The Galilee Accelerator
for Smart Industry

Accelerate your Industry 4.0 startup with real customers

The Galilee Accelerator for Smart Industry helps entrepreneurs create and promote startups addressing industrial challenges. Join our Meetups

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    About the program

    The Galilee Accelerator is a program dedicated to Israeli early-stage startups, developing solutions and business models that can transform the manufacturing sector.
    The program is managed by Braude Academic Engineering College KarmielKLAi4valley incubator, Philips, Karmiel Municipality, and Misgav Regional Council,  partnering with industrial companies – Israeli and multi-national ones. 

    The accelerator is active since 2013, with dozens of entrepreneurs and mentors.

    The accelerator is focusing now on startups that target manufacturers as customers, taking part in the big wave of innovation in factories called Industry 4.0. Some other relevant domain names are IIoT – Industrial Internet of Things, Advanced Manufacturing and Smart Factory. 

    This includes innovations in manufacturing, maintenance, factories’ management and energy savings, supply chain and logistics, safety, quality and more, using advanced technologies. Some examples of Israeli startups active in this domain can be found at the following links ( link A ,link B, link C).

    We’ve established a network of industrial and tech companies, Israeli and multi-national ones, to help our entrepreneurs succeed while benefiting from innovative solutions and top-notch startups engagement. We’ll help you nail down your startup business model, reaching first customers to validate your business, make fast progress with your product, customers, funding  and more.

    We’re usually having two cohorts per year: Wave1 for entrepreneurs and startups before having customers and Wave2 for entrepreneurs already having some customer engagement. 

    Entrepreneurs and mentors can join us from all over Israel, the accelerator is open for everyone.
    We take no equity nor IP rights (see below).  We’re waiting for you to come and use the accelerator to take your startup to the next level.

    Come join us!

    What we offer

    Mentors

    Our mentors are available  to support you in areas such as business strategy, product and technical aspects and more. For each startup a tailored lead mentor is assigned,  with others being brought in to help when needed. 

    Customers

    Our partners and connections are your ticket to having invaluable feedback and business validation. Later on, you may be able to run a pilot in their factory or even  establish a long term relationship with them. 

    Funding

    Although we’re not investing in your startup, we help you get funded by governmental grants, introducing you to investors and customers. 

    In-Kind Services

    We help you save money – using our students where applicable, getting advice by experts like academic staff, prototyping experts and in-kind service partners such as CPA and Legal advisers.  

    Patents

    We assist you with professional help for searching patents and patents registration. 

    Education

    Our educational plan includes practical lectures and workshops.

    Who should apply

    1. Strong entrepreneurs – with high motivation, commitment, and relevant industrial domain expertise. Having a complementary team is highly preferred. For WAVE2 cohorts it’s mandatory that at least one of the team members is fully dedicated to the startup. 
    2. A real need – addressing a real unmet need for a significant manufacturers or logistics companies market.
    3. Uniqueness – differentiation, originality, and innovation.
    4. Alignment with the program – we’re using the Lean Startup concept,  emphasizing customers and business model validation. Yes, we also address funding and pitching, but customers are the first priority. We’re mentorship-driven – you should be feeling comfortable working with mentors. 

    WAVE1 cohort is for any entrepreneur or a team that is having an initial maturity level startup, with or without an MVP , even with an idea only. WAVE2 cohort will include startups in an early stage, having initial customers (at least PoC), a product (MVP at least), and a team (highly desired).

     

    Timeline - 2023 Wave1 Cohort (changes might apply, stay tuned)

    1
    Applications Open

    Ongoing

    Entrepreneurs apply using the accelerator’s application form. We’ll interview each relevant candidate, and get in touch.

    2
    Applications Due

    18/2/23

    Boot-camp participants will be determined shortly afterward.

    3
    Bootcamp

    2/3/23

    An intensive day of Lean Startup methodology, meeting mentors and presenting in front of a panel. Following the Bootcamp, we’ll finalize the list of startups accepted to the accelerator. The accelerator workshops sessions will be held on Thursdays afternoons. 

    4
    Mid-Term

    20/4/23

    Meeting industrial companies’ senior managers and others. Serving also as a checkpoint. 

    5
    Demo Day

    15/6/23 

    Startups presentations and program conclusion. 

