Uri Levine

A 2x unicorn builder (Waze, Moovit); Author of 'Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution - A Handbook for Entrepreneurs

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

"This book will change your life and become your #bible if you are an #entrepreneur."

This is what @stevewoz co-founder of #Apple wrote about my book, Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution - A Handbook for Entrepreneurs.

The WOZ was (and still is) an idol for me and my generation, someone we looked up to and admired.

So, when I sent him the book draft for feedback, and got the answer "I like it, I wish I had that when I started. I will write the foreword", I was on cloud nine.

The video is part of a longer one you can watch in the comments.

#businessbooks #entrepreneurship #startupjourney

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

The journey from a one-man show to a scalable machine begins with sales.

New Forbes article: https://t.co/pQYx4gHW0D

Many small business owners face similar challenges when they decide to scale up their operations.

It often begins with a skilled professional—a lawyer, mechanic, consultant, PR person, dentist, accountant, or plumber—who realizes they create most of the value at their workplace and decides to become independent for better financial and personal rewards.

Initially, they leverage their existing client base, offering the same service without the overhead of a larger company.

However, the next step—scaling up—reveals new challenges. The key realization? You can’t scale effectively if you're the only one handling sales.

The Solution? Hire Salespeople Early!

By bringing in sales professionals, you can attract more customers and focus on delivering the high-quality service that sets your business apart.

This approach allows the back office tasks to naturally fall into place as your customer base grows.

Start with sales—the rest will follow

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #ScalingUp #Sales #GrowthStrategy

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

The world is changing quickly.

If I had a time machine and could send you back 15 years, I would take away your #iPhone, #Waze, #Facebook, #Instagram, #Netflix, and #Uber.

I'm not sure that we will survive.

Out of the 10 top tech companies in the world today, which ones will remain at the top in 10 years?

We don't know, but we can estimate that only half.

Which ones? We don't know.

Who will replace them?

Not only that we don't know, but we may not have heard of them yet!​

Take another look at the top 10 tech companies in the world today, how many of them were in the top 10 when I started waze in 2007?

only ONE!

Ten years ago, only three.

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

How fast is fast enough?

Way faster…

The biggest enemy of good enough is perfect.

Good enough wins the market, and you will become good enough if you start NOT good enough, listen to your customers, and improve – iteration after iteration - until you become good enough. Then you win.

#ProductMarketFit #Entrepreneurship #Startuptips #Iteration #GoToMarket

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

@francoisamarais Definitely. A broken market that calls for disruption

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

The #education industry is calling for disruption.

It's one of the biggest industries in the world, and still, kids are going to school the same way their parents did.

In general, everything we are still doing the same way our parents did may be calling for disruption.

What do you remember from school? What do you remember that still serves you today?

I doubt if it's History, Biology, or Math. It is more likely the softer skills that you’ve learned that made you who you are.

Making friends, true friendship, how to learn, how to fail, and how to get up, are probably way more important.

What is it that they didn’t teach us at school that you wished they did?

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

Many startups don’t make it through this desert because they can’t figure out Product-Market Fit (PMF) and end up running out of cash, without enough traction to secure more funding.

There are two things you don’t want to happen while you’re in the desert: run out of fuel (cash) and change direction.

Since you don’t know how long this journey will take, you need to be extremely cautious with your spending. The desert is a long, tough journey. Don’t mistake an oasis (a chance to refuel) for the end of the desert = Product-Market Fit.

Have you ever gone through the "desert of no traction"?

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

One of the hardest phases of the entrepreneurial journey is the "desert of no traction", where nothing seems to work.

This is the part of the journey that no one prepares you for.

It’s like crossing an endless desert. You start your journey, and all you see is sand. You walk all day, but the landscape doesn’t change—it’s just more sand. You go to sleep, wake up, and it’s still only sand around you.

Progress is painfully slow, often in tiny increments. Sometimes, it feels like you’re not making any progress at all. It might look like this:

·    You build the product, but it doesn’t work.
·    You build the product, and it works, but users aren’t coming.
·    You build the product, it works, users come, but they don’t engage.
·    You build the product, it works, and users come, and engage, but don’t
stick around...

This stage can drag on for more than a year!

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

It is exciting to find that when you search for my book, Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, on @amazon, you often find it recommended alongside other fantastic reads that can fuel your journey.

When I submitted my book proposal to publishers, these two books were mentioned as standing-out models for #entrepreneurship books.

Zero to One by @peterthiel and The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, who I also frequently quote in my talks, are true inspirations to me, and it is an immense honor to be part of the "must-have" books that help entrepreneurs navigate through the hardships of building a startup.

If you are serious about your entrepreneurial journey, consider adding these to your reading list.

@bhorowitz #BusinessBooks #AmazonRecommendations #FallInLoveWithTheProblem

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

Start with the problem.
Think of a BIG problem, something that is worth solving, a problem that the world would become a better place if this problem disappeared.

Then, ask yourself who has this problem. If you happen to be the only person on the planet with this problem, I would recommend a therapist.

If a lot of people have this problem, what you really want to do next is go and speak with those people to understand their perception of the problem, and only then start to think about the solution.

Speak with 100 people that you tend to believe have this problem. This means you should speak with people you don’t know, validate the problem, and make sure you understand their perception, which is critical in order to build the right value for them.

