Wearing the hat of a business coach, I see many start-ups in the Jerusalem region. And do not misunderstand me, these activities cover a range from high-tech to service providers to retail and beyond.

As a mentor, I am often asked in innovation and entrepreneurship can be taught or if it is simply ‘built-in’ from the moment we are born. The answer is too long for a brief blog. However, I want to share an exciting and exhilarating experience I had last night in Tel Aviv. I had been asked to network with a group of early-20 year old group of Israelis.

On the face of it, there is nothing special with that. They came from a wide socio-economic background; city types and those who had grown up in small desert towns. The uniting factor was that they had all graduated in the past 24 months from an active unit in the army, yet they had barely found serious employment or embarked on a university course.

Over an hour or so, I spoke at length to about 10 people. In their own way, they all wanted to know: “How do I start a business? What skill-set do I need?”

I was fascinated by the amazing array of ideas I was presented with, this coming from a set of people with negligible commercial experience.

One individual, on visiting Tel Aviv, had observed that a specific central neighbourhood did not have a tobacconist. With an investment equivalent to about US$5,000, he opened up two weeks ago. He is in desperate need of somebody to explain the importance of controlling cash flow, but having fun for now.

Another ex-trooper has wondered why a lovely countryside bike route near his home is not serviced by a specialist store. I encouraged him to look at similar outlets in other parts of country in order to learn how they operate and survive.

Others were looking at the building industry, event planning and more. However my ‘favourite’ story of the evening came from somebody who just appeared to be listening to others chatted with me. Then he pulled me aside. “I have this idea, but it is complicated to explain,” he imparted with a curious smile.

“You see; I want to start a fast food delivery business in Tel Aviv, but to a very specific sector……..(Pregnant pause)…..After people have taken drugs, they need to eat quickly. I want them to have my phone number and my service will deliver from a set menu. I will ensure that my prices are cheap, or at least competitive”.

Well readers, as you can imagine, this is not my scene. Now was this a moment to preach. His face let me know that he felt he had trumped me. Market size, I wanted to know. Not a problem, I was reassured, as another knowing look was thrust back at me. But I was not to be defeated.

I responded: “Your business model needs to be revamped. If these people are desperate for a food fix, they will probably pay a premium rate.” He laughed and acknowledged my triumphant defiance.

But you gotta ask: How do these young Israeli adults come up with such a varied, creative and innovative set of ideas?