As with all new initiatives, many concerns and questions arise at the beginning of a new startup: Is my idea good enough? Are the allocations of my resources effective? How should I market my startup? Is my time-to-market realistic? All are crucial questions that can determine the future of the startup and its success. Like with any new process, the ability to consult with an external and experienced person/agency can make all the difference. This is precisely what the Kellogg Recanati Entrepreneurship Community (KREC) allows you to do.

The KREC was launched in October 2011 by Adina Enden, KR07. Enden has over 25 years of experience in executive roles in high-tech companies. In her vision she saw the mentors as a source of support to new entrepreneurs from the KR community who are seeking to establish their first startup.

The encounter between the entrepreneurs and the mentors happens at the early and critical stages of the establishment of the project. They allow access to a wealth of diverse business experience, opening channels for thinking, learning, networking, funding and global sales & marketing that may otherwise be unattainable.

Adina Enden at one of the KREC meetings with Zohar Levkovitz. KR09, sharing the amazing story of Amobee

"Every day you need to make significant decisions. Knowing that you are not alone, you have the option to share with an external and experienced mentor is kind of a safety net to the young entrepreneurs" says Ariela Avni, KR07, a mentor in the program. "Sometimes when you are already deep in the process, it is hard to break your pattern and to look at it in a different angle, even though you know that you might be wrong. Also, the entrepreneurs are facing their first crossroads - a new market, recruitment personnel, signing a contract and Partnership. The mentors often have passed through this process; they are exposed to the market and can help them plot the road to success".

Once the program was launched, the young entrepreneurs had the opportunity to apply to the program with their projects. At the end of the process, each mentor chose an entrepreneur to continue the initiation process. Kfir Valdman, KR08, one of the young entrepreneurs: "The unique thing in the program is the ability to be exposed to a wide source of knowledge in different disciplines, personal consulting along with group workshops, fundraising and more. The mentors can see our weaknesses, help us fix them and save time and heartache. I must say that it is a mistake to think you can beat the world on your own - the more you listen, the more you know what is right and important."

The program sponsors bi-monthly presentation forums in which applicants pitch their prototypes. KREC Mentors – selected for their outstanding entrepreneurial, management skills and coaching abilities – choose and nurture a startup to help maximize its potential early on.


Mentors provide personalized one-on-one consulting to form solid business plans and pitches. In addition, workshops for the community of entrepreneurs feature talks by industry experts from a broad array of relevant fields, enable "cross-fertilization" of ideas/ experiences and gain from further guidance from experienced Steering Committee members.

Finally, KREC sponsors two major funding events a year, granting selected entrepreneurs a pitch to an audience of VCs, angels, business leaders and faculty members.



"I believe in KREC very much. We are building a community that empowers the entrepreneurs in their amazing journey. I believe the entrepreneurs are the leaders of the change that is happening in our society using the entrepreneurship spirit." says the founder Adina Enden. "Hundreds are already part of our community and dozens of entrepreneurs apply for each of our pitch night. The selection of the 6 that will present to the mentors is always a tough one. Our community echo system is growing and the mentors and experts that supply us office hours are supporting the entrepreneurs in their journey."

Yuval Nehmadi, KR07, shared his personal process, from beginning to the end: "After presenting our idea at the KREC pitch night, we started a short session of meetings with Mrs. Avni as a mentor. At that stage we had a working prototype of our product ‘Wander3D’; however, we did not have a proper roadmap or business plan to penetrate the market. With the help of Mrs. Avni’s guidance we were able to focus and improve our presentation to the different market segments and investors. In addition Mrs. Avni connected us to business partners, mainly a company that produces toy accessories for computer games. We are looking forward for the planned KREC investor event which will give us the opportunity to establish contacts with prospective investors".

When we ask Adina about the future, the answer is very simple:
"We want to increase our activity and bring more members to our community. We believe we will become an international center for entrepreneurs and leading mentors' community in the Kellogg-Recanati program spreading the entrepreneurship spirit of "the Startup Nation".

The Kellogg-Recanati Entrepreneurship Community is looking for more potential investors willing to attend the investors pitch days in Tel Aviv. Interested investors please mail to info@krec.org.il. For more information on our activity, please visit us at http://www.krec.org.il/. You are welcome to join our community at http://www.meetup.com/KREC-Entreprenuership-Community/.