INSIGHTS FROM STARTUP NATION / ISRAEL
July 8, 2015
Geekdom San Antonio
BACKGROUND
• Based in San Antonio - for 27 years
• Tech PR / Startup Communications Consultant - 35 years
• Part of Israel’s startup economy for 22 years
• 51 trips to Israel
Early Geekdom Member - in November 2011….
BACKGROUND
• Worked on….
• VoIP
• WiFi
• IPTV
• Tablet PC
• Enterprise everything
OEMs & ODMs who shaped the plumbing of
the Internet
NOW…
• Rackspace Brand Ambassador to Israel (contractor)
• Brand Ambassador to Made in Jerusalem (July and August)
• Applying same skills sets and background… sponsored by Rackspace…
• Focus on Rackspace Startups program
Very small geographic region
3 TARGET MARKETS
• Startups
• VCs / Seed Investors
• Accelerators and Startup Programs
Small Geographic Region
8,000,000 people
WHY ISRAEL?
• Sell into - to sell out of.
• Startups built to scale globally
• English is the main language
• Best test bed in the world - in every language in the world
LANDSCAPE• 4,000 + “startups”
• 40 + accelerators, working spaces, programs
• 250 R&D centers
• 2nd largest startup ecosystem - geographical efficiency
• #3 in NASDAQ publicly traded companies
2014 - A BANNER YEAR
• $3.4 billion raised in VC funding
• 7 IPO’s - $3.5 billion - largest one in the middle of Gaza War
• NY-based Israeli companies raised $1 billion / 235 in NYC alone
• 1,000 new startups
#BeHelpful
UNIQUE…
• Military service… can be a rough neighborhood :)
• Geographic contiguity & efficiency to get things done
• Everyone is degrees of separation
• Blending of cultures from all over the world
Compelling Migration Patterns
IsraelAsia
UK/ Europe
USA
EVANGELISM
• Speaking
• Writing
• Mentoring
• Community events
• Networking everywhere. Everyone is networking….
Gaping Void…
Content…
Media Coverage
ISRAEL NEXT:
• Solving problems of humanity - the API of humanity
• U.S. not always the place to grow
• Developing countries - especially Africa
WHAT EXCITES ME
• Cross section of cultures
• Democratization of startups across all socio- economic spectrum
• Human R&D lab
• From Startup Nation to Scale Up Nation
GOING FORWARD
• San Antonio / Tel Aviv ( all of Israel)
• Regional startup ecosystems in Eastern and Central Europe
• Following the migration patterns of startups to NY / Silicon Valley / Boston
• Story telling and sharing content
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAN ANTONIO
• Cybersecurity
• Health Care - especially Diabetes
• Energy
• Water
• Agriculture
• Texas A&M Campus
thank you!
Top Related