Thank you Coller Startup Competition for the interview with Omer Blaier, our CEO & Co-Founder. #AdvancedManufacturing #CostReduction #Manufacturing #Startup
We asked our alumnus Omer Blaier, founder of CASTOR, **how did you start your startup?** "How did we begin? In 2018, I was working as a mechanical engineer at the world's largest 3D printing company while pursuing my MBA at Tel Aviv University. During my degree, I started thinking about how I could leverage the market needs I'd identified to create something innovative. I teamed up with my partner Elad Schiller, a close friend from the army and a computer science expert, and we started developing our idea - software that could help 3D printing consumers save costs by switching manufacturing methods for mechanical parts. We simultaneously applied to the Coller Startup Competition and a prestigious U.S. accelerator. Within a few weeks, we won the competition, got accepted into the accelerator, and received investment from TAU Ventures. That essentially completed our pre-seed round." What's the first thing you do when you receive investment? "We started by expanding the team and then developing an MVP - getting an initial product to market and started to receive feedback. This was both to improve the product and to signal to investors that there was interest and need for the venture. So with 3 new team members and an initial product, we went for our SEED round. In the 6 years since winning the competition, both our company and our country have had their ups and downs. We've raised $12 million from financial venture capital funds, strategic partnerships, and government grants. We now have dozens of customers worldwide across various industries, including automotive, heavy equipment industry, space, and more. We want to thank Tel Aviv University and all its supporting organizations that helped us, opened doors for us, and enabled us to get where we are today. Special thanks to the Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management and Mr. Jeremy Coller himself who believed in and invested in CASTOR. Thank you!" If you're also interested in founding a startup and don't know where to begin, we invite you to participate in our 'How to Start My Startup?' meetup >> https://lnkd.in/d8T4GKff Ignite by Coller #3dprinting #collercompetition #startupcompetition #AdvancedManufacturing #CostReduction #Manufacturing #Startup