Ignite by Coller page

From lab to business, in one packed room. 🧬

Last night, Ignite by Coller hosted "From Lab to Business: The Realities of Biotech Entrepreneurship," an honest look at what it actually takes to turn science into a company. Full house, sharp conversation, and a Q&A that kept going past the scheduled end.

The night opened with a TED-style talk from Ilanit Kabessa before moving into the panel.

Huge thank you to everyone who took the stage:

➢ Ilanit Kabessa, Managing Partner at URIKA Partners
➢ Prof. Dan Peer, VP R&D at Tel Aviv University
➢ Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin, Founder & CEO of MAOLAC
➢ Dr. Assaf Horowitz, CEO & Co-Founder of BrainVivo
➢ Shirley Shahar, CEO of Ever:Red and General Partner at Desertech Ventures
➢ Diana Gataulin, Co-Founder & CEO of Virobix

A special mention that Shirley and Diana joined us straight off their wins at last week's Coller Startup Competition, Animal-Free Tech and Deep Tech respectively. Fresh off the win and already back sharing what they've learned.

From therapeutics to diagnostics to bioactive nutrition, the room got the real version of the founder journey. The messy parts, the long road, and why it's worth it anyway.

This event was a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

Thank you to our supporters Herzog Fox & Neeman, Discount Tech, and Carol and Alan Silberstein, and to our mentors Orli Arbel, Doron Simhi, Erez Gavish, and Eyal Benjamin for making nights like this possible.

And the biggest thank you to the Ignite team, Vanessa Roy, Juliette Bergwerk, Ibraheem Ganayim, Adam Nusinovich, Adriel Friedler, Gil Shua, Mor Bar, Odaya Buta-Scott, Lareen Hino, Mikhail Khoroshkin, Dr. Janina Lehmann, Liron Matalon, Solomon Margolin, and Shaked Sade, for pulling it off.

More coming soon. 👀

The founder who's actually made the jump. 🧬

On July 14, Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin joins the "From Lab to Business" panel at Ignite by Coller.

Maya is Founder & CEO of MAOLAC, where she's turning bioactive science into real, market-ready nutrition. She's lived the exact path this night is about, taking research and building a company, a team, and a product around it, with all the fundraising, regulation, and uncertainty that comes with it.

What she brings to the panel:

➢ The founder's-eye view of leaving the lab and building a real company
➢ How to turn complex science into a product people actually buy
➢ What fundraising looks like when your risk profile is "biotech"
➢ The parts of the journey nobody warns you about

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: July 14, 2026 // 18:00 to 20:30
📍 Where: Sherman Building, Life Sciences room 002, Tel Aviv University
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-new-date-tickets-1991888257398
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling, opening remarks, TED-style talk, panel, Q&A, closing

Tag a founder who's building something from science. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.