View source for Start-up Nation

{{Short description|Book on Israeli economy by Dan Senor and Saul Singer}}
{{About|a book|the [[UCI World Tour]] cycling team|Israel Start-Up Nation}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle
| italic title  = force
| translator    =
| image         = Start-up Nation.jpg
| caption       =
| author        = [[Dan Senor]] and [[Saul Singer]]
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series        =
| genre         =
| publisher     = [[Twelve (publisher)|Twelve]]
| release_date  = November 4, 2009
| media_type    = Print (hardcover)
| pages         = 320
| isbn          = 978-0-446-54146-6
| preceded_by =
}}
'''''Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle''''' is a 2009 book by [[Dan Senor]] and [[Saul Singer]] about the [[economy of Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Saul Singer interview on Startup Camel Podcast about the challenges Israel is facing as a global innovation leader.|url=http://startupcamel.com/ep-30-saul-singer-startup-nation|accessdate=28 February 2015|publisher=Startup Camel|archive-date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801134023/http://startupcamel.com/ep-30-saul-singer-startup-nation/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It examines how Israel was able to reach such economic growth that "at the start of 2009, some 63 Israeli companies were listed on the [[NASDAQ]], more than those of any other foreign country."<ref name=WSJ/>
In 2010, ''Start-up Nation'' was ranked fifth on the business [[bestseller]] list of ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/books/bestseller/besthardbusiness.html NYT Hardcover Business Best Sellers]</ref> It also reached ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' bestseller list.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cjp.org/local_includes/downloads/46889.pdf |title=The Massachusetts-Israel Economic Relationship |access-date=May 5, 2011 |archive-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722111606/http://www.cjp.org/local_includes/downloads/46889.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Despite claims in the media that Dan Senor coined the phrase "start-up nation" in 2009,<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.jpost.com/aliyah/article-705826 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |title=Meet the olim contributing to Israel’s hi-tech ecosystem |date=May 5, 2022 |author=Noa Amoyal}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-20/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/why-the-authors-of-the-genius-of-israel-think-its-one-of-the-worlds-best-countries/0000018d-22c8-dd75-addd-f2e9edd60000 |title=Why the Authors of 'The Genius of Israel' Still Think It's One of the Best Countries in the World |author=Dani Bar On |date=January 20, 2024 |website=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> the phrase was featured in American technology media at least since November 2000 in an article by Stacy Perman titled "Startup Nation" describing Israel.<ref>{{citation |url=https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/working-paper/israels-silicon-wadi-forces-behind-cluster-formation |title=Israel's Silicon Wadi: The Forces Behind Cluster Formation |author=Erran Carmel |date=June 2001 |website=[[SIEPR]]}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ecompany.com/articles/mag/print/0,1643,8524,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001109060900/http://www.ecompany.com/articles/mag/print/0%2C1643%2C8524%2C00.html |archive-date=November 9, 2000 |date=November 2000 |title=Start-Up Nation |author=Stacy Perman |website=eCompany Now}}</ref>
==Book overview==
The [[Council on Foreign Relations]] stated in its publisher's blurb for the book that ''Start-up Nation'' addresses the question: "How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million people, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources—produces more start-up companies on a per capita basis than large, peaceful, and stable nations and regions like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and all of Europe?"<ref name=CFR/> ''[[The Economist]]'' noted that Israel had more high-tech [[Startup company|start-ups]] and a larger [[Venture capital in Israel|venture capital industry]] per capita than any other country in the world.''The Economist'' described ''Start-up Nation'' as the most notable of a "growing pile" of books on the success of Israel's technology sector.<ref name=Economist/>
In their attempt to explain Israel's success in this area, Senor and Singer discard "the argument from ethnic or religious exceptionalism, dismissing 'unitary Jewishness' or even individual talent as major reasons for Israel's high-tech success" and analyze two major factors that, in the authors' opinion, contribute most to Israel's economic growth. Those factors are [[Conscription in Israel|mandatory military service]] and [[Aliyah|immigration]].<ref name=CFR/>
