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Consumer Timesaver

Haifa-based company facilitates wheeling and dealing on the Web.

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

L

ife just keeps getting easier for
Internet shoppers who don't
have the time or inclination to
use the phone or make the purchase in
person and for the companies that sell
merchandise to them — ranging from
engagement rings to new homes.
And a budding Israeli technology
company, whose co-founder has some
Michigan ties, is at the forefront of a
procedure that now allows live interac-
tion between representatives of Web
sites and the people who, up to now,
have been visiting the sites silently.
"In effect, we're helping companies
give 'white glove' treatment to these Web
visitors in the form of live support and
real-time collaboration, and it doesn't
involve purchasing extra software or
continual downloading," said Yuval
Moed, 50, co-founder and CEO of HBR
Labs (www.hbrlabs.com ), based in
Haifa, Israel, with Michigan as its U.S.
hub through an office in Farmington
Hills.
"The great value of this system is that
it permits customers to interact face-
to-face with companies, which then can
build stronger relationships with the
customers, explain and demonstrate
products, share images and videos,
work together on documents, use video
conferencing tools and, probably most
importantly, just chat. This helps keep
the person online longer without dis-
tractions?'
For the past 18 months, the fledgling
HBR Labs has, in effect, been giving
everyone a free trial to use the system
— companies and their prospective
customers alike. The word has spread
through high-tech publications, trade
journals and what's called "viral mar-
keting," garnering hundreds of Web site
hits.

Son Of Survivors
"We always listen carefully to what our
customers tell us, then use the feedback
to improve our methods and products,"
Moed said. "Now we're gaining traction
in many e-commerce markets, particu-
larly in the e-learning, financial services
and telemedicine industries?'

An amazing international aspect of the
program is that Web users can converse with
people from other countries. Each person
talks in his or her own language and the
words come out translated immediately at
the other end."

— HBR's Yuval Moed

The excitement of the Internet busi-
ness can be detected in Moed's descrip-
tions and demonstrations — a far cry
from the brief time he spent working
for a national hotel chain after getting
a degree in hospitality and hotel man-
agement from Florida International
University in Boca Raton.
Born in Holland to Holocaust sur-
vivors, he later moved to Israel where
he spent three years in the Navy and
saw combat on an Israeli gunboat. The
family immigrated to America, settling
in Boca Raton, where he met his wife,
Elisa, daughter of Vernon and Shirley
Leopold, then of Huntington Woods.
Vernon was a Detroit area attorney and
the Leopolds now reside in Florida.
Moed was enticed to Michigan to
obtain an MBA at the University of
Michigan, then spent some time in an
e-commerce flower business. "But I
decided that hotels and flowers were not
what I wanted to do with the rest of my
life, and I fulfilled a dream by returning
to Israel?' Moed said.
The family now lives in Raanana, with
four children ranging in age from 10 to
18. Elisa operates a travel firm called
Travelujah, specializing in visits to Israel
by Christians.

Haifa Headquarters
Moed comes to Michigan once a month
as HBR Labs has been picking up steam
in the past 90 days, securing more
investors and signing up paid company
customers. Holding down the home

front in the company's Haifa headquar-
"Our latest version of VeriShow pro-
ters is Moed's co-founder and lifelong
vides business customers with greater
friend, Zeev Halevi, the company's
administrative controls, critical man-
chief information officer. The letters
agement of the volume of incoming
HBR stand for Haifa, Boca Raton and
requests and just overall enhancements
Raanana.
to the company and customer experi-
In the Haifa labs, about 10 technical
ence," said Moed.
specialists, mostly in their 20s and some
born in the former Soviet Union, are
Web Browser Startup
constantly working to develop new sys-
The companies using VeriShow now can
tems and improvements for HBR.
sign up for three price plans that will
"We chose Haifa for our headquarters
give them all of the collaboration ben-
because we felt we could get more high-
efits and keep a steady flow of Web site
ly skilled people there; skills to really
users clicking on to them. Companies
express themselves:' Moed said. "We
participate by embedding a Web site
have a few Technion university gradu-
link that site visitors, using standard
ates and even some former Microsoft
Web browsers, can click on to start a
employees?'
session. "It pays off in increased sales:'
"HBR Labs is another forward and
said Moed.
innovative step in the age of instant
"An amazing international aspect of
communication," said Hannan Lis of
the program is that Web users can con-
Farmington Hills, one of HBR's early
verse with people from other countries.
investors, who has been extremely active Each person talks in his or her own
in helping to develop new Israeli com-
language and the words come out trans-
panies.
lated immediately at the other end?'
"Under this system, just by making
Among HBR's customers are
one click on the computer, a person
Meadowbrook Insurance Group of
can collaborate on information or a
Southfield and Tapper's Diamonds &
purchase with one other person or even
Fine Jewelry in Oakland County.
50 more people. It's easy to use and
"We're just getting going in the HBR
represents the highest form of Internet
Labs system and the long-range pros-
interaction?'
pects are good for doing business this
HBR's main tool is VeriShow (www.
way," said Tapper's Vice President Steve
verishow.com), which Moed calls his
Tapper. "It's an excellent concept with
"flagship solution." It's an integrated,
great possibilities; it just takes time?'
multimedia platform that targets the
"We're always interested in grabbing
needs of small and mid-size companies
on to any of these high-tech innova-
in their interaction with customers.
tions." ❑

October 14 • 2010

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