Lishtot, which develops technology for quick water quality testing won the StartUp Open 2015 competition held in Jerusalem by the Global Entrepreneurship Network.
The company will represent Israel in the global contest to be held in November. The local event's sponsors included the Prime Minister's Office, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Development Authority, JNext, law firm Barnea & Co, and MIT Enterprise Forum Israel.
Lishtot was founded this year by CEO Netanel Raisch and Dr. Alan Bauer. The startup has raised some $400,000 since its inception from private investors and the Office of the Chief Scientist.
The company's product is based on extensive research by Dr. Bauer on the electromagnetic properties of water.
StartUpOpen was held in Israel for the second time; the previous winner, BreezoMeter, works in a related field, monitoring air pollution.
Attorney Michael Barnea, a partner at Barnea & Co, served as one of the judges for the competition. He said, "Entrepreneurship is at the heart of the local high-tech sector, which has an important role in the Israeli economy. We are in an age when there is unprecedented support for the entrepreneurial stage - the number of accelerators operating in Israel is multiplying."
However, he warned, "There is still a shortage for support in later cycles which require seed funding. Competitions like StartUpOpen provide a chance for exposure to the winners. We are happy to sponsor the contest for a second year and support the entrepreneurial scene in Israel."
Global Entrepreneurship Network's Israel chairman Ella Matalon said: "The work of talented entrepreneurs in the high-tech field garners respect for Israel and redirects the focus from the geopolitical situation to Israel's incredible role in the advancement of technology. In the last three years, the Global Entrepreneurship Network in Israel held 7 local contests and sent representatives to compete abroad - in Silicon Valley, in Rotterdam, and in Copenhagen. It is clear that the global exposure helps break companies into new markets and makes them more accessible to investors."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 9, 2015
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