It’s an unseasonably and unexpectedly cold Sunday morning in Jerusalem, but I’m sitting in a nicely heated hotel conference room with close to a dozen Silicon Valley Latino business leaders, several Israeli government officials, and, this morning’s guest of honor, journalist Saul Singer, co-author of Start-up Nation. A best-selling chronicle of the rise of Israel in the global technology market — it’s second only to Silicon Valley in tech start-ups — Start-up Nation is more than a book. It’s become a bible of sorts for the growing number of leaders around the world who want to start the next Silicon Wadi.
But Singer’s not here to just share his wisdom with yet another foreign delegation. He’s got something else to say about Israel that should be especially interesting to the folks in the room gathered here less than one week after a national election.
Only half of us have read his book, so Singer makes sure to start by dispelling a myth in the tech industry. Success in tech has little to do with ideas. In fact, Israel is not generating any more ideas than any other region in the world. Its success has more to do with the follow-through of the best ideas.
Israel, says Singer, enjoys at least three things — assets — that make this possible.
First, the country itself is a start-up, an idea that might not ever have come to fruition if it were not so bold or “crazy.” And the success of this nation as start-up has emboldened many citizens to continue executing on the idea. And it’s not just happening in Tel Aviv, but throughout all of Israel. Such is the phenomenon of Israeli start-up fever. According to one of the government officials with us today,, the word start-up has become such an important part of the Israeli lexicon that it’s come to mean any inventive act, like improvising an amazing salad with a few unlikely ingredients. “That’s a start-up,” you’d say to your friend, rewarding her for the ingenious little lifehack.
Second, and perhaps more surprising, is the Israel Defense Force (IDF). It’s not just that service in Israel is compulsory. As Singer and Senor explain in chapter four of their book — the IDF where young Israelis learn to embrace an organization’s mission, learn to implement that mission with a passion, and — most important — learn that life is “not just about you.” Personal devotion and sacrifice, says Singer, is an underappreciated attribute in the business world, but the best tech companies fervently embrace it. Israelis go one step further by giving themselves permission to challenge authority that’s undeserved. As Oded Hermoni — a Silicon Valley based Israeli entrepreneur — recently told me, “in the US, you tend to salute the title and not the person. In Israel, it’s the opposite.”
Third, says Singer, prepping for the close, Israel has the advantage of being a nation of immigrants. People who immigrate — as many studies note — need to hustle harder to make it. People who immigrate tend to align stronger with the narrative — think mission – of their nations. But, most important, people who immigrate tend to have a global perspective that sometime make them better suited to serve global markets. Israel’s start-ups cannot target the Israeli market only; with less than eight million people, it’s too small. As a result, many Israeli entrepreneurs have no choice but to act globally, says Singer. And it was at this point in the conversation that things got really lively with our group. As I said at the top on this post, the delegation I am with is comprised of Latino entrepreneurs, and we are working on projects that serve not just the US — a focus for so many Israeli start-ups, says Singer — but emerging markets throughout the Americas. Developing ties with Latino entrepreneurs is not just a good thing to do. It’s good business, especially if you are start-up nation.
Which finally brings Singer to his punchline. What if Israel could evolve its identity as start-up nation to a nation that serves as “an accelerator of emerging ecosystems around the world.” From where I sit — across the table in this particular conference room — it’s an excellent question. A few of us in the delegation have an interest in helping Israel reimagine itself for a more sustainable role in the global marketplace, and a model that helps people in emerging markets could make a big difference. Second, most of us work with entrepreneurs who might help and be helped by a new model; after all, we traveled to Israel to discuss new partnership models. But each one of us — including our Israeli hosts — are aware of the accidental timing of today’s conversation, just days after a national election that has so many people inside and outside of Israel wondering what it will do next.
Later in the day, the delegation is scheduled to meet with a startup (an accelerator) that has an idea for serving diverse markets both outside and inside of Israel.
Sound like another “crazy idea.” But I’ll bet that they’re doing their damndest to make it work.