With a startup for roughly every 1,400 members of its population, it’s often been said that Israel is the Startup Nation. But in nation state terms, less than one hundred years short of its declaration of independence, the State of Israel is a startup in its own right too. (For an interesting breakdown of when various countries declared independence, see Wikipedia).
Having worked at two startups — and freelanced for countless more — I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of the pros and cons of living in Israel make a lot more sense when you consider that Israel, as a country, is still at a a very elementary stage of growth.
That realization also gives some pause for hope.
If you’re prone to feeling dismayed at the balagan (chaos) that often seems to characterize life in Israel, then it might be comforting to know that most startups eventually move past that all hands on deck stage to a point of relative stability. Processes get documented. People stop drinking at their desks at two o’clock in the afternoon. That sort of thing happens.
Viewed as a sovereign startup rather than as a somewhat dysfunctional country whose first world status, by GDP, is sometimes belied by the day-to-day experience of living here, Israel actually begins to make a lot more sense.
Here, then, are some ways in which Israel resembles a typical startup.
1. It’s All Hands On Deck
One of the great things about working at a startup (there are negatives too!) is the feeling that every team member is needed.
Overhiring does happen when startups load up on VC money too quickly and try to throw people — rather than thinking or planning — at problems. But even then it’s rare that founders’ ambition, and quick product development cycles, don’t put a strain on available manpower resources.
This is very much the case in Israel. As a country built by Jewish immigrants, one gets the feeling that Israel has sometimes been forced to be flexible about whom it gets to do what.
Case in point?
In a move that must have drawn quite a few raised eyebrows, Israel recently publicized its use of the Mossad, its foreign intelligence agency, to assist with the procurement of vital supplies, such as respirators, to assist in the fight against the pandemic.
Why? In the race between government for supplies, there wasn’t time to go through regular procurement channels — and some of Israel’s initial haul came from countries that wanted to keep their sale to the Jewish state on the DL. For both their discretion and logistical capabilities, the Mossad was judged to be the best placed resource to help out even if they were an unconventional choice. And so they got the job. Only in late May was the baton formerly passed back to Misrad HaBriut.
2. Professionalism Blossoms Slowly
When one hears the word ‘startup’, ‘professionalism’ mightn’t be the word that first comes to mind. And yet couldn’t it be argued that most professionals are just amateurs that have accrued experience and are getting paid for it?
Many industries in Israel remain at cottage industry scale by international standards — or are in the nascent phases of development.
I can’t claim to be familiar with every industry in the country so I’ll limit myself here to one that I am: content writing and marketing. The Startup Nation is marketed and sold, in large part, by English-speaking professionals that move to Israel to make aliyah. Some of them come bearing flashy credentials like journalism degrees (just kidding … I have one …. and everybody knows that journalism degrees are neither particularly useful nor flashy these days). Others are repurposed teachers, nurses, and educators that decided to have a go at marketing “high tech” to a global audience. Whoever they are, and wherever they came from, they work side by side in the trenches of high-tech running webinars, jetting off to meet customers abroad, and making sure that their sabra founders don’t pepper their slide deck with too many uses of the word ‘relevant’ or otherwise botch the language.
Professionalism can mean different things to different people. An organized way of doing things. Established networks and associations. Informal or formal peer mentoring systems. But it doesn’t happen overnight. In many sectors of the Israeli economy, just as in many startups, this is a process in the early stages of its evolution.
3. Hierarchies Are Flat
A salient feature of startups is that hierarchies are flat and almost anybody can burst into the boss’s office with a great idea for how to do things differently.
Have I not just described Israeli culture?
A distinctive feature of Israeli culture — for foreigners, something of an acquired taste — is that everybody has a better idea for how to do things than the next guy. That includes your taxi driver. The person next in line at the post office. And, needless to say, your neighbor. Intel’s guide to doing business with Israelis — which hit upon many of these points — quickly sparked internet hilarity. And yet so much of it was true.
