There is a well-known joke in Israel about how to make a small fortune. Answer – start with a large one. And jokes are usually coated in a bitter truth.

Often, the odds seem stacked against you – bureaucracy, cumbersome banks, regulation and more. For all that, the spirit of enterprise and innovation in the “start-up” nation remains as high as ever, a message brought home by an inspiring new commentary from Wired.

So today, I want to concentrate on two success stories that reveal the true potential of the Israel economy.

I will start with the story of MobilEye. It was founded nearly twenty years ago by a researcher from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. By 2007, its initial sales had impressed Goldman Sachs to invest US$100m.

And what does the company do? It creates smart solutions for a car to perform safely. Its website refers to partnerships with 27 global manufacturers. In addition, there are 13 agreements with conglomerates looking into the space of driverless cars. And for now, nobody else can match its abilities.

The latest agreement has landed the catch of Volkswagen, which “will use Mobileye’s Road Experience Management (REM) camera-based map and localization technology ……..to implement a new navigation standard for autonomous driving starting in 2018.”

This latest news sent the price of the company’s stock through the roof. Trading trebled. With a share price of around US$45, the company is thus valued at about US$10 billion, a very handy number for the investors, not to mention the founders.

I must add that the irony of Israel now being a key player in the automotive industry is not lost on its citizens. Remember the 1973 Yom Kippur, which led to the quadrupling of oil prices? Well now Israel a leading technology centre for smart cars. Honda and Volvo are the most recent additions to establish r&d centres.

Moving on to a completely different field, Richie Hunter is a British-trained accountant. Until recently, he headed the McCann Erickson advertising agency in Israel. He has since gone on to create and manage several other successful retail adventures.

In addition, he owns 30% of Holmes Place and its 33 gymnasiums. Annual income is estimated at 380 million shekels – say about US$100 million. Pre-tax profits have grown 25% annually in each of the past three years.

Hunter is now looking to take his keep-fit empire, and I believe that he does participate in charity races, on to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The aim is to raise 400 million shekels, which will allow the chain to treble in size through acquisition.

I have not hidden my qualms about how the Israeli economy is being managed. For all those gripes, it is wonderful to be able to recognize true success and be able to write about it. The Hunters and the Mobileyes are not alone.