Content area
Full Text
Yali Harari is CEO of Kamoon, a Fort Lee technology company, which is backed by blue-chip venture capital firms, including Patricof & Co. Ventures in New York City and Apax Partners in Britain. Before launching her business career she served in the Israeli armed forces.
BUSINESS NEWS: For starters, what does Kamoon mean?
Harari: In Hebrew and Arabic it's an herb. We checked out the web site, and it was available for $75. We wanted something that had no meaning, so we could brand it as knowledge commerce. And we wouldn't want to pay $1 million to get the Internet name. Three months after we decided on it, someone told me that in Korean Kamoon means genealogy.
BUSINESS NEWS: Several high-tech companies in New Jersey have been founded by Israelis. Why is that?
Harari: I haven't talked with all of them, but I think Israeli companies know the technology market is in the U.S. They have two options: east coast or west coast. The west coast used to be expensive and is far away. So the east coast can look better. New York City is expensive, and you have to work in small spaces. But you want to give programmers the ability to think and create. You can find great places in New Jersey that are still only 20 minutes from your clients in New York City. Another thing is that New Jersey has a major airport, which is again only 20 minutes away.
BUSINESS NEWS: How many employees...