In preparation for COMDEX, I carefully went through the brochure mapping the companies I wanted to meet with and their location. In doing so, I noticed this group called Blue Knot - The Jewish Tech Initiative.
Out of curiosity, I made a note of where their booth was and sent an e-mail to try and learn more about them. In response, I was invited to look them up at their booth and to attend their networking event.
I looked them up, got a lot of free Hanukah gelt (for my kids) and met some very serious business professionals. It turns out that Blue Knot is the ultimate Jewish business network. Even the name "Blue Knot" stands for connections, a series of links to meaningful content and a community of individuals who share the same interests.
According to Stephen Solender, a driving force behind Blue Knot, Blue Knot’s mission is to be the conduit through which Jews involved in all facets of technology can enhance their professional development. Blue Knot also is striving to be global and is interested in helping to expose North American, Jewish high tech professionals to cutting edge technology and talent in Israel.
Blue Knot practices what they preach. In a matter of only a few minutes at their networking event I met several very serious business persons. This includes Blue Knot members like Mark Lieberman who is chairman and CEO of Interactive Video Technologies, formerly the president of About.com and assistant secretary of technology from 1989 through 1991 in the Bush administration. I also met Dan Rubin a partner with Alloy Ventures, a leading venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Ellia Kassof, president and CEO of Strategic Software Resources, Wendy Berger Shapiro of Orbitz, and Mark Dorf, CEO of AMS Interactive Media. There were well over several hundred business professionals at the Blue Knot networking event and the majority that I met with, including the above-mentioned Blue Knot members, were all interested in doing business with Israel and in Israeli technology. (I will be following up on this aspect).
The keynote speaker at the event was Dan Rosensweig, COO of Yahoo. It was a pleasure for me to speak with him privately and say how much I enjoy using Yahoo and its news service.
The biggest surprise was that Blue Knot advertised that prior to the event you should come and schmooze with a special guest whose indentity they would not disclose. I thought this was just some hype to get people to show up. I was wrong. The guest was one of the leading Jewish high tech personalities around. I am not allowed to state who the guest was, but his last name rhymes with Bell and he founded a highly successful computer company from his college dorm room.
The caliber, experience and professionalism of the attendees, as well as the fact that Blue Knot could get someone like that special guest to come to its event, proves to me this is a serious group that can really deliver upon its promises.
Blue Knot runs under the auspices of United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Federations of North America. The Jewish communities in most major North American cities currently have high-tech groups and more are forming. To learn more, visit the Blue Knot website where you can also see pictures from Blue Knot’s COMDEX events. And contact me if you are interested in more information on the Israeli aspects of working with Blue Knot.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 04 December 2002