Israeli incubator moves past the ‘Nokia syndrome’ and prepares startups for the big leagues.
It used to be known as “the Nokia syndrome” – Israel, a high-tech powerhouse, has never produced an international technology leader like Nokia. The Finnish phone giant’s spiral downward at the hands of the iPhone notwithstanding, the entire concept of a “syndrome” no longer applies, says Nir Tarlovski, co-founder of the Tel Aviv-based business incubator TheTime.
You don’t need to be a huge company with offices around the world to succeed today, Tarlovski explains. With the advent of the Internet, “there are no products on shelves at retailers. The companies we focus on have only digital products or services, no hardware.” As a result, an Israeli company can grow rapidly without ever even needing to pick up the phone. “There is no disadvantage to sitting in Israel anymore,” he adds.
To wit: An Internet-only company like Conduit, which makes toolbars for websites, has annual revenues of more than $500 million. TheTime portfolio company Matomy Media Group, which specializes in affiliate marketing, has revenues surpassing $100 million a year.
“There are at least 40 Israeli companies today in the Internet space that exceed $10 million in revenue,” Tarlovski claims. With friends like that, who needs Nokia anyway?
TIME: Telecom, Internet, media, entertainment
TheTime is carving out a unique spot among Israeli incubators – organizations licensed and supported by the Israeli Chief Scientist’s Office to help startups flourish. The Chief Scientist’s Office named it Israel’s best incubator in both 2010 and 2011.
Its focus is in the name: “TIME” is an acronym for telecomm, Internet, media and entertainment. Other incubators tend to invest in hardware and medical breakthrough devices, although Jerusalem’s JVP Labs has a similar digital media specific focus to TheTime.
TheTime was founded by Tarlovski, Ilan Shiloach, Israel’s chairman of advertising giant McCann Erickson; and the group’s CEO Uri Weinheber. The McCann connection is important – the company just invested $4 million in TheTime – but so is Tarlovski’s background. He got into the tech business in 1994 when he started RSL Communications in New York with Ronald Lauder and Itzhak Fisher.
Article written by Ariel Blum for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.