Israel – Startup Nation

Dan Senor and Saul Singer’s Startup Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle is required reading for anyone looking to do business in Israel.  In it, the co-authors describe how Israel has undergone a transformation from fledgling nation to the world’s most exciting place for technological innovation and entrepreneurship.  The reasons are varied, but all have their roots in a shared sense of survival around which this small nation has cultivated the ideal environment in which to start a business.  If you don’t believe me, just consider that Israel has:

• the highest density of startup companies in the world (one for every 1,844 Israelis)
• more companies listed on NASDAQ than all of Europe
• the greatest portion of GDP spent on civilian R&D worldwide

From the perspective of an MBA student and entrepreneur, Israel offers everything you could ever dream of.  I’m told that driving down Highway 2 from Haifa to Israel I will see offices for global leaders like Intel, HP, Google and Microsoft.  Not to mention that I will have access to Israeli startups-turned-corporations such as Teva, Given Imaging and Netafim.  And nevermind the brilliant researchers at the Technion and the venture capitalists to whom I will pitch my ideas on a weekly basis.

The concentration of multinational firms, innovative startups and funded research in an environment that encourages learning by doing and innovative approaches to problem solving makes Israel the ideal place for an internship and beyond.