Israel is often considered as the ideal “start up nation“. One of the characters that represents that picture is Bob Rosenschein. Originally from Pennsylvania, he founded his first software company in 1988, when Israel was still recovering from nearly a decade of hyperinflation and recession.

In his time, Bob has consulted to Microsoft and sold a company to Microsoft. Depending on how you count, he has launched at least three successful internet / software companies over the years. In 2009, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young. So what makes him tick?

This week Bob gave a beautiful yet sophisticated presentation to the Jerusalem Business Networking Forum. His gentle humour helped to illustrate 6 salient points to a packed auditorium.

NETWORKING: We are given opportunities to meet new people almost every day. Recognise them and use them. Understand why each person is unique and can potentially help you, today or tomorrow.

LOVE YOUR PRODUCT: It is a tough world out there with people throwing all kinds of stumbling blocks in your way. Know what you can do, and find a way that every different audience can appreciate its value.

FOCUS: Understand early on the true core activity of your product, and this means you should not be afraid to challenge the experts.

SELF PITY IS OUT: Never feel sorry for yourself. It is a path to nowhere.

SELF BELIEF: Whatever happens, remember that you can and will change the world

For me, the most useful point was something that emerged in the Q&A session towards the end of the event. It emerged that staff turnover at each company had been very low. Evidently, he paid well (most of the time). As expected, the environment were positive and creative.

However, what really made the difference for Bob was that anybody who was “mean” did not last long in his little empires. Effectively what he was saying was that this human fundamental took away the benefits from each of the five values listed above. To create a pun: It would appear that he was able to build mean teams that were not mean.

For the past three years, Bob Rosenschein’s efforts have been concentrated at Curiyo. “A browser app that brings you everything you need to know from top publishers, social networks and blogger” is clearly set to be his latest contribution to successful software enterprises in Jerusalem.