Uri Levine is an entrepreneur.
A co-founder of not one but two unicorns, Waze and Moovit, Levine undoubtedly represents the quintessence of what has turned Israel into the “Start-up Nation.”
However, this businessman has a nother calling: To be a teacher.
And it is with this mission in mind that Levine has just authored his first book “Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution,” which will be published in January.
Purchase a standard ticket to the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference on Sept. 12 and receive a free, autographed copy of Levine’s book. Act now.
According to the entrepreneur, the book “offers mentorship” and “aims to empower you to build a successful business by identifying your consumers’ biggest problems and disrupting the inefficient markets that currently serve them.”
Uri Levine: 'I hate traffic jams'
Identifying problems and offering solutions through the disruption of existing systems has been the guiding principle of Levine’s career, a goal that he continues to pursue, especially in the fields of mobility and public transportation, which remain his passions.
“I hate traffic jams, and that’s why we’ve started ‘to Waze,’” he recently wrote in his blog. “We tried to solve that at Waze, but traffic jams are much more severe today than they were in 2007 when we started. So, my mission is not complete yet.”
At the same time, Levine is convinced that in the next few years, the number of people owning and driving cars will reduce dramatically.
As he recalled in a column for Forbes magazine, when Levine was a child, he once asked his father to drive him to school.“It’s only a quarter of a mile away, walk there,” his father replied.
“When I asked again, he said, ‘When I was your age, I used to ride a donkey to school,’ and I didn’t believe him. The next generation will not drive, and the one after that will not believe us when we tell them that we used to drive cars ourselves.”
The truth behind building a start-up
Perhaps the solution to the problem of traffic will come from one of the many start-ups in which Levine is involved as a partner, investor or mentor. Or perhaps from a reader inspired by his book.
“Throughout the book, I unveil the truth behind the hardship of building a start-up, side by side providing a cookbook for entrepreneurs in terms of how to make it right, with the hope that my readers will use my insights and ‘startips’ to guide their way and increase their chances to succeed,” the author said.
The Jerusalem Post Annual Conference will take place this year on Sept. 12 at Gotham Hall in New York. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.jpost.com/annualconference22.
Buy a standard ticket at full price and receive a free autographed copy of Levine's book in January when it comes out.