Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle
by
Dan Senor,
Saul Singer
START-UP NATION addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel-- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?
With the savvy of foreign p...more
With the savvy of foreign p...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
November 4th 2009
by Twelve
(first published 2009)
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Historia fascinante sobre un país que antes de su fundación en 1948 creó institutos de investigación científica y universidades de clase mundial. El espíritu y la cultura emprendedora en Israel se gesta en las familias, se fortalece en el ejército y en las universidades, apoyada por políticas públicas de vanguardia que estimulan la innovación y el arranque de nuevos negocios. Mi abuelo fue militar, de tendencia democrática y civilista, apoyó a López Contreras, a Medina y al nacimiento de la demo...more
Start-up Nation is a fun overview of a side of Israel you don't hear much about: the incredible success of its start-up companies, traced back to:
1. the multidisciplinary army training everyone gets at age 18,
2. a culture of embracing and learning from failure,
3. all those Jewish immigrants from places like Russia that show up with science and engineering degrees looking for something to do, and of course
4. Jewish chutzpah!
The book also helped me understand better why high-tech, high-growth ent...more
1. the multidisciplinary army training everyone gets at age 18,
2. a culture of embracing and learning from failure,
3. all those Jewish immigrants from places like Russia that show up with science and engineering degrees looking for something to do, and of course
4. Jewish chutzpah!
The book also helped me understand better why high-tech, high-growth ent...more
Aug 07, 2011
Andrew Rosner
added it
An inspiring, terrific book. Israel is a tiny nation of seven million people with few natural resources, surrounded by countries eager for its destruction. Yet Israel has more companies listed on NASDAQ than any other country except the United States. How has it developed into a high-tech tiger in the face of such adversity? In this brief but lively account, authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer explain how Israel has made a habit of turning disadvantages into advantages through continual innovation...more
If a book discussion is upcoming I'll do my homework and read a book I'd otherwise never pick up, and that's a good thing. I had a negative impression from this title. I thought it would consist of boosterism and a defensive enumeration of accomplishments as justification for Israel's existence, but, thankfully it was not that. It was an exploration of why entrepreneurialism, particularly of the hi tech variety, is working so well there, and how to overcome obstacles to that elsewhere.
One aspec...more
One aspec...more
Start-up nation analyzes the sources of innovation in the modern history of Israel, up to 2009, and identifies as the main source a propensity for research-based start-ups funded with venture capital coupled with many uniquely Israeli elements. Overall, it's an interesting book but with several important shortcomings.
Dan Senor and Saul Singer build a case for linking innovation in Israel to the country's start-up culture. They identify how start-ups and starting research labs of major off-shore...more
Dan Senor and Saul Singer build a case for linking innovation in Israel to the country's start-up culture. They identify how start-ups and starting research labs of major off-shore...more
انتهيت سابقا من قراءة نسخة عربية ملخصة من الكتاب ، مترجمة بشكل تطوعي من أحد رواد الأعمال العرب
تجد هنا نسخة من الملخص المترجم:
http://almsaodi.com/?p=484
الكتاب يتحدث عن دور الشركات الناشئة في تكوين الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي ، ستكتشف أن إسرائيل متقدمة جدا في مجالات التكنولوجيا وخصوصا المتعلقة بالتسليح
الكتاب يصف الروشتة التي تتبعتها حكومات إسرائيل لدعم ريادة الاعمال
(entrepreneurship)
فيها ، عن طريق صناديق الدعم الحكومية ، وإغراء الشركات الكبري للحصول على مقرات داخل إسرائيل (أعني داخل أراضي فلسطين المحتلة...more
تجد هنا نسخة من الملخص المترجم:
http://almsaodi.com/?p=484
الكتاب يتحدث عن دور الشركات الناشئة في تكوين الاقتصاد الإسرائيلي ، ستكتشف أن إسرائيل متقدمة جدا في مجالات التكنولوجيا وخصوصا المتعلقة بالتسليح
الكتاب يصف الروشتة التي تتبعتها حكومات إسرائيل لدعم ريادة الاعمال
(entrepreneurship)
فيها ، عن طريق صناديق الدعم الحكومية ، وإغراء الشركات الكبري للحصول على مقرات داخل إسرائيل (أعني داخل أراضي فلسطين المحتلة...more
I thought I knew a lot about Israel, but the book is rich in anecdotes. The history of Israel is well described and innovation was probably a necessity to survive. If there is a point I appreciated less is the importance the authors give to the military. They may be right, that’s not the point, but I thought the topic came too often in the chapters. This remains a great book and a must read for anyone interested in high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
I’d like now to quote a few things I li...more
I’d like now to quote a few things I li...more
This book is about the ingredients that make up a successful entrepreneurial environment. Authors Dan Senor & Saul Singer does a good job explaining what's fascinating about Israel and unravels some of the possible sources for the incredible amount of entrepreneurship. I highly recommend this book to folks interested in entrepreneurship and international business.
