Gone Global: Why did Israel emerge as a world-leading startup ecosystem?

Much has been written about Israel’s emergence as one of the leading startup ecosystems in the world, but less effort has been made to truly understand why the Startup Nation has achieved this global recognition and level of success. Some of our favorite explanations for what makes Israel a thriving launch pad of technological innovation include: a pervasive pioneering ethos; in a way, Israel itself is a ‘startup’ among hi tech countries large immigrant populations with international networks and experience an informal culture and social structure hutzpah – you know it when you see it a tolerance for high-risk startup founders are cultural icons and role models small geographic area allows for leveraging tight-knit, interconnected networks the military provides training in leadership, teamwork and exposure to cutting-edge technologies Each of these reasons are worth exploring in their own right, but the reason for Israel’s success we want to focus on here is the idea that Israeli startups go global from day one. With a population of only 8 million people spanning 8,000 sq. miles, the country presents a very small domestic business opportunity for most...

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