The authors argue that a major factor for Israel's economic growth can be found in the culture of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF), in which service is mandatory for most young Israelis. The authors suggest that service in the IDF equips future entrepreneurs with a broad range of skills and valuable connections. They assert that the IDF provides experience in taking on responsibility within a relatively flat organizational structure.<ref name=oreilly/> IDF soldiers "have minimal guidance from the top, and are expected to improvise, even if this means breaking some rules. If you're a junior officer, you call your higher-ups by their first names, and if you see them doing something wrong, you say so."<ref name=WSJ/> Neither [[Military rank|rank]]s nor ages matter much "when taxi drivers can command millionaires and 23-year-olds can train their uncles," and "Israeli forces regularly vote to oust their unit leaders."<ref name=Forbes/>
The book also dwells at length on immigration and its role in Israel's economic growth: "Immigrants are not averse to start from scratch. They are by definition risk-takers. A nation of immigrants is a nation of entrepreneurs. From survivors of the Holocaust to Soviet refuseniks through the Ethiopian Jews, the State of Israel never ceased to be a land of immigration: 9 out of 10 Jewish Israelis today are immigrants or descendants of immigrants the first or second generation. This specific demographic, causing fragmentation of community that still continues in the country, is nevertheless a great incentive to try their luck, to take risks because immigrants have nothing to lose."<ref name=inaglobal/>
Additional factors cited by the authors include a sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo, a culture that encourages experimentation with technology, and government policies that support start-ups.<ref name=oreilly/>
Using stories and anecdotes, the book provides examples of Israel's technological and medical achievements, among them "the Israeli innovations that made possible Google Suggest, the list of suggestions that appear instantly in menu form as you type a search request, the capsule endoscopy, a miniature camera embedded in a pill so that 18 photos per second can be wirelessly and painlessly transmitted from gastrointestinal tracts."<ref name="The Weekly Standard"/>
The book highlights Israel’s numerous achievements in technological innovation but also examines why Israel has yet to produce its own major corporations. The authors attribute this partly to the tendency of Israeli startups to be acquired by large foreign companies and partly to mismanagement.<ref name=Monitor/>
To write the book, Senor and Singer interviewed over 100 individuals, including Israeli venture investors, historians, U.S. military officials, and Israeli heads of state.<ref>Senor and Singer, pp. 240-241.</ref> Their conclusion is that "while Israel has much to learn from the world, the world has much to learn from Israel."<ref>Senor and Singer, p. 236.</ref>
==Authors==
Dan Senor is a former foreign policy official in the [[United States]] government. He served as chief spokesmen for the [[Coalition Provisional Authority]] in [[Iraq]] and now advises venture capital firms. Saul Singer is a columnist and former [[editorial page]] editor for ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''.<ref name=WSJ/><ref name="The Washington Post"/>
==Critical reception==
===Praise===
Jon Rosen of ''[[USA Today]]'' believed that the book is written from an Israeli perspective and could frustrate those opposed to the nation's [[Foreign relations of Israel|foreign policy]]. However, he still considered it an accomplishment, "not simply for exposing the roots of Israel's success, but by showing what the Israeli case might teach the rest of the world."<ref name="USA Today"/> In ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', [[James K. Glassman]] said that "the greatest strength of ''Start-up Nation'' is not analysis but anecdote. The authors tell vivid stories of entrepreneurial success, such as that of Shai Agassi, the son of an Iraqi immigrant to Israel, with his electric-automobile technology, now in the process of creating 'Car 2.0.'"<ref name=WSJ/>
''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' stated that "the authors ground their analysis in case studies and interviews with some of Israel's most brilliant innovators to make this a rich and insightful read not just for business leaders and policy makers but for anyone curious about contemporary Israeli culture."<ref name="Publishers Weekly"/>