Be very careful with the nuances that they tell you. If, for example, you would hear “I know someone that has this problem…” that’s a NO. but if you hear “no, no, no this is not the problem, the problem is….” And they tell you their version of the problem – this is capital YES.

Three things will happen when you follow this

1. You have validated the problem and the value proposition

2. Your product roadmap is now almost ready. You know what are the big issues that need to be addressed

3. Your story is crisp, sharp, and full of nuances, examples originating from real people.

Your story is crisp and sharp and full of nuances, and examples originating from real people.

If many people have this problem, however, speak to them to understand their perception of the problem.

Only afterward, build the solution.

@amazon #entrepreneurshiptips #PMF

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

When I chose to become an entrepreneur, build #waze, and additional #startups, my thoughts were mainly about creating value and meaning and changing the world.
I never dreamed that one day I would be on signs in the streets of #Brazil, in #RiodeJanero during Rio Innovation Week
@rioinnovationbr #Entrepreneurship

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

Last night was the coldest night in #RiodeJanero for the past ten years, with 13 degrees Celcius.
It so happened, that I witnessed that during my visit to @rioinnovationbr.
Thousands of people were at the event, all curious about #tech and #innovation, and wanting to change the world.
I spoke about #entrepreneurship and the importance of falling in love with the problem and not the solution.
In many of my talks, I take a photo from the stage, demonstrating how @stevewoz thinks it should be done with an iPhone and proving the point that each of us is only a sample of one. So, I did it in Rio too

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

Several years ago, I met #Apple's co-founder, Steve Wozniak, for the first time, in a conference we both spoke at, in Guatemala.

For me, the WOZ is an idol, someone to look up to, and naturally, I wanted to take a picture with him.

(Later on, he also wrote the foreword to my book)

So, I took my smartphone out (lucky for me, it was Apple's), and took the picture clicking on the button on the side of the screen (and not on the screen itself).

Happily, he said: "Finally!"

So, I asked: "Finally what?"

"Finally someone is using it the way I meant it to be," he said.

Remember, we are a sample of one person, no two individuals are alike.

#startuptips #ProductMarketFit @stevewoz

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

Occasionally, #entrepreneurs ask me: How do you choose your #investors?

My reply is usually: In most cases, at the beginning, you are more of a bagger than a chooser.

But if you do have the option to choose your investors, your only due diligence is simple, approach founders that this investor invested in and ask one question: How does this person respond in times of #crisis?

If you get to choose, then you want an investor who supports their #founders, at all times.

photographer: Vladimir Skuta

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

@AmazonKindle readers highlighted this text in my book, 'Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution - A Handbook for Entrepreneurs'.

What insights did YOU like best?

#businesbooks#FallInLoveWithTheProblem #leadership #entrepreneurship

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

A successful #CEO who shied from the media finally agreed to interview.
The reporter asked, “How did you become such a successful CEO?” and the CEO replied, “Two words – right decisions.”
“But how do you know how to make those right decisions?”
To which the CEO said, “One word – Experience.”
Now the reporter asked, “One last question, how do you gain this experience?” And he replied, “Two words – wrong decisions!”
Statistically, second-time entrepreneurs have a much higher likelihood of being successful, regardless of what happened on the first journey.
Investors are right. Betting on the next #Google or #Facebook is one in a million, but increasing the likelihood of success is betting on serial or second-time entrepreneurs.
Read my article for advice on how to overcome the experience gap
https://t.co/EZ70KqObxu

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

@Hadronfc @ericries @simonsinek @chrisguillebeau Couldn't agree more :)
I wrote the book to create value for entrepreneurs and anyone on the journey of building a business or a new product and am proud to be among world-class entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship books
https://t.co/8S8O7Loxi2

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

I couldn't agree more :)

[Hadron Founders Club @Hadronfc]

We asked 50 founders about their favourite books

📚Here are the top 10 recommendations:

1. The Lean Startup
- by Eric Ries (@ericries)

2. Start with Why
- by Simon Sinek (@simonsinek)

3. The $100 Startup
- by Chris Guillebeau (@chrisguillebeau)

4. The Hard Thing About Hard Things
- by Ben Horowitz (@bhorowitz)

5. Entrepreneurial You
- by Dorie Clark (@dorieclark)

6. Zero to One
- by Blake Masters and Peter Thiel (@bgmasters @peterthiel)

7. The Startup Owner's Manual
- by Bob Dorf and Steve Blank

8. Made to Stick
- by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (@chipheath)

9. Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution
- by Uri Levine (@UriLevine1)

10. What Customers Want (PB)
- by Anthony W. Ulwick

🌶️ Controversial picks:

• Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- by John Carreyrou (@JohnCarreyrou)

• How to Win Friends and Influence People:
- By Dale Carnegie (@DaleCarnegie)

• "To Sell Is Human”
- by Daniel Pink (@DanielPink)

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

And here's one way to get the book: https://t.co/8S8O7Lp57A

[Uri Levine @UriLevine1]

How do you read my #book Fall In Love with the Problem, Not the Solution - A Handbook for Entrepreneurs?
Learning from users' testimonies, there are several ways to do it. Here are two of them:
1.   Take the #audiobook when you travel, then buy the printed version and write your comments inside
2.   Read the book once, then start your entrepreneurial journey, and go back to the relevant chapter to the phase you are at

How did YOU read it?
#FallInLoveWithTheProblem #businessbooks