Some fifty ultra-Orthodox entrepreneurs took part at an event in Bnei Barak on Tuesday hosted by Kamatech, an organization dedicated to the integration of haredim in the Israeli high tech industry, with the keynote speaker being philanthropist and businessman Sheldon Adelson.
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Adelson was interviewed by Yasmin Lukatz the executive director of the Israel Collaboration Network (ICON), a non-profit organization that aims to create a Silicon Valley-based community to harness and support Israeli startup technology and innovation.
Lukatz has been a driving force in making Kamatech a success story. Co-founder and CEO Moshe Friedman told the audience that "Kamatech has two periods: The period before we met Lukatz, and the one after we met her."
Lukatz's interview with Adelson covered a range of topics, starting from his early childhood in a poor family, his emergence as a leading force in the computer trade show business with his pioneering company Comdex, and later as a major philanthropist.
Lukatz began the interview by asking him about his first business.
"The first time I had a business was when I was 12 years old," Adelson said. "My older brother went out after school, and I asked him where, and he said that he was going to work, to sell papers. So I asked my mother if I could go with him, and she said yes. So I asked the fellow who owned the corner place if I could do the same thing. He said, 'sure.' So I started to sell newspapers. At the end of the day, the owner came over and emptied out the apron and left only a few coins for me. So I said, 'How do I make it my money.' And he responded, 'You have to give me 200 dollars.' So I went to my parents and asked for 200 dollars and of course they didn't have it. And my father said, why don't you go to visit Uncle Al, the treasurer of a credit union."
Adelson eventually got a 200-dollar loan from the credit union, and had to pay it back with interest in weekly installments.
"Al told me that I have to come rain, snow or shine, and that I have to bring 15 dollars plus interest every Tuesday at 8 o'clock to return the loan … So that was my first business."
Adelson further recalled how he came up with the idea of setting up a medical research fund, what is known as the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation.
"I am not walking so easy. The doctor who took care of me, wrote books and did a lot of research, I was grateful for the care that I got, so I asked him if he wanted to do more research," Adelson recalled.
The doctor said that he would need 10 million dollars, and didn't think anyone would give him such a sum, but Adelson did.
"He didn't know that I was a successful businessman he took care of me like any other patient. I did some research to find out why there are no more findings or additional treatments."
Adelson was shocked to discover that scientists were reluctant to collaborate because they got compensation based on the number of publications they produced, and this prevented the development of better treatment and cures, including for what he was suffering from.
Ultimately, he convened senior scientists and proved to them that their discoveries should not depend on the number of publications. He asked them whether they knew how many papers Jonas Salk, a doctor whose efforts made the polio vaccine a reality, had published.
This question, which was left unanswered, helped sway them to join forces and collaborate with his foundation.
"We don't finance a single laboratory, we finance the scientists. At our peak we financed about 125 institutions and 200 scientists. As of today, we have 26 findings, meaning we have found cures or treatments for 26 different things," Adelson said.
Asked by the audience what advice he would give young entrepreneurs, he said that it was important to find a business partner that "lets you run the business without interference" and that they prepare for a possible failure.
"Everybody falls; but you have to know how to get back up on your feet," he said, stressing the need to keep extra funds available.
"If you believe in your business, raise the money for it," he said.
When asked which cause gave him the most inspiration, he said the medical foundation and the Birthright Israel program, which brings young Jews on 10-day tours of Israel.
"I put over 400 million dollars into Birthright, and it brought in more than 700,000 kids from around the world," Adelson said.
Asked if his childhood dreams were fulfilled in adulthood, he surprised everyone by saying: "I didn't have dreams. I didn't have dreams that I wanted to fulfill. I just had entrepreneurial-type ideas and started different businesses."
Toward the end, when asked what he was most proud of, he answered: "Marrying my wife." He recalled that he and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, just celebrated their 28th anniversary. "And we never had a fight."
Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom. The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom.
