Tomorrow, July 17, is International Firgun day ( #internationalfirgunday ). Readers of VC Cafe are familiar with the concept of Firgun on VC Cafe, but in case you’re seeing #firgun for the first time, and since there’s no real equivalent in English (apart from perhaps the opposite of ‘schadenfreude’) here is the short definition:
Firgun (Hebrew: ??????) is an informal modern Hebrew term and concept in Israeli culture (originally Yiddish), which describes genuine, unselfish delight or pride in the accomplishment of the other person.
Source: Wikipedia
Starting sometime the fall of 2020, during the Covid lockdowns, I wanted to find a positive angle in a time filled with negative news, anxiety and isolation. I embraced the concept of Firgun and started collecting the news on the movers and shakers in Israeli tech every single week, posting a short LinkedIn post that celebrates and shines a spotlight on the founders, investors and execs driving the industry forward. It is a labor of love and it’s been heartwarming to see so many messages of support over time, including this cool custom t-shirt from my kind friend Ella :-)
Now, for International Firgun Day tomorrow, I’d love to see more people embracing the concept and tagging others in their community of industry that deserve recognition for a milestone or impact they achieved. By helping recognise your peers accomplishments you will selfishly feel good. As simple as that.
“Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. Everything.”
Danny Trejo
So, what are you waiting for? Take the #internationalfirgunday challenge tomorrow. Pick your social platform of choice and choose at least three people that you’d like to call out (and explain why). Tag your post with #firgun and voilà, help pay it forward.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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