Ignite by Coller page

That's a wrap on an incredible year. Founder talks, workshops, and panels. Here's a recap of everything that went on:

➢ November: Opening night with Tal Kollender and Alon Yariv
➢ January: Finance and law evening at Herzog Fox & Neeman
➢ January: A sales and business development workshop with Hadar Tal
➢ April: Product-market fit with Roy Zur
➢ May: Riki Levisman on the agentic shift
➢ May: Ignite Now, two days of sessions for the Coller Startup Competition semifinalists
➢ June: Personal branding panel with Ana Lipnik Levy, Shay Thieberg, and Rodrigo Gonzales
➢ July: From Lab to Business, a biotech panel with the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, led by Ilanit Kabessa with Prof. Dan Peer, Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin, and Dr. Assaf Horowitz, plus pitches from Coller Competition winners Diana Gataulin and Shirley Shahar

It was a great year of putting on events and meeting so many of you along the way. We hope you got something out of it, whether that was an idea, a connection, or just a good night out with people building the same kind of thing you are.

Thank you to our supporters Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University, and to our mentors Orli Arbel, Doron Simhi, Erez Gavish, and Eyal Benjamin.

And the biggest thank you to the Ignite team, Vanessa Roy, Juliette Bergwerk, Ibraheem Ganayim, Adam Nusinovich, Adriel Friedler, Gil Shua, Mor Bar, Odaya Buta-Scott, Lareen Hino, Mikhail Khoroshkin, Dr. Janina Lehmann, Liron Matalon, Solomon Margolin, and Shaked Sade. What a year to build with you.

If you're not in our WhatsApp community yet, now's the time: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EW4diqDZtxtFS9UcYunAXF

See you next year. 👀

From lab to business, in one packed room. 🧬

Last night, Ignite by Coller hosted "From Lab to Business: The Realities of Biotech Entrepreneurship," an honest look at what it actually takes to turn science into a company. Full house, sharp conversation, and a Q&A that kept going past the scheduled end.

The night opened with a TED-style talk from Ilanit Kabessa before moving into the panel.

Huge thank you to everyone who took the stage:

➢ Ilanit Kabessa, Managing Partner at URIKA Partners
➢ Prof. Dan Peer, VP R&D at Tel Aviv University
➢ Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin, Founder & CEO of MAOLAC
➢ Dr. Assaf Horowitz, CEO & Co-Founder of BrainVivo
➢ Shirley Shahar, CEO of Ever:Red and General Partner at Desertech Ventures
➢ Diana Gataulin, Co-Founder & CEO of Virobix

A special mention that Shirley and Diana joined us straight off their wins at last week's Coller Startup Competition, Animal-Free Tech and Deep Tech respectively. Fresh off the win and already back sharing what they've learned.

From therapeutics to diagnostics to bioactive nutrition, the room got the real version of the founder journey. The messy parts, the long road, and why it's worth it anyway.

This event was a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

Thank you to our supporters Herzog Fox & Neeman, Discount Tech, and Carol and Alan Silberstein, and to our mentors Orli Arbel, Doron Simhi, Erez Gavish, and Eyal Benjamin for making nights like this possible.

And the biggest thank you to the Ignite team, Vanessa Roy, Juliette Bergwerk, Ibraheem Ganayim, Adam Nusinovich, Adriel Friedler, Gil Shua, Mor Bar, Odaya Buta-Scott, Lareen Hino, Mikhail Khoroshkin, Dr. Janina Lehmann, Liron Matalon, Solomon Margolin, and Shaked Sade, for pulling it off.

More coming soon. 👀

Surprise addition to tomorrow night. 🧬

Two more speakers just joined "From Lab to Business," and both of them just proved they can do exactly what this event is about.

➢ Shirley Shahar, CEO of Ever:Red, this year's Animal-Free Tech winner. She's also a General Partner at Desertech Ventures, backing agri-food and climate startups built for the world's driest places, so she brings the founder's view and the investor's view in the same person.

➢ Diana Gataulin, Co-Founder & CEO of Virobix, this year's Deep Tech winner. Virobix spun out of research at the Weizmann Institute of Science and is building targeted viral delivery for next-generation cancer therapies. She'll walk through the founder's journey, lab to company, in five minutes.

They join Ilanit Kabessa, Prof. Dan Peer, Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin, and Dr. Assaf Horowitz for a night about what it actually takes to turn science into a company. Now with two people who just did it, fresh off the win.

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

📅 When: Tomorrow, July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Last chance to grab a spot. See you in the room. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

Tomorrow night. Last call. 🧬

"From Lab to Business: The Realities of Biotech Entrepreneurship" goes down July 14 at Tel Aviv University, the honest version of what it takes to turn science into a company.

If you've been meaning to sign up, do it now.

Who's on stage:

➢ Ilanit Kabessa, Managing Partner at URIKA Partners (opening talk + moderator)
➢ Prof. Dan Peer, VP R&D at Tel Aviv University
➢ Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin, Founder & CEO of MAOLAC
➢ Dr. Assaf Horowitz, CEO & Co-Founder of BrainVivo

Four people who've actually walked the path from lab to market, no sugarcoating.

A collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

📅 When: July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Last chance to tag a friend and bring them along. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

From Lab to Business: The Realities of Biotech Entrepreneurship [NEW DATE!] The event will be held in ENGLISH. The event is FREE - but registration is required.

10 years of the Coller Startup Competition, and the finals delivered. 🎉

We were there as part of the exhibition, and what a night to be in the room for. Months of applications, mentoring, and rehearsals came down to nine finalists, an evening of sharp pitches, and three well-earned wins.

Congratulations to this year's winners:

➢ Deep Tech: VIROBIX, for targeted viral therapies aimed at treating solid tumors more precisely
➢ Climate Tech: Okimata, reinventing ceramic manufacturing with a process that cuts energy, emissions, and cost
➢ Animal-Free Tech: Ever:Red, a plant-based alternative to insect-derived carmine pigment using engineered duckweed

Every finalist brought bold thinking and real ambition to the stage. This is exactly the kind of night that reminds you why the ecosystem here is special.

Huge congrats to the winners, every finalist team, and the Coller Institute of Venture crew for pulling off an unforgettable 10th anniversary.

Proud to have been in the room. Here's to the next ten. 🎉

Rounding out the panel, a founder building at the edge of neuroscience. 🧠

On July 14, Dr. Assaf Horowitz joins the "From Lab to Business" panel at Ignite by Coller.

Assaf is CEO & Co-Founder of BrainVivo, where he's working to turn deep neuroscience into real-world technology. He's building in one of the hardest corners of biotech, where the science is genuinely novel, the path to market is anything but obvious, and you've got to hold the research and the business in your head at the same time.

What he brings to the panel:

➢ What it takes to commercialize science that's genuinely cutting-edge
➢ How to build a company when your core tech is still proving itself
➢ The realities of fundraising and team-building around frontier science
➢ Lessons from running a deep-tech venture day to day

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Tag someone fascinated by brain. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

Tomorrow. This is the one it's all been building toward. 🏆

The finals of the 10th annual Coller Startup Competition happen tomorrow, and after months of applications, mentoring, and judging, nine startups are ready to take the stage.

Here's the night:

➢ Startup exhibition and networking
➢ Live finalist pitches
➢ Winner announcement and celebration

Come meet the founders, see what they're building across Deep Tech, Climate Tech, and Animal-Free Tech, and be in the room when the 2026 winners are announced. Ignite by Coller will be there as part of the exhibition, so come find us and say hi.

📅 When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 8, 2026 // 17:30 to 21:30
📍 Where: Coller School of Management, Tel Aviv University
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finals-the-10th-coller-startup-competition-tickets-1990762175256?aff=oddtdtcreator

Founder, investor, student, or just curious about what's next? This is the one to be at.

FINALS: The 10th Coller Startup Competition Experience the excitement live! Watch the finalists pitch their ventures for a chance to win $400,000 in investment awards

The founder who's actually made the jump. 🧬

On July 14, Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin joins the "From Lab to Business" panel at Ignite by Coller.

Maya is Founder & CEO of MAOLAC, where she's turning bioactive science into real, market-ready nutrition. She's lived the exact path this night is about, taking research and building a company, a team, and a product around it, with all the fundraising, regulation, and uncertainty that comes with it.

What she brings to the panel:

➢ The founder's-eye view of leaving the lab and building a real company
➢ How to turn complex science into a product people actually buy
➢ What fundraising looks like when your risk profile is "biotech"
➢ The parts of the journey nobody warns you about

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Tag a founder who's building something from science. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

This is a name you show up for. 🧬

On July 14, Prof. Dan Peer joins the "From Lab to Business" panel at Ignite by Coller.

Dan is VP R&D at Tel Aviv University and one of the most influential figures in Israeli life sciences, a pioneer in RNA therapeutics and drug delivery whose research helped shape the field. His whole career sits exactly on the seam this event is about: where deep science meets the hard work of actually building something with it.

What he brings to the panel:

➢ A front-row view of how breakthrough research actually leaves the lab
➢ What it takes to turn science into a venture people will back
➢ How academia and industry can work together instead of past each other
➢ The honest version of how long and nonlinear the road really is

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Tag a researcher who needs to hear this. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

Meet the voice opening our biotech night. 🎤

On July 14, Ilanit Kabessa kicks off "From Lab to Business" with a TED-style talk, then moderates the panel that follows.

Ilanit is Managing Partner at URIKA Partners, and she sits right where this whole conversation lives: between the science, the money, and the hard calls that turn research into an actual company. She's spent her career figuring out what makes a venture worth backing, so she's the perfect person to open this one.

What she'll set up:

➢ Why great science doesn't automatically become a great company
➢ What investors are actually looking for in biotech
➢ How the best founders think about risk, timing, and the long road to market

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Tag someone who'd want to hear this. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.