‘Decorous’ is probably not the best adjective that could be picked to describe a typical Israeli board meeting. Workers and management yell at one another, people take (personal) phone calls unashamedly while sitting in a conference rook. Frenetic and what sounds, at first listen, like heated argumentation is often the background soundtrack.
Although Israelis’ take on the value of argument might strike some cultures as a little extreme, the overall dynamic is not uncharacteristic of a startup in the early phases of its evolution. After the next funding raise, the management consultants will be bandied in. A sharp-eyed etiquette coach might point out that taking meetings during meetings might turn off international business partners. And things will become a little more subdued and orderly.
4. Customer Service isn’t a Major Thing
If you live in Israel, then I’m probably not dropping a bombshell on you by opining that customer service can often be severely lacking. Although this is fast improving, for many Western immigrants, this is one of the surprising features about what is otherwise a completely first world country.
Searching for an explanation for ‘why’, another author offered as an explanation that that is so because senior management doesn’t really care. I believe he is correct.
Early stage startups often become so enamored by the idea of developing the best product in the world that they become negligent and forget about serving their first cohort of customers that have signed on. In a small test market it’s more about seeing that the product works than making sure that everybody is completely satisfied with it (or so the line of thinking goes).
For many startups, customer service and customer success are functions that are only really taken seriously after the first or second serious round. This isn’t to condone the practice. But it is human nature to be more excited about growth and the prospect of creating something than tending to the more tedious business of ensuring that those who are already paying a monthly subscription are happy with the service.
Like most of the startupy aspects of life in Israel mentioned here I firmly believe that this will change. In fact, it’s already fast in the works.
5. It Has High Turnover — And People Burn Out
Living in Israel is a full-on experience.
Jews from all over the world make Israel to make aliyah. Jews also leave Israel for other climes — both those born in the country and olim. In a tiny country barely larger than the State of New Jersey, Israelis also often feel the need to get out for some air periodically, with Greece, Italy and other European destinations often being the preferred exit points. With a 45 hour legal workweek and a minimum annual vacation leave of just 12 days for salaried workers, many Israelis are unfortunately grossly overworked and underpaid. Again, this is typical of the plight of many early startup employees. I hope that Israel one day reconsiders its vacation allowance which accords more with US norms than those of the rest of the world.
6. Adaptability
I wanted to finish with a positive aspect of startup life that Israel has successfully emulated. And that is its ability to adopt flexibility and adaptability as a national virtue.
If you ever have the pleasure (torment?) of working in a startup, you will quickly learn that the idea of having a defined set of job responsibilities is some quaint thing that those on the Fortune 500 get to do. Those things you were hired for? That was two weeks ago. This is now.
Israelis have famously run with that trait and this is visible both on the individual and national levels. Jerusalem, for instance, doesn’t have a surfeit of nightlife venues and discos. So every makolet (lottery stand) often takes it upon itself to blast Mizrahi hits throughout the late afternoon and evening. Cinemas are often used to hold large public gatherings. And when the social distancing rules kicked in, there were even reports of couples getting married in supermarkets. These are all creative solutions that Israelis come up with before finishing their morning coffee.
Likewise, using every body, and every square meter of office space, in the most creative means possible is essential for many startups on the journey towards success. And this is one trait of the Startup Nation that I would like to see stay.
Israel Is A Startup — Let’s Embrace That
Living in Israel can be exhausting at times — and exasperating. But when seen through the prism of its age, it’s doing remarkably well. I don’t believe in shying away from pointing out what could use improvement in Israel. But — as a young country dealing with a constant threat of warfare — it deserves to be cut a little bit of slack sometimes. Israel is a startup. I’m always interested to see how it will evolve.
Daniel Rosehill is a technology writer and reviewer specializing in thought leadership, especially those in the B2B world. His technology interests include data and backup recovery, Linux and open source, and cloud computing. To learn more, visit danielrosehill.co.il.