Consider:
- Israel is home to high growth start-ups that transform entire industries. Israel has more companies on the NASDAQ than...more
Consider:
- Israel is home to high growth start-ups that transform entire industries. Israel has more companies on the NASDAQ than...more
A great book about one of the under-told stories out of the Middle East: that of the economic development of Israel from a desert filled with refugees to a dynamic high tech economy. Senor and Singer analyze Israeli culture, society and institutions in their quest to find out why, for example, so much of Intel's recent growth has come from its Israeli division, or why it is that a nation of just 7 million has had more NASDAQ IPO's than any other, but the US. The authors look at such factors as t...more
I read the following review on Amazon:
As a serial entrepreneur, VC and angel investor, and teacher of entrepreneurship for many years, I am enthralled by "Startup Nation". It is a fascinating story of how Israel has succeeded disproportionately to its size and certainly to its geographic situation. It teaches valuable and unique lessons about region building and industry building. The principles of the country that stimulate individual entrepreneurial behavior in the military, in agriculture, an...more
As a serial entrepreneur, VC and angel investor, and teacher of entrepreneurship for many years, I am enthralled by "Startup Nation". It is a fascinating story of how Israel has succeeded disproportionately to its size and certainly to its geographic situation. It teaches valuable and unique lessons about region building and industry building. The principles of the country that stimulate individual entrepreneurial behavior in the military, in agriculture, an...more
A friend from lab lent me this book to read over vacation. I thought it was a great read. It's very quick - double spaced, big font, and even then only ~230 pages. However, the content was quite interesting and fast paced. The authors attempt to describe what qualities of Israel culture make it ripe for the development of an entrepreneurial spirit. The case studies they give are extremely interesting in themselves, and I was left with the impression of a nation as vibrant as Silicon Valley in it...more
Being as generous as possible, this book should have been entitled "The Story of Israel's Start-Up Culture" rather than of its "Economic Miracle." Being honest, the title was misleading and this book was doomed to inadequacy from the start. The authors equivocate between an exploration of entrepreneurship and start-up culture, pro-Israel activism, Israeli military marketing and Israeli history and lore. All well and good, but as one unfamiliar with Israel's "economic miracle" I'm still not educa...more
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Jul 11, 2010
Khaya
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
proud zionists; businesspeople
Recommended to Khaya by:
my mother-in-law
Shelves:
israel,
readablenonfiction
A shot in the arm for a proud zionist, "Start-up Nation" asks the following question: "How is it that Israel -- a country of 7.1 million people, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources -- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, India, Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom?" To answer this question, the authors offer a web of anecdotes illustrating the following themes:
1. Cu...more
1. Cu...more
Dan Senor and Saul Singer's Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle is well researched and a fascinating read. The book is divided into four main parts:
* The Little Nation That Could
* Seeding a Culture of Innovation
* Beginnings
* Country with a Motive
In The Little Nation That Could we learn PayPal's Scott Thompson's first impressions of a young Shvat Shaked, whose young company, Fraud Sciences, developed the most up-to-date solution to the problem of online payment scams, cred...more
* The Little Nation That Could
* Seeding a Culture of Innovation
* Beginnings
* Country with a Motive
In The Little Nation That Could we learn PayPal's Scott Thompson's first impressions of a young Shvat Shaked, whose young company, Fraud Sciences, developed the most up-to-date solution to the problem of online payment scams, cred...more
I greatly enjoyed reading this book about how so many start-ups pop up in Israel. I loved the anecdotal story about PayPal and how a tiny Israeli company outdid their analysis on catching the "good guys and the bad guys" (and so PayPal bought the company).
