Afternoon Tea in Jerusalem Blog

In addition to my work as a business coach, one of my interests is blogging about life in Israel. This is a country full of contrasts – over eight million citizens living in an area the size of Wales. You can see snow and the lowest place on the globe in the same day. Although surrounded by geopolitical extremes, Israel has achieved a decade of high economic growth. My work brings me in contact with an array of new companies, exciting technologies and dynamic characters. Sitting back with a relaxing cup of strong tea (with milk), you realise just how much there is to appreciate in the Holyland. Large or small operations, private sector or non profit, my clients provide experiences from which others can learn and benefit.

There are hundreds of multinationals operating in Israel. Typically Siemens, Microsoft, Google and many more have their own r&d centres, usually near the costal plain. Just recently, there are indications that their customary approach to the ‘start up nation’ of the Middle East has begun to change. For example: –

  1. Intel

Intel chose Israel as the first country, when it decided to build plants outside America. Today, it now has three facilities in the Holy Land, and at least three generations of chips have emerged from the land of miracles.

Intel’s latest contribution to Israel is to create a smart development centre. It is designed to house 2,500 personal in a state of the art, environmentally friendly complex. Recycling, shared info , customised air-conditioning and much more are its focus points. It will be a show piece to the world.

2. Samsung

Samsung this week officially brought its ‘early stage tech investment project’ to Israel. It has a simple yet determined aim. The Korean company is looking to invest around US$1 million in ‘the next technology’. The company has previously bought control of several Israeli start ups. So this move is a natural extension of this policy. It can be seen as a relatively cheap way to discover a competitive advantage over its rivals.

3. Sequoia and Benchmark Funds

Sequoia and Benchmark are American finance houses, which over the past two decades have invested heavily in the Israeli economy. Both have set up full local offices and raised monies for these operation.

Sequoia has led locally five rounds of financing, raising around US$780 million since 1999. In return, they have secured some of the largest exists in the market. For example, Ravello was sold to Oracle for US$430 million earlier this year. And Benchmark can report on similar successes.

All this is about to change. Neither of the two local offices will be raising more sums. Instead, any local investments will have to be financed by the funds from the American offices.

And then coming up, there is the multi-faceted conference in London on 16th November, called “Mind The Tech”. This will premier Israel’s leading high-tech figures – entrepreneurs, funders, accelerators and more – with their equivalents in the UK. The size of the event is nearly unprecedented, and just goes to show the continuing interest from large parties in the start up scene in the Holy Land.

0 comments

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Client Feedback

"Michael transformed the way I think and approach working, and also how to monetize my social media and communal projects."

CEO of digital media company

"Michael helped my high tech company take off."

CEO of clean energy start up

"Michael has been an invaluable resource to me throughout all of the steps of starting up my business."

Art Studio owner

“Working with Michael Horesh is like having root canal treatment, marriage counselling and business coaching all rolled into one, successfully.”

CEO of digital media company
CEO of clean energy start up
Art Studio owner