    Our Board of Directors

    Dr. Avital Regev Siman-Tov

    Head of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, Braude Academic College

    Rami Gazit

    Accelerator Director, Chief Mentor

    Yoram Horowitz

    Entrepreneur and Hi-Tech Companies Executive
    Achiav Golan

    Achiav Golan

    General Manager Braude Academic College & Chairman of the Board

    Etgar Marcus

    Head of Smart Industry & Innovation Program, KLA
    Shmulik Dudai

    Shmulik Dudai

    Director of Business Development, Misgav Regional Council

    Gili Bosis

    Innovation & Digital Transformation Leader; Director Systems Plant Manager, Philips

    Sivan Yechieli

    CEO i4Valley

    Team and Mentors

    הנרי צימרמן

    Henry Zimmerman​

    Chairman - Trellidor Group, and North Region Manufacturers Association of Israel
    Rami Merom

    Rami Merom

    Senior Director, Head of Global Logistics at Elbit Systems

    Guy Ben Zvi

    CEO at Omega 3 Galil Ltd.

    Yariv Inbar

    Realtime and Analytics Group Director, Matrix

    Ilan Alter

    CEO at AlterNet.co.il

    Nadav Ziv

    CEO Ortal Fireplaces, Ex-Director, Stanley Black Decker, Inc

    Agmon Porat

    Head of startups innovation labs, UCT

    Shlomo Boxerman

    Co-Founder, CEO at HarvestSense

    Or Lustig

    CEO & Co-founder at SeatBack

    Nataly Turgeman Krasnovsky

    VP Sales and Marketing, Caja Robotics

    Jacob Vind

    Business Executive

    Gideon Sagi

    VP R&D and Engineering at TEFEN Flow and Dosing Technologies

    Amos Redlich

    Owner of Rank Up consulting and training

    David Almagor

    A serial entrepreneur, Angel Investor

    Avigdor Bar-Yosef

    Freelance Priority integrates at Avigdor-ERP Priority implementation

    Dr. David Bentolila

    Prof. Zeev Volkovich

    Head of Department at Ort Braude College of Engineering

    Boris Daich

    VP R&D @ Riggoh.com

    Oren Yahav

    Industry 4.0 Specialist

    Idan Shalmon

    Group Product Owner at Spiral Solutions

    Amnon Taller

    Applying Advanced LEAN Techniques

    Rafi Nave

    Senior Researcher at the Samuel Neaman Institute

    Yaniv Bar​

    CEO at Tech-Bar​

    Hussein Naseraldin

    Head of Master of Science Program in Industrial Engineering and Management

    Yuval Perets

    Managing Director at Carl Zeiss SMS Ltd

    Rami Duek

    Yiftah Plant Manager at Netafim
    Haim Korkus

    Haim Korkus​

    Director of Engineering at Unipharm

    Oren Gartzman

    Mech. Eng. Sharpening Stones

    Ilan Keren

    Ilan Keren Patents & IP

    Erez Harel

    Director Marketing & Business Development

    Gila Corem

    Product manager and UX designer

    Yosi Turkaspa

    Business Mentor

    Yaron Magal

    CTO at Terralab Ventures

    Lior Zaid

    CEO, rainbowtec

    Nachum Lev

    Mentor at the Barclays Accelerator powered by Techstars

    Nitzan Refael

    Supply Chain Innovation Expert and Business Strategy Advisor

    Nir Yaniv

    Industry 4.0 consultant | Advanced Manufacturing Specialist | Ex-Intel

    Ofer Solomon

    Innovative Consultant, Computer-Vision & Electro-Optics Systems Expert

    Shay Gabay

    Technology executive | B2B SaaS Product Management Leader | Digital Marketing | Software Engineering
    תוך שלושת החודשים האינטנסיביים של עשיה, גיבשנו את הרעיון וסיימנו את המאיץ עם תוצרים רבים וכלים להמשך הדרך - demo , prototype, one pager מצגת למשקיעים , דף נחיתה, מסמכים לתוכנית "תנופה", סקר מתחרים ופטנטים והכי חשוב - קשרים למשקיעים ובית במאיץ הגליל, שותף אמיתי להצלחה וזרוע מכוונת שכל כך חשובים . בתחילת הדרך. היום אנחנו כבר מוכרות את המוצר שלנו.
    מילנה
    MBA יזמת, מהנדסת עם
    המאיץ דוחף להתמקדות ומסייע בגיבוש המיזם. בנוסף שיפרתי את יכולותיי האישיות בהכנת מצגות ובהצגתן הפרונטלית וקיבלתי במה חשובה להצגת הנושא ללקוחות ולאחרים וגם מרצים/חוקרים במכללה שנרתמו לסיוע אקדמי.
    מיקי
    יזם, מהנדס חשמל
    אני מהנדס תוכנה עם וותק של שנים וניסיון רב ביזמות. עד לפני כמה חודשים חייתי באשליה שאין לי הרבה ללמוד בתחום. תוך שתי פגישות עבודה ראשונות במאיץ היה לי ברור לחלוטין למה המוצר האחרון שלי, שהשקעתי בו כל כך הרבה משאבים, נחל כשלון כה צורב. בהמשך למדתי להכיר יזמים נוספים, קיבלתי מנטור שפתח לי את העיניים רעיונית ועזר לי לתכנן שנית את המוצר כך שיתאים ללקוח. כשניתקעתי מול מכשלה טכנולוגית יזם רמי מנהל המאיץ פגישה עם מומחה שסיפק לי את הפתרון והציף לי רעיונות חדשים. נכון לסיום המאיץ המוצר שלי זכה להתעניינות שכנראה תבשיל לניסוי והוכחת היתכנות במפעל גדול ובתקווה רבה להזמנת מוצרים
    איל
    יזם, מהנדס תוכנה

