15 / 40
ON ELITE UNITS AND STARTUPS
On pushing the limits, Israelis learn their share during military service. Soldiers from all
walks of society are asked to solve problems, challenge authority, work as a team and strive
towards a shared goal – developing an army with a knack for innovative thinking. As Singer
and Senor point out in the Startup Nation, many of the one thousand startup companies
established in Israel on an annual basis are the result of contacts, experience and lessons that
twenty-something Israelis learn as part of their military service. Soldiers are given “minimal
guidance from the top, and are expected to improvise, even if this means breaking some
rules,” they note.
The elite 8200 Intelligence Unit is considered by many to be the “breeding ground” for
successful Israeli entrepreneurs. The skills obtained by 8200 Unit members help them go on
to establish their own big data, cyber security or information technology companies, some of
which, like Gil Shwed’s Check Point and Mirabilis’ ICQ messaging system, become companies
with million and billion dollar valuations. Yossi Vardi put it best when he said, “More high-tech
billionaires were created from 8200 than from any business school in the country.”
13
YOSSI VARDI
One of Israel’s first high tech entrepreneurs, Vardi’s success set the
stage for future generations of Israeli innovators. Vardi was the co-founder and CEO
of TEKEM, one of the first software companies in Israel. He also became one of the
first “angel” investors in Israel in 1966, when he began investing in young Internet
companies. In 1996, he became the founding investor of Mirabilis, the Israeli company
responsible for inventing the ICQ messaging system. He was also a key investor in
Answers.com, as well as a number of Internet, gaming and computing endeavors.