A few months ago , Shai Magzimof found himself in the pitch meeting of his life .
Of course , tech entrepreneurs like Magzimof are pitching venture capitalist all the time on their melodic theme . Magzimof ( meat , in the image above , with colleague ) had recently expend several months at Y Combinator , the germ funder for inauguration , so he knew that as well as anyone . But Magzimof , who was fresh out of gamy shoal in Israel , was n’t slant a VC on his idea for an Android app — he was pitch a general in the Israeli Army . And he was n’t asking for money — he was need for time .
Israeli citizen are expected to serve three age in the Army after high school . But Magzimof had his idea for his app now , and he want time to work on it . “ At the beginning , ” he distinguish Fast Company , “ I send a lot of letter of the alphabet , I did n’t know who to talk to , ” to gain an hearing with a decision - Jehovah in the U. S. Army . He asked around , and finally , one day , he father a call from a superior general , who said , “ I desire to converge you . ”
“ He call for me inquiry about what is it , ” says Magzimof . “ I had to explain in contingent who I am , what is Innobell , and what I planned to do in the future . I had to make him fall in love with the estimation . ” So the oecumenical , like a speculation capitalist , sit around and listened sceptically while a then-19 - yr - old kid cant him an idea .
This is how Innobell would act , explained Magzimof . Have you ever been on a call with someone , or texting someone , when you desire to do something or share something across the phone ? Innobell would make that hap . While on a call from one Android telephone to another , there would be a background CRT screen of icons — a YouTube button , a PayPal button , a Locations release , and so on . Say you need to quickly share a television while chatting — just press the YouTube push button and post it . Say your cheap admirer is about to buy two tickets for the motion picture for you , but wants you to pay him up front — just click PayPal push button , and a link is now forged ( no need to squeeze home base , go the web browser app , load the situation , recall your friend ’s handle for payment , and so on ) . Or say you get in an argument and want to settle it in the classical way — with rock , paper , scissors . There would even be a special app to make that possible .
In his pitch Magzimof also added some detail about how this would be an Israel - based company that would make jobs for the country and speculate well upon the homeland . The full general said he ’d think about it , but did n’t make any promises . To permit a deferral of Magzimof ’s commitment over a business organisation idea would be unprecedented .
Magzimof went home and bilk his fingers . Not long afterward , he learned that he would be granted a class to make his app a reality .
An granting immunity like this was so unusual that it garnered Magzimofnational media attentionin Israel , like a Hebrew - language TV report from two weeks ago .
Innobell launches on Android today . Here ’s a video of some of the call lend - on features in action .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyXbXOGf_a4
Currently , Innobell enables nine add - ons . Eventually , Magzimof and his package developer Chaim Kutnicki and Noam Modai want to spread up their API so third parties can make add - ons of their own for Innobell . Almost any app , in theory , could have a piazza on Innobell . Once you install Innobell , it ’s smart enough to know whether you ’re calling another Android phone , and thus that it should show all the sum - on buttons , or whether you ’re calling a landline or other phone that ’s not Innobell - enabled , and thus does n’t need to clutter up the screen door .
Innobell only works for Android justly now ( the GSM / LTE phones , specifically ) . The iPhone call menu is locked in , so in the current variation of iOS , call add - ons are not potential ( features could be enabled in chat , however ) . Magzimof hop that when requirement for Innobell or products like it rises , the folks at Apple will equip the iPhone to use them as well in a succeeding O update .
Will one year be enough prison term for Magzimof to get his inauguration off the ground ? He hopes so . But if not , he has been blab out to the Army about the possibility of extending his deferral one more year . With his app establish today , he should have more fodder for his next tar . Maybe he and the superior general could settle it remotely , with a plot of rock - paper - scissors .
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