How The Founder of Waze Went From Getting Fired To Building a Billion-Dollar Business | Uri Levine

In this special episode of Big Shot, recorded live at the iconic Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., we’re joined by Uri Levine, the co-founder of Waze. Uri is a visionary entrepreneur whose journey includes building Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app, which Google acquired for over $1 billion. Beyond Waze, Uri has co-founded several impactful startups like Moovit (acquired by Intel), FeeX, and Engie. He’s also the author of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, a must-read guide for entrepreneurs. In our conversation today, we cover:  • Lessons on failure and prioritization from Uri’s father • A clever hack he used to pitch Waze with an incomplete product • The cultural drive behind the Jewish ambition to create positive change • The story of the many millionaires created by Waze’s acquisition • And so much more! A special thank you to ADL In Concert Against Hate. You can learn more here https://www.adl.org/adl-concert-against-hate-shines-light-heroes — In This Episode We Cover: (00:00) Intro (01:40) How Uri’s father taught him the importance of failure (04:55) A story about prioritization (06:59) Uri’s solution for fundraising with an incomplete product (09:00) The ups and downs of the start-up journey (11:04) Why Jewish people are drawn to entrepreneurship and making a positive impact (12:58) The connection between the kibbutz community and entrepreneurship (13:25) The Google acquisition of Waze  (13:58) The importance of keeping the main thing the main thing  (15:11) How tikkun olam inspires Uri’s entrepreneurial ventures  (16:48) Chutzpah and the Israeli experience  (17:40) How Uri continues to be inspired by his father — Where To Find Uri Levine: • Website: https://urilevine.com/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uri-levine/ • X: https://x.com/urilevine1 — Where to Find ADL: • Website: https://www.adl.org/ — Where To Find Big Shot:  • Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bigshot.show/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@bigshotpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   • TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@bigshotshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bigshotshow/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   • Harley Finkelstein: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/harleyf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  • David Segal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/tea_maverick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Production and Marketing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://penname.co⁠

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If the walls of Kosher delis could speak, they would (schm)ooze invaluable wisdom and endless laughs. Harley Finkelstein (Shopify) and David Segal (DAVIDsTEA) are Jewish entrepreneurs influenced by the greats who came before them. But, they realized no one was archiving the best behind-the-scenes stories ever told. Before time was up, they set out on a passion project to preserve the memories, mishaps, and wins of the people who have seen it all. Big Shot tells the stories of the people that shaped an entire generation.