The disappointment was that I don't really think this could be so easily applied to the U.S. or elsewhere. I think the authors also downplayed the Jewish element, saying that Jews in Israel are from all over. It's not about race - it's about a...more
The disappointment was that I don't really think this could be so easily applied to the U.S. or elsewhere. I think the authors also downplayed the Jewish element, saying that Jews in Israel are from all over. It's not about race - it's about a...more
A bit out of date and not quite critical enough for my taste, this book covers a variety of cultural and structural mechanisms that help explain (according to the authors) why Israel runs 2nd only the US in patents filed, and has become a quasi silicon valley where larger companies go to find innovative startups to buy-out. What it doesn't talk about in any length is the fact the Israel seems to completely lack the ability to implement most of its innovations in order to form its own successful...more
This book disappointed me on so many levels! If I can not say anything good about this book then I won’t say anything at all. O.K., maybe I’ll say just a few things. The book is tediously written to the point of almost being completely boring. The authors use quite a number of exerts from other (Jewish) people’s lives, as well as a little research thrown in, to justify their claims of 'Israeli supremacy' in the tech industry when it comes to “innovation and entrepreneurship.” The bashing of othe...more
Dan Senor and Saul Singer showed a side of Israel of which I was only dimly aware. As a software engineer, I have noticed the large number of tech-based ventures coming from Israel. "Start Up Nation" was able to shed light on the entrepreneur culture of Israel along with the burning drive that permeates the Jewish culture in general. It was also a reminder that the IDF is made up of bad-ass soldiers.
Filled with both anecdotes and figures, I found "Start Up Nation" to be an entertaining read. Sen...more
Filled with both anecdotes and figures, I found "Start Up Nation" to be an entertaining read. Sen...more
This very euphoric book on Jewish supremacy on all fronts attempts to explain the reasons for the success of Israel. It's Jewish authors analyze a number of Jewish declared individuals who are successful in science, art, business and military. While bravely dismissing genetic reasons, the book focuses on peculiarities of the Jewish culture and Israeli politics to explain the phenomenon.
Having lost all faith in politics, this book has however convinced me that it is possible to have an effective...more
Having lost all faith in politics, this book has however convinced me that it is possible to have an effective...more
This book is a decent aggregation of the stories of many Israeli tech firms. The material doesn't read as original text, but rather has a history textbook - high level sound.
There are long digressions about the history of the Israeli state and the military. I think the authors rely too heavily on the narrative that compulsory IDF service explains the success of Israeli startups.
The authors are sympathetic to state intervention in the economy.
I listed to the audible recording of this book, whic...more
There are long digressions about the history of the Israeli state and the military. I think the authors rely too heavily on the narrative that compulsory IDF service explains the success of Israeli startups.
The authors are sympathetic to state intervention in the economy.
I listed to the audible recording of this book, whic...more
A great book - I knew virtually nothing about Israel, and while this really would never suffice as a good political history book, it does cover a lot in regards to the economic history, with some politics and ethnography for context.
Perhaps more importantly, the book seems to do a good job of describing Israeli business culture, especially how it related to Israeli military culture.
I enjoyed the book - expect the same kind of writing as Fahreed Zakaria or Tom Friedman. Start-Up Nation feels like...more
Perhaps more importantly, the book seems to do a good job of describing Israeli business culture, especially how it related to Israeli military culture.
