Startups and families pay tribute to fallen heroes during stock market trading day

More than 250 startups have already joined the Next October initiative and have adopted the family of a faller or faller-involved person who they will immortalize as part of their business activities. The opening ceremony was attended by:

Family of the late Major (Res.) Amichai Weizman, an educator immortalized by NovoDia, a company that develops educational tools.

The family of Assaf Schlesinger, who was a paramedic at the Nova event, was commemorated by Bettear, a company that develops medical tools in the field of hearing.

The family of the late Major (Res.) Matan Meir, who was involved in film production and was immortalized by the Israel Media Group, a company that helps develop media.

The family of the late Amit Man, a paramedic who was murdered while on duty at Kibbutz Bari, is being commemorated by Avertto Medical, a company that develops life-saving solutions to prevent strokes.

Colonel Jonathan Steinberg’s family, immortalized by the Mind Guard Company.

Family of the late Dr. Hagit Mishkin, immortalized by TA’Al.

Family of the late Captain Eyal Klein, immortalized by Atom Constructions.

Family of the late Major Ido Shani, immortalized by Minovia Therapeutics.

Family of the late Major General Yossi Hershkovitz, immortalized by Zugit.

Family of the late Sergeant Yaron (Uri) Shay, immortalized by Pery’s Company.

Yizhar Shai, former Minister of Science and Technology, and the father of the deceased sergeant. They had aspirations, they had dreams. They deserve to be remembered, each one of them, for who they were, but hundreds of Israeli companies will immortalize each one of them in their own special way, and together we will continue to build a great economy and state. That is why next October will be even better. This is the proper Zionist, Jewish, Israeli response to those who forced this war on us: we will build a better world together pain”

Open for business even in the shadow of extermination attempts

Ofir Shai, CEO of Next October, then deceased Sergeant Yaron (Uri) Shai: “I am happy to stand at the opening ceremony here at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, after we have already opened trading on the New York and London stock exchanges, and we have come here today to mark that even here in Tel Aviv, in Israel, next October will be better. I am personally here on behalf of my younger brother Yaron, Noni. He died among the heroes defending Kerem Shalom, and his death saved many lives. I have pledged to carry my brother’s name with pride everywhere, and I am pleased that our way as a family to commemorate his memory and his special light has changed from a personal and family goal to a national commemorative project.”

Itai Ben Ze’ev, CEO of the Warsaw Stock Exchange: “The opening of trading in this way has never happened on the stock market, and the range of emotions is so vast. It makes me think again: what the fallen heroes and heroines went through and what they did to ensure the present and a better future.

It is a feeling of pride and suffering that is very difficult to describe in words. I am full of appreciation for all the people who are here, who donate and who help with this important project. I can say that I have never been more proud to be an Israeli, thanks to the good people who make up this nation and who are themselves the strength of civil society in Israel.”

Karin Mayer Rubinstein, CEO and president of IATI, the Israel Association of Advanced Industries: “Three months ago, the Next October team accompanied me to the opening ceremony of trading at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in New York. It was a cool and beautiful morning, and tens of thousands of people who passed through Times Square in New York watched a live broadcast projected onto the wall of the tall Nasdaq building and saw a delegation of Israeli high-tech and innovation people opening trading and hereby informing the world: the State of Israel is open for business despite the war, even if they tried to destroy us.

It was a very exciting class, but today I am even more excited. The Israel Association for Advanced Industries, which includes hundreds of companies and most of the venture capital funds operating in Israel, is committed to the vision of developing 1,600 innovative Israeli companies. May they commemorate, each in their own way, the fallen and murdered as their families would have us remember them.

Adi Sofer Thani, CEO of Meta (Facebook) Israel: “As someone who has worked in high-tech for a decade, I want to say that we all wake up in the morning feeling like it’s a privilege to be a part of this incredible industry. Since October 7th, it’s not just a right – it’s an obligation. Today more than ever, we have to be the best we’ve ever been. We have to work harder than ever before. If we understand what it takes to build the next chapter of Zionism, then it’s clear that the equation for victory doesn’t exist without a really, really strong high-tech industry.

Although this period is very complex and very difficult, we must work as hard as we have worked to ensure that the high-tech industry does its part in building the economy. Each of us has a civil order 8. This is also an opportunity to call on all who must be called: return the kidnapped to their homes so that the State of Israel can be restored.”

Hami Peres, co-founder of venture capital fund Pitango: “I grew up in a very optimistic household, and as such I can attest: those who cling to optimism do so not out of naivety – but because it is the best tool we have. We are at a turning point. The people who are starting startups, the people who are protecting the borders north and south, know that there is no alternative: to continue to grow, to break through the glass ceiling, in my opinion, for an extraordinary decade.”

Grieving families began a day of trading at the stock exchange to honor the fallen (source: Shahar Fleishman)

“A man is born good and was so in his youth”

Einat Gaz, CEO and co-founder of Papaya Global: “Being an Israeli entrepreneur is not the same as being an entrepreneur anywhere else in the world. We have another obligation that goes beyond the capitalist world. At the end of the day, we have to find time to do good. We alone are responsible for healing everything that is happening around us.”

Col. (Rep.) Talia Lankri: “You, the high-tech community, are the national security of the State of Israel. The resilience of the State of Israel depends on the economy, on international relations. All of these factors are influenced by your activities, the high-tech industry. I attend conferences every day, I give lectures every day, this is the most exciting conference I have ever been to. The activities next October show what we are capable of.”

Hila Shay, mother of the late Sergeant Yaron (Uri) Shay: “I tried to instill in Yaroni the belief that a person is born good and was good in his youth. It was important for me that my Yaroni knew that we as human beings have the ability to influence good around us. We do good and like waves on the sea, that good will go away and spread and then come back to us. Hard days on a personal level and hard days on a national level.

Sometimes it seems that the air here becomes very thin. Each of us must find the mental strength to get up in the morning and continue, to joyfully check our pulse and see that we can simply breathe. And in these days, NEXT OCTOBER is an island of common sense, an island that proves that I was right and man is indeed better than his youth. A place where every new day you can find circles of volunteers who decide to do everything for the good of the social resilience of the State of Israel. Entrepreneurs who find time to hug the families of those who paid with their lives in this terrible war, as well as those who will lead the country’s economy to recovery and develop products that will make the whole world a better place.

”A man is born good and was so in his youth”, opening ceremony of the stock exchange in memory of 1600 war dead (author: Shahar Fleishman)

Next October

Next October was founded by the Shai family, led by Yizhar Shai, a former Minister of Science and Technology, high-tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, following the death of his son, the late Sergeant Yaron (Uri) Shai, on October 7.

The organization’s goal is to help transform the pain of grief into energy for good by connecting young startups with grieving families. The organization’s volunteers learn about the unique nature of each startup that applies for the initiative and connect it with the family of a fallen man or woman who shares similarities (for example, a wine company honors a fallen woman who loved wine; a healthcare company honors a paramedic who fell while on duty).

Startups commit to organizing a commemorative activity that is in keeping with the character of the fallen, an activity that will grow as the startup grows. Next October provides startups with a package of support—from investor connections to one-on-one mentoring and enrichment events—in order to increase the companies’ chances of growth, create jobs and strengthen Israel’s economic resilience.