4 ms·

This is somewhat misleading on several points: - They're working with some other definition of startup than we're accustomed to. CrunchBase, for example, has

by wheels 17y ago

This is somewhat misleading on several points: - They're working with some other definition of startup than we're accustomed to. CrunchBase, for example, has 581 listings within 20 miles of London, and 35 within 20 miles of Tel Aviv. - The Israeli tech startup world seems to kind of be in the shitter right now relative to its heyday in the first web boom. There's a shift of VC out of Israel and into China at this point. - The whole blah, blah military -- there are lots of countries with compulsory conscription that don't have a lot of startups. I think the only thing I really agree with is the general sentiment: national culture greatly affects people's inclination towards opportunism. No culture of opportunism, not many startups.

endtime 17y ago
>They're working with some other definition of startup than we're accustomed to. Or CrunchBase isn't a definitive listing. Isn't it feasible that an English-language site will have less complete information from countries where the main language isn't English?
- wheels 17y ago
  It's probable, in fact, but even so, Tel Aviv is also way behind Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Munich, Barcelona, ... Note that most Israeli tech businesses have to be international players. The Israeli market itself is tiny.
  - nir 17y ago
    - CrunchBase is a very poor source for this data: established companies like Scitex/Scailex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scailex_Corporation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scailex_Corporation) or Saifun (http://www.aboutus.org/SaiFun.com http://www.aboutus.org/SaiFun.com) don't appear at all, Zoran's entry (http://www.crunchbase.com/company/zoran http://www.crunchbase.com/company/zoran) doesn't list a location, Zend Technologies is listed as a Cupertino company when it was founded and still does its R&D in a suburb of Tel Aviv. - Tel Aviv is just one town, whereas the topic is Israel as a whole. Many of Israel's major players are in Haifa (where Israel's equivalent of MIT is located) or Jerusalem or other places - Israel is a tiny nation, the commute from Haifa to Tel Aviv can be quicker than taking the subway from Brooklyn to uptown Manhattan. By the way, do you have a source on the Israel-China VC shift? I think Sarah Lacy wrote something to that effect, but it seems strange since the two places have almost opposite characteristics. I can see China competing with India or Israel with Estonia, but not with each other.
known 17y ago
Israelis cannot resist trying to help their fellow man. This often takes the form of meddling, and can even be mistaken for rudeness. They will interfere in someone else's conversation on the street to offer some good-hearted advice; they will read the newspaper in the hands of the man sitting next to them on the bus and proceed to ask him not to turn the pages so fast; they will never allow a fellow Israeli to fix his car by himself, even against protest http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Israelis.html http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Israelis.html

by wheels 17y ago

endtime 17y ago

>They're working with some other definition of startup than we're accustomed to. Or CrunchBase isn't a definitive listing. Isn't it feasible that an English-language site will have less complete information from countries where the main language isn't English?

wheels 17y ago
It's probable, in fact, but even so, Tel Aviv is also way behind Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Munich, Barcelona, ... Note that most Israeli tech businesses have to be international players. The Israeli market itself is tiny.
- nir 17y ago
  - CrunchBase is a very poor source for this data: established companies like Scitex/Scailex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scailex_Corporation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scailex_Corporation) or Saifun (http://www.aboutus.org/SaiFun.com http://www.aboutus.org/SaiFun.com) don't appear at all, Zoran's entry (http://www.crunchbase.com/company/zoran http://www.crunchbase.com/company/zoran) doesn't list a location, Zend Technologies is listed as a Cupertino company when it was founded and still does its R&D in a suburb of Tel Aviv. - Tel Aviv is just one town, whereas the topic is Israel as a whole. Many of Israel's major players are in Haifa (where Israel's equivalent of MIT is located) or Jerusalem or other places - Israel is a tiny nation, the commute from Haifa to Tel Aviv can be quicker than taking the subway from Brooklyn to uptown Manhattan. By the way, do you have a source on the Israel-China VC shift? I think Sarah Lacy wrote something to that effect, but it seems strange since the two places have almost opposite characteristics. I can see China competing with India or Israel with Estonia, but not with each other.

known 17y ago

Israelis cannot resist trying to help their fellow man. This often takes the form of meddling, and can even be mistaken for rudeness. They will interfere in someone else's conversation on the street to offer some good-hearted advice; they will read the newspaper in the hands of the man sitting next to them on the bus and proceed to ask him not to turn the pages so fast; they will never allow a fellow Israeli to fix his car by himself, even against protest http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Israelis.html http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Israelis.html