Why Americans and Australians need to take a leaf out of Israel's startup book

Where once, Silicon Valley was the epicentre of start-ups with technology being the cornerstone for it's existence, Israel has been the silent achiever up until now and as writers put pen to paper on this new revolution, and VC's fall over themselves to get their hands on the latest startup that has hit Tel Aviv, no-one is not taking notice.

Innovation and entrepreneurship

Innovation and entrepreneurship is in my blood, but I would be remiss if I wasn't looking out for what's coming out of Israel and making sure that my company won't one day be taken over by the "Uber" of marketing, with something that I missed the boat on.

If you look at countries like Australia and America, it's easy to see that some of the richest and most successful entrepreneurs are in fact Jewish. We should never isolate this fact, but it is nevertheless true, and there are many reasons for that. As a Jewish mentor once said to me, "being Jewish meant that I had to work twice as hard as everyone else and save every penny". He did that and with billions in the bank, he now gives back largely to the Jewish community.

The three-children rule 

He also talked to me about having three children, as it is important to most Jewish people, he said, that they not only replace themselves but add to the Jewish population around the world.

I find this information fascinating, and not something that is thought about too hard in the Western world by the less religious types or for other religions that I am aware of.

I don't begrudge that; in fact I think that that shows some type of national pride.

When talking entrepreneurship and raising of capital, Better Place and Boston's Battery Ventures investor Scott Tobin's prediction that "the next big idea will come from israel" was both bullish but to many rang some truth. 

From New York through to Sydney, VC's are making their way to Israel to see what is going on. They have deep pockets and are ready to invest in anything that has promise and has a team to execute on their goals.

More than 2.5 times greater investment per capita

Notably, in 2008, per capita venture capital investments in Israel were 2.5 times greater than in the United States, and more than 30 times greater than in Europe.

Even Warren Buffett changed his decade-long policy of not making acquisitions outside of the United States to take a "risk" on Israel entrepreneurs. And it's paid dividends and opened the doors for other's just like him to do the same. Of course, if Buffett's doing it, then it must have something going for it - right?

Academic performance relates to military record

In Israel, academic performance is less important than a military record. What Israelis learn in the military through army intelligence units is often sophisticated quantitative analytical skills like algorithms, modelling out macroeconomic trends and alike. All great skills for tech start-ups.

But what is notable is the fact that Tel Aviv University was just ranked ahead of Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale in citations per faculty member but high schools fall behind international test schools.

There is a lot of talk and a few big incubators for start-ups that have hit the world stage in Tel Aviv, with big time investors vying to put their money in the few that may just make it all the way. This senses of belief comes with heritage, and no-one is doubting the potential that Tel Aviv has today and tomorrow. That potential is not being ignored, and perhaps one day the tech startups will by-pass expensive Silicon Valley to set up where the new breed of tech startups are showing the world where they came from.