Waze Founder: Road to 1 billion users and 2 unicorns (Uri Levine)

We are thrilled to introduce Uri Levine, a distinguished Israeli entrepreneur and author, renowned for his innovative contributions to the tech industry. Levine's entrepreneurial prowess has led to the creation of transformative applications like 'Waze', a widely used traffic and navigation app. With more than 1 billion users Waze's groundbreaking success led to its acquisition by Google in June 2013 for a stunning $1.1 billion ( the largest app adquisition on that date), marking a significant milestone in Levine's career. Levine's investment instincts are equally impressive, demonstrated by his early involvement as a board member and investor in 'Moovit', which was bought by Intel for approximately $1 billion in May 2020. Alongside his business ventures, Levine is also an established author. His book, 'Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution- A handbook for Entrepreneurs', published on January 17, 2023, offers profound insights into his unique approach to entrepreneurship. Today, we are privileged to delve into his thoughts, strategies, and experiences in this exclusive interview.
You will find questions like:
1. How did your education and early career shape your approach to entrepreneurship?
2. What inspired you to co-found Waze, and how did you navigate its growth leading up to the acquisition by Google?
3. How did you get your first 1000 clients. Strategies to client acquisition? (Did you invest on it?)
4. Can you share more about the philosophy of "falling in love with the problem, not the solution"? How has this guided your approach to business?
5. How do you identify and tackle inefficiencies in markets when developing start-ups? / In your experience, what are the most common everyday problems that need solving?
6. What are 3 reasons why startups fail?
7. What are 3 “rookie mistakes” early founders make?
8. How do you handle failure, and what advice would you give to others about dealing with failure? (Rollercoaster Effect?)
9. How do you take decisions?
10. As a successful entrepreneur, what is your process for developing, launching, and growing a global start-up?
11. How to identify a problem?
12. How can you focus more? (focus on solution or focus on user)
13. *How to validate your startup idea?*
14. You have a reputation for empowering citizens and tackling everyday problems. Can you elaborate on this?
15. In your teachings, online seminars, and lectures, you've become an inspiring figure for entrepreneurs. What are some key takeaways you hope your audience will learn?
16. Can you explain your approach of disrupting inefficient markets to save consumers time and money?
17. "Fall in love with the problem, not the solution", "Don't be afraid to fail", and "Seek to impact your customers' lives" are three powerful ideas you've popularized. Can you delve deeper into these philosophies and how they've shaped your entrepreneurial journey?

[@SerdarMehmet-f2x]

Uri\'s approach to solving problems with data is next-level genius.

[@MertMuhammed-v8i]

Uri Levin dropping wisdom bombs in every sentence! Thanks for this.

[@SuatOktay-fc4md]

Excelente video 👏👏 os veo desde Sevilla

[@YakupOrhan-x3d]

La transparencia en esta entrevista es inigualable. ¡Uri es un crack!

[@UmutMehmet-y7j]

El enfoque de Uri para resolver problemas con datos es pura genialidad.