    Frequently asked Questions

    The accelerator is located in Karmiel, within the campus of Braude Academic College which is managing it. Karmiel is located at the center of the Galilee, with easy access by train, bus and car.

    No, we’re looking for entrepreneurs living anywhere in Israel, if they’re addressing the industrial market (see below). And we don’t mandate moving to the Galilee. 

    The accelerator’s sessions in Karmiel are held once a week, and it’s not required  to be present at Karmiel in person more than this. Some of the sessions will be done using the internet (Zoom). 

    Of course, we’d like to further develop the Galilee, and we’re located in Karmiel, so we’d love to see Galilee based entrepreneurs taking part in the accelerator program and non-Galilee entrepreneurs moving to the beautiful Galilee, which is also becoming the Israeli national Industry 4.0 hub, with the accelerator, i4valley incubator and the national Institute for Smart industry, all located in Karmiel.
    But we refer to the accelerator as a national level program, Galilee head-quartered, and uniquely focused on Industrial startups.

    The accelerator program is made of two tracks, one is a WAVE1 and another is WAVE2. 

    WAVE1 is intended for entrepreneurs before penetrating the market (i.e., no customers using the product, or very few). You can be a single entrepreneur without a team and even with just a startup idea, that’s ok.

    WAVE2 is intended for early-stage startups which are a bit more mature, already having a product with initial customers, looking for additional market validation and later on fast growth, after already nailing down some basic business model assumptions. Some WAVE1 startups are going to continue to WAVE2, and some startups start directly with WAVE2. 

    For the WAVE1 – yes, you can study or work while participating. We require in-person attendance once a week, usually on Friday morning or sometimes on Thursday afternoon or evening.

    In between these weekly sessions, you’re expected to work on your startup, make real progress and get in touch with the mentors, but this can be done using Skype, or phone or meeting in a place which is convenient for all. Focusing only on your startup would probably make it easier for you to make real progress faster but you should be able to continue working or studying even with participating.

    For WAVE2 – we require at least one of the co-founders to be fully dedicated to working on the startup, in Karmiel or not.

    Yes, the Galilee Accelerator for Smart Industry is looking only for startups that address the needs and problems of the industrial sector, i.e., manufacturers. This may include not only the production aspect, but other factory related domains such as supply chain, logistics, maintenance, service, engineering etc.

    We are not interested in solving specific problems for a specific factory – we’re looking for startups addressing a market (e.g., electronics systems manufacturers). And we’re not interested in an idea of a new physical product that a manufacturer might be producing – we’re looking just to address the needs and the problems of the industry. Look up some examples here.

    We don’t take anything from the entrepreneurs. Nada. And yes, it’s totally free of charge. We only want to see your commitment, move fast in serving your startup and your customers.

    We’d like to see the Israeli industry 4.0 startups scene flourishing, with a lot of successful startups. And we’d like to see the Galilee Accelerator and Karmiel serving as a major hub for industrial startups.

    Karmiel, at the heart of the Galilee is hosting a lot of industrial companies in it (like Keter Plastic, Klil, Trellidor and TDK), and around it in Bar-Lev, Misgav and Tefen industrial parks. The Krayot and the city of Haifa area nearby are also having significant presence of indusial companies.  The city of Karmiel and The Braude Academic College Karmiel have a special focus on the manufacturers’ sector and maintain deep and long-term relationships with many industrial companies.

    And beside all that, the Galiliee and Karmiel as its capitol offer wonderful weather, nature and communities and we’d like to see the Galilee thrives. Join us and become a part of it!

    Interested in joining The Galilee Accelerator as an entrepreneur, as a mentor or maybe as a sponsor?
    Contact Us!

    Submit your contact info and we’ll be in touch shortly. You can also email us

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