I enjoyed the book - expect the same kind of writing as Fahreed Zakaria or Tom Friedman. Start-Up Nation feels like...more
I started reading this book mainly to understand how and why Israel was able to do so well as compared to my country Pakistan. Both were created around the same time, both have had enemies surrounding it and both have one super power supporting it throughout its period.
This book goes outside of commonly heard standard reply of “US helps Israel so its doing so good”. I don’t really believe in everything what they’ve said in it but majority of it is inspiring. It puts extra special emphasis on ent...more
This book goes outside of commonly heard standard reply of “US helps Israel so its doing so good”. I don’t really believe in everything what they’ve said in it but majority of it is inspiring. It puts extra special emphasis on ent...more
First of all, indeed I have learned from this book, and we, Arabs, have a lot to learn from our greatest enemy Israel
Second as a startup nation, the main reason from what I saw in the book and experience in real life is that they are a nation, a whole nation, a true nation. Also an idea, a strong one, and this whole nation is motivated by this idea. It's just like what has been mentioned here "The others are always making a pitch for their company, Israelis are always making a pitch for Israel"...more
Jan 31, 2010
Dimitri
added it
Thought they understated the impact of the Jewish culture in accounting for Israel's success. Very interesting stuff, however, in terms of the lack of hierarchy (arising from Israel's military) and how Israelis like to argue and debate. Good look at how those factors contribute to making Israel successful. Also interesting how much of the innovation arose out of necessity - it's a really interesting contrast with the Arab world, where oil might be as much of a curse as a blessing. Ben-Gurion com...more
This book has a point to make and manages to stick to it, in a direct, convincing and extremely readable manner. It's interesting and inspiring. But one thing that is glaringly absent, in my opinion, is the presence of women. Sure, there are a few female names dropped here and there, but the authors don't talk about the access of women to careers in hi-tech. One has to assume women have less access, because, one has to assume fewer women are are accepted into - or even invited to try out for - t...more
This book is more about how to build a startup ecosystem rather than how to build up a startup.
Some days ago, the Startup Genome Report ranks the Israel the 2nd among all global startup ecosystems, only below the Silicon valley and above Boston. There are some magic ingredients about Israel. That's the reason I'm attracted to read the book, and the book does this job quite well.
Some take-away lessons about the success of the Israeli startup ecosystems:
1. everybody knows and respects everybody;...more
Some days ago, the Startup Genome Report ranks the Israel the 2nd among all global startup ecosystems, only below the Silicon valley and above Boston. There are some magic ingredients about Israel. That's the reason I'm attracted to read the book, and the book does this job quite well.
Some take-away lessons about the success of the Israeli startup ecosystems:
1. everybody knows and respects everybody;...more
This is a must read for people interested in what policies might actually work to combat environmental disaster, economic decline, and the erosion of civil society. Israel, a nation of little over seven million people, has more companies on NASDAQ than all of Europe combined; its military veterans, far from succumbing to homelessness and PTSD, are groomed as successful heads of start up companies that specialize in innovation and risk-taking. The authors set out to explain and elucidate these an...more
My brother thinks I liked this book because I'm a Zionist. Possible. But I also was impressed that a book about finance and economics could keep my interest. Start-up Nation is a very interesting read for someone new to Israel, but I also think my American friends would enjoy it, especially given the current state of the US economy. This book showcases Israel's military society and the effect that culture has had on entrepaneurship. It also articulates the sense of eagerness to try something new...more
Interesting examination of how Israel has taken advantage of its talent effectively. Discusses the role national service (military) plays in developing technical (Talpiot, 8200, Special Forces) and leadership skills, in addition to helping young Israelis build networks that will help them in their post-military careers. Other interesting pieces:
- Investment in education, and prioritization of science and engineering, has helped ensure Israel's technological edge over regional rivals while also c...more
- Investment in education, and prioritization of science and engineering, has helped ensure Israel's technological edge over regional rivals while also c...more
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