Many organizations pour resources into solving the problem of Jewish continuity, but only one has arguably made the most impact while actually making a profit. In this talk, Sam Zev explains how JDate has made a massive impact on the problem of Jewish continuity, while also bringing in massive earnings as the most successful online dating service in the world. But what similar problems could JDate solve? Zev argues that Jewish education is one such problem. By applying JDate’s model to video games, Zev demonstrates how we might revolutionize the field of Jewish education.
Sam Zev is CEO of Funtactix, and Israel-based game studio. He has spent his career managing teams and companies at the cutting edge of the video games industry. He began his career creating Star Wars games at LucasFilm, and subsequently moved on to Microsoft, where he managed a team pushing the visual limits of video games across the industry. Under Zev’s direction, Funtactix has earned Israel a reputation in Hollywood where the company is now the premiere publisher of mobile games based on box office films. The studio was named one of the ten most promising Israeli technology companies by Forbes, and was successfully acquired by a major European game publisher in 2016. Outside of his professional career, Zev has been a strong advocate of revolutionary new approaches to Jewish Education and has also championed new business models for social-good ventures.
