Arrival in Tel Aviv & first impressions
About two weeks ago I arrived in Tel Aviv to experience and share the startup scene in Israel.
It took a while to settle in - all these new impressions are overwhelming. In the past days I used the 30° and sunshine to explore the beach, but I was also in the city and met a lot of communicative, nice people who shared their stories with me.
When I meet new people in Germany and ask them what they do, the answer is usually "Daimler", "Bosch", "VW", "BASF", "Deutsche Bank", ... . I haven't met anyone here who simply works in a large corporation. Instead, everyone is trying to realize their own potential - in their own project, in their own start-up.
This startup mentality is also reflected in the young, colorful and lively way in which the people here meet me.
Hundreds of young people here are looking for money, inspiration or simply exchange among like-minded people, trying to implement their strategy and hoping to become the next Unicorn startup with a $1 billion evaluation.
This Startup Thinking is supported by countless Venture Capital companies or Accelerator/Incubator programs. Some pant after these programs and hope to be able to pitch and still be discovered, while others have already done so and can freely dispose of the risk capital.
How the military supports entrepreneurship
In Israel, the military plays an equally important role in the country's start-up success. In the famous Unit 8200, young talents are encouraged and encouraged to think out of the box. This unit takes care of cyber security and electronic reconnaissance. Based on the name of the unit there is the 8200 EISP Accelerator Program. Here not exclusively startups of Alumni of the unit 8200 are promoted, but already the name suggests a certain proximity to this unit. This model enables young entrepreneurs to develop, implement and advance their ideas free of conventions - after the period of service, of course.
This was the first report from Israel, I will keep you up to date.