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Around the Israeli bureaucracy in a hot- air balloon

Seven years ago, Dr. Ophir Miller decided to bring a hot -air balloon to Tel Aviv. Now, he is sharing the difficulties and the satisfaction in this successful project. Dr. Ophir Miller, 41 years old, a Tel Aviv resident, married with three children. He is an Entrepreneur, a businessman, a lawyer, own a law firm, and a lecturer at the faculty of economics and management at Ben Gurion University.

22/01/2018

Why do I do the things I do? 

“Seven years ago, I flew to Hamburg, to meet a client- a company that deals in real estate. He took me to a construction site and said to me, 'There will be a hot-air balloon tied to the ground here.' I had no idea what it was and he showed me pictures of that hot -air balloon in Paris. I had to see it for myself so I flew to Paris, saw the balloon and told myself that I must bring this magnificent thing to Israel. I returned to Israel and started looking for the most suitable location. Finally, In August 2012, we signed with Ganei Yehoshua on the compound. Another two and a half years passed before the hot-air balloon was in the air. The balloon is connected to the ground, filled with helium gas. It can carry up to 30 people to a height of 160 meters for an observation over Tel Aviv. It is also the highest observation point in the city, as well as an opportunity to hover in a balloon, for those who cannot afford to travel to the north or the Negev. A ticket costs 50-70 NIS, and the responses are simply amazing”.

People have been tried to bring this initiative to Israel since the 1990s. I chose to bring it to Israel because I thought it’s an amazing attraction, and because it was something original and new. it's hard to establish new things in Israel, especially with all the bureaucracy and regulation. Three things made it happened: recruiting the most talented people for the project, professional crises management and my endless optimism".


A moment of triumph

"The moment my children first got on the hot-air balloon was my moment of triumph. At first, my kids didn’t know about this project. At the day, I realized it was going to happen, I saw we passed most of the hurdles, I told my 7 years old son that I’m about to bring a hot-air balloon to Israel. I knew it will happened, I must keep the promise I gave to my son. The first time they floated, was a very satisfying moment to me.


My best advice

"The advice I can give is also my motto in life: the one who dares, wins. As an entrepreneur, you must dare and think outside your box of solutions. You can’t let negative answers and failures narrow your steps.

 

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