Faces Of The Startup Nation: Q&A With ‘Dreamer & Doer’ Enon Landenberg

Enon Landenberg, aged 42, is the founder and “dreamer & doer” of sFBI (Small Factory of Big Ideas). sFBI is a venture builder that launches businesses focusing on human-centered innovation. Previously, Landenberg co-founded E-Dologic, Israel’s first interactive advertising agency, which was acquired by Publicis Group in 2001. Landenberg is also the Chief Commercial Marketing Officer for SpaceIL, a project to land an Israeli spacecraft on the moon, and President of Infinity Augmented Reality, one of the first augmented reality software platform that universally connects smart devices. He is an expert in the interactive media field, a lecturer at technology conventions, and a featured TEDx conference keynote speaker.

Who is your biggest inspiration? My biggest inspiration is Bruce Springsteen. Why? Because nothing for him was easy. He had to work very hard for anything he achieved because most people didn’t believe in him or his music. He’s also a showman who has a deep understanding of how to connect with audiences. He’s had the same team for 40 years. All they have to do is look at him and they know their cue. He’s a mensch. He’s a ‘gever’ (meaning ‘a real man’ in Hebrew).

Bruce Springsteen, an American idol

What were your first steps into the business world? I couldn’t find a job. No one wanted to hire me. I was 13. I wanted to buy Bruce Springsteen records. So I opened a company that sold bread buns door-to-door in my neighborhood in Haifa.

Who is the one person, past or present, you’d love to have dinner with? Elon Musk. He’s the Leonardo da Vinci of our times. He’s a guy that follows his dreams even though he can work for ten generations without doing anything. He’s going after what he believes in and every one of his dreams is bigger than the previous one.

Falafel or Shawarma? Shawarma. Because it’s meat.

What are some of your favorite weekend activities? Downtime with my family.

If you were a selfie, what would you look like? 

Enon and his kid

What is your homepage? Facebook, because it lets me know what’s going on around me. On my Facebook feed, I get the most relevant updates I need on what my friends are doing and liking.

What is your hidden talent? Nothing is hidden. Everything is out there.

Who was your first celebrity crush? Bruce Springsteen. At the age of one.

Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars. It has a better logo.

What are you totally addicted to? My kids, because they are my kids. My best creation.

What’s the biggest risk you have ever taken? Leaving E-Dologic. Leaving the advertising/marketing field and moving into a more technological field was my biggest risk.

Bar Refaeli or Gal Gadot? Gal Gadot, because she seems much more human to me, and she’s a mom.

If you weren’t an entrepreneur, what would you be? I’d be a gardener because you grow things from nothing, from soil.

If you could be a movie character, who would you be? I’d be Superman because I love to help people and from time to time you need super powers to do that.

Tel Aviv or New York? Definitely Tel Aviv, because I’m Israeli and Israel is the best place for Israelis. It was built by our grandparents and it suits us perfectly for the good and for the bad.

What is your favorite Hebrew word? ‘Habibi’ (which is actually Arabic) because it sounds good and it makes you feel good to say it and to hear it.

Photos: Ketchum Blog

NoCamels’ “Faces of the Startup Nation” features the leading entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and visionaries to give you an exclusive peak into the movers and shakers of Israel’s innovation scene. If you want to suggest a “Face”,  write us in the comments below!