BrandVoice
Eliezer Gross‘ unique talent was discovered by his mother when he was only 4 years old. Noticing that her son likes to play with numbers she decided to nurture his talent, and under her guidance, he went on to complete a bookkeeping course with honors at only nine years old.
Later, he won Israel’s Mathematics Championships and was the runner-up in the World Mathematics Championships. “You don’t need public education in order to succeed,” he says. “whoever studies Gemara (the Talmud) can understand everything, and what’s most important is “Besiyata Dishmaya” (an Aramaic phrase, meaning “with the help of Heaven”).
Eliezer’s father also helped develop his son’s talent. “When I was eight years old my father used to take me to police auctions, where unclaimed items are sold, and I bought bicycles, skates, and other items. I went on to participate in Port Authority sales of unclaimed goods. At the age of 16, I traveled abroad for the first time in order to sell the Four Species (arba’at ha-minim, four plants mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot) to Jewish communities in England. I learned about tenders, traveled to the U.S., and founded a tender company – that buys goods in one place and sells them in another.
I bought almost anything – from planes, diamonds, and submarine parts to medical equipment, oil pipes, electronic parts, and even the longest car in the world. I used my calculation ability and memory for numbers, and mainly “Besiyata Dishmaya” – with god’s help. During this period, I also founded the “Kfar Hasha’ashuim” and “Hakol Bedollar” stores in Israel, together with Avi Katz and Ronen Levy, and was a partner in similar businesses established in the U.S.
Realizing that the Entrepreneur Doesn’t Always comply
Gross lost his advantage in the American market after online tenders became more popular, and in 2011 he founded together with Dr. Ilan Cohn, former Chairperson of Reinhold Cohn & Partners, Patent Attorneys, the Israeli-American investment company BESADNO (“bsiyata dishmaya, na’aseh v’natzliach” – “with God’s help, we will succeed”). The company specializes in investments in startups, commercial companies and high-tech, leveraging the enormous knowledge and extensive contacts Gross acquired in all industrial and commercial areas as well as Dr. Cohn’s expertise in the patent field.
“As I see it, tenders are very similar to investing in a startup”, he explains, “you begin the journey in one place, travel a bumpy road, and end up somewhere else (or lose). The difference is that in tenders you deal with goods, that don’t move, while with a startup the entrepreneur is a partner to the process, he does what he wants and not always what you as an investor strives for”.
“All our investments are in accordance with the Halacha (Jewish law)”, explains Gross, “For example – the companies in which we invest do not desecrate the Sabbath, because we are their partners, although, of course, we do not intervene in the entrepreneur’s private life. I am happy to say that we met honest people, many agreed, and there were those who did not want to commit and therefore did not take our investment. In any case, we open doors to every startup that comes to us, to help them develop contacts, even if we did not invest in them, this is part of our DNA”.
In terms of business – what is the uniqueness of the Besadno Investment Group
“We have unique power which no other investment group has. We are closely tied to the orthodox Jewish communities in the U.S., whose circle of acquaintances and connections is wide-ranging, and Israel and its economic growth are very important to these communities. We have many and diverse partners in the fund, for example, the Beit Yaakov school network, Satmar Hasidic sect, the Litvaks (non-Hasidic Jews of Ashkenazic descent), and persons from the Syrian community”.
What type of startups do you invest in?
“In a range of medical technologies, agrotech, aviation and proptech (real estate technologies). We will not invest in things that are not of real positive value to the world or in things that are unethical, which is why we will not invest in arms, gaming or cannabis. Our motto is that even if our investment did not earn money, and the startup failed, it made a step towards advancing the world with something positive. It is especially important to us that the connection and the transaction will be fair for all parties – the entrepreneurs, the investors and for us”.
For more information, click here: BESADNO, 1800-801-802
BrandVoice is the marketing content brand of Forbes Israel
