of micro-expressions reading – the science behind the hit TV series Lie to Me, writes extensively about why this happens. Basically it’s a defense mechanism. And his explanation sits well with the brain’s #1 goal (The Brain For Entrepreneurs presentation, slide #3).

It’s this same mechanism, which keeps us from seeing we’re being lied to, that also keeps us from realizing our venture is going no-where. For the latter, there’s a cure. It’s called The Dip.

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/04/the-husband-is-always-the-last-to-know-and-the-founder-last-to-admit/feed/ 0 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/04/the-husband-is-always-the-last-to-know-and-the-founder-last-to-admit/ How to make $100K offering zero value and kill a startup on the way http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/SxMuDcecFL4/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/03/how-to-make-100k-offering-zero-value-and-kill-a-startup-on-the-way/#comments Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:54:20 +0000 maya http://mayaelhalal.com/?p=980 To not make matters worse for my friend, I’ll keep the companies involved anonymous. Let’s for now call the high-tech company that’s trying to do something meaningful in the world ‘Startup’, and the suing company ‘Shell’.

This is a true story of Shell and Startup.

Startup is a company in growth stage, VC backed, with a team of hard working founders, about 40 employees, and an innovative technology.

Shell is a company with no management, no employees, no offices and no product. It was established for the sole purpose of the following, and will cease exist as soon as it’s done. Till it re-emerges, much like a dorment predator, in a new identity, going after the next victim.

Here’s how the business model works

Shell buys an expiring patent and sues a dosen companies in the relevant fields for infringement. There’s no case here, and both parties know that, but Startup must now defend itself. Defense means years in court, management attention, and tens to hunderds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Fees that won’t be reimbursed even after Startup wins because Shell will be long gone and the people behind it hid under layers of parent ‘Shells’.

Shell offers the sued parties to settle. For $100K each. The deeper pocket companies pay and get on with their businesses. Startup is not in the business of being ‘right’, it just wants its life back. But it can’t write off that kind of money so easily and so it’s dragged to legal defense.

By the time Startup wins it had already lost.

This begs the question: has our legal system gone so detached from common sense, it doesn’t identify the M.O. of an innovation-serial-killer?

And speaking of our lose of wisdom

This TED Talk by Philip K. Howard – founder of Common Good, a drive to overhaul the US legal system, couldn’t be more spot-on! He beautifully demonstrates how the land of free has become a legal minefield, especially for teachers and doctors, whose work has been paralyzed by fear of suits. What’s the answer? A lawyer himself, Howard has four propositions for simplifying US law.

And this is repeat TED speaker Barry Schwartz, in a moving call for less regulation and more common-sense:

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/03/how-to-make-100k-offering-zero-value-and-kill-a-startup-on-the-way/feed/ 0 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/02/03/how-to-make-100k-offering-zero-value-and-kill-a-startup-on-the-way/ A powdery white mask over the concrete jungle http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/Tb9HHo1XEZk/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/01/28/nyc-captures/#comments Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:00:22 +0000 maya http://www.mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/01/28/nyc-captures/

]]> http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/01/28/nyc-captures/feed/ 1 http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/01/28/nyc-captures/ My answer on Quora to ‘What books should entrepreneurs read?’ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MayaElhalal/~3/UmrqJltfQNQ/ http://mayaelhalal.com/blog/2011/01/06/my-answer-on-quora-to-what-books-should-entrepreneurs-read/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:28:41 +0000 maya http://www.mayaelhalal.com/2011/01/06/my-answer-on-quora-to-what-books-should-entrepreneurs-read/ Entrepreneur’s Bible(s): This short-list of entrepreneurship ‘prerequisite’ will put you in a great position to get started. It features my #1 rated for every category in entrepreneur’s must-have skill set:

The Four Steps to the Epiphany
is the text book for leading Entrepreneurship MBA programs and is by far the best I’ve read about idea validation and the right process to make a product/service you can sell. http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps…

The Art of the Start
is a great straight-to-the-point intro to the entire entrepreneurial process with a helpful section on how to put an effective pitch presentation together.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Start-…

Getting Real
is a must read if you’re going for a new-media venture, specifically a web application or any browser based product or service. This book is available for free reading online.
http://gettingreal.37signals.com/

Rework
also by 37Signals, suggests a set of principles and practices on how to start, manage and scale your company and how to get things done the fast, affordable and smart way. It’s a quick and entertaining read that totally redefines some of the most basic ideas about business and management. http://37signals.com/rework/

– other recommended reading –

Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People
You’ll be negotiating from day one with service providers, people you hire, potential investors etc and this means a solid understanding of negotiation process, strategies and psychology is key.
http://www.amazon.com/Bargaining…

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
For a boost of inspiration and remarkable thoughts about differentiation.
http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-A…

What books should entrepreneurs read?

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