Be honest, I may go to Israel for holiday, but for business? I’ve never thought of that. When I asked a few friends if they were willing to do their startups in Israel, they thought I was joking. For some reason, safety is always the first concern for people including Chinese to consider going to Israel.
However, I do know a few friends who are originally from Israel and now doing great in web business. And when I met Saul Singer, the co-author of Start-Up Nations: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, he even told me this,
There are ~500 startups in Israel. In terms of the number of Venture Capital companies by population, it’s even 2 or 3 times more than the States. So Israel, actually has a very good environment for startups.
And the most interesting point he mentioned which I also agreed is that,
Israel, as the developing country and emerging market like China it may have more issues need be solved using technology, i.e. more opportunities for technology startups.
Google recently set up its incubator in Israel, and the 15 growing Israeli startups look quite promising. As Saul said, Israel is no lacking of innovation which is actually what China needs. So Chinese and Israeli startup ecosystems should join force, and Israel could be the source of innovation for China?
The Israel Project for China will be kicked off soon next year to attract Chinese startups. Are you going?
How to register for Israel Project kick-off meeting in China?