All successful businesses start with a great idea. But not all great ideas turn into successful businesses: 50 percent of businesses fail during their first five years and 66 percent during their first 10, according to the US Small Business Administration.
Tribeworks is a new initiative to raise the odds of success for entrepreneurs in the Jewish community. Tribeworks, a collaboration of seven non-profit Jewish business assistance groups backed by the Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel of America, Yeshiva University and the National Council of Young Israel, will formally launch on November 13 at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island, with a one-day Business Accelerator Event for early-stage entrepreneurs and growing businesses. Entrepreneurs ready to take the next step will meet with business leaders who will share their expertise, advice and resources.
“This is a unique opportunity where organizations from all parts of the Jewish spectrum have come together, to work on a goal without having differences,” said Laizer Kornwasser, a co-founder of the Tribeworks collaboration who is a professor of entrepreneurial leadership at Yeshiva University. “Everyone agrees that providing education, mentorship, networking and financing opportunities is the most effective way of helping Jewish entrepreneurs.”
The day will begin with speakers in the morning on general entrepreneurship, finance, leadership and success. At lunch, attendees will hear from Noam Wasserman, professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California and author of “The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup.” Previously he was a professor at Harvard Business School.
Panel discussions will follow based on four areas: e-commerce, product development, service-oriented businesses and technology. The panels will include entrepreneurs in each field. Afternoon sessions will include roundtable discussion on more specific topics where participants can meet with lawyers, accountants, buyers and entrepreneurs in their area who can offer advice. There will be plenty of time for networking, one-on-one conversations with panelists and meetings with the Hebrew Free Loan Society and the NJ Education and Parnassa Institute (EPI), who will take applications for $50,000 interest-free loans and, in some cases, award the money at the event.
Tribeworks will also give participants an opportunity to network and find mentors. “People coming to this event will have access to an incredible collection of talented, successful, high-level people who can help their careers: heads of tech companies, VPs from Disney, venture capitalists and someone who sold his company to Verizon,” said Zevy Wolman, a co-founder of the Tribeworks collaboration, who has been an entrepreneur for 12 years and is currently the CEO of Make It Real, a multinational toy manufacturing and distribution company.
In 2016, Wolman founded The Jewish Entrepreneur (TJE), a business mentoring organization that has attracted over 100 entrepreneurs who have volunteered to mentor early-stage and growing businesses. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without mentorship,” Wolman said. “I had mentors who took me under their wing, gave me their time and energy and connections. I vowed that when I was able to, I would do the same for others.”
Since its inception, TJE has made over 750 connections that have brought significant benefits to those who have been mentored. “I matched a man in Baltimore with a chasidish woman from Monsey; their paths never would have crossed otherwise,” said Wolman. “He helped her grow her business, which was food related, with advice on distribution and the supply chain. They developed an appropriate beneficial business relationship.”
Wolman said that helping entrepreneurs become successful helps the entire Jewish community. “There is a crisis out there, the cost of Jewish living. We need to collectively do everything we can to bring more money into our communities and entrepreneurship can do that. Successful business owners create jobs and they pay well. That’s why all the participating organizations are behind Tribeworks. Everyone sees the benefit.”
After November’s launch, Tribeworks is planning future projects. Education will take center stage, with courses and workshops available via Yeshiva University in communities around the country. Ultimately, Tribeworks would like to create a Learning Management Software (LMS) platform that anyone can access remotely, as well as a database of internship opportunities for graduating students and aspiring entrepreneurs.
For more information about Tribeworks and the Business Accelerator event on November 13, visit www.tribeworks.org.
By Bracha Schwartz