In ''[[The Economic Times]]'', [[R Gopalakrishnan]] wrote that the use of [[Hebrew]] expressions made the book "alive and eminently-readable."<ref name="The Economic Times"/> Gopalakrishnan concluded that the ideas demonstrated in the book "are highly relevant for innovation capability in general, but for India, especially at this juncture."<ref name="The Economic Times"/>
[[David Horovitz]] of ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'' said that conclusions of ''Start-up Nation'' are validated by real-world events, such as the treatment given to [[Gabby Giffords]] after the [[2011 Tucson shooting]], where an emergency medical team used a elasticized bandage developed in Israel to control her head wounds.<ref name=TJP/>
A review in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' says that "the book weaves together colorful stories of Israeli technological triumphs" such as the story of [[Shvat Shaked]], who "founded a cybersecurity firm with his old buddy from Army intelligence and had the chutzpah to bet a top executive at PayPal, the online commerce company owned by eBay, that his few dozen engineers could beat PayPal's thousands in developing secure online software."<ref name="The Washington Post"/> The review also states that the authors could have done a better job drawing "straight lines between their theories about Israel's success and these case studies".<ref name="The Washington Post"/>
Maureen Farrell of ''[[Forbes]]'' was disappointed that the authors mostly ignored the effects of [[US aid to Israel|United States foreign aid to Israel]]. {{citation needed span|date=April 2021|This percentage was as high as ~13% during some years of the first decades after 1950, according to [[The Times of Israel]].}} She says the book "is worth reading to understand not just Israel's history but the history of capitalism and innovation."<ref name=Forbes/>
===Criticism===
Ruth Schuster, reviewing the book for ''[[Haaretz]]'', feels that it is "tarnished by a jarring, tub-thumping patriotism."<ref name=haaretzrev /> A review in ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' notes that "critics say that the story behind how a country of 7 million has more Nasdaq-listed companies than Europe is more complex than Singer and Senor paint it to be."<ref name=Monitor/>
[[Yusuf Mansur]], writing in ''[[The Jordan Times]]'', contends that two factors cited by Senor and Singer as key to Israel’s success—the IDF and Soviet-Jewish immigration—have only been sustainable due to foreign aid [[United States foreign aid|from the United States]] and private sources. Mansur also criticizes the authors for attributing the gap in entrepreneurship between Israel’s [[Arab citizens of Israel|Palestinian]] and [[Israeli Jews|Jewish]] communities to Arabs and Palestinians’ exemption from military service, instead of what he views as “Israel’s [[Israeli apartheid|discriminatory policies]] against its Arab citizens,” particularly in areas of education and employment.<ref name=jordantimes>[http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=25450 "Financing 'the start-up nation{{'"}}], ''The Jordan Times'', April 6, 2010.</ref>
Gal Beckerman, writing in ''[[The Forward]]'' magazine, observes that the book "presents Israel in an extremely positive light as a bastion of entrepreneurial spirit and technological achievement. It skirts a discussion of the conflict with the Palestinians, or even the wealth inequality within Israel, thereby dovetailing nicely with recent public relations efforts by Israel to shift attention away from its problems and toward its achievements."<ref name=beckerman>Beckerman, Gal: [http://www.forward.com/articles/126843/ "Senor Decides Against Running for Senate, Citing Family and Business"], ''[[The Forward]]'', March 24, 2010.</ref>
==Impact==
Journalists and policymakers in several countries have recommended ''Start-up Nation'' as a useful guide for promoting entrepreneurship. A review of the book in ''[[The Irish Times]]'' calls on Ireland to follow Israel's model.<ref>[http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0626/1224273322693.html What Ireland has to learn from Israel's high tech companies]</ref> [[Andrius Kubilius]], the prime minister of [[Lithuania]], has cited ''Start-up Nation'' as his favorite book.<ref>[http://english.themarker.com/startup-nation-without-physics-teachers-1.333940 Startup nation without physics teachers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723172205/http://english.themarker.com/startup-nation-without-physics-teachers-1.333940 |date=July 23, 2011 }}, [[Haaretz]]</ref> Yrjö Ojasaar, managing partner of Solon Partners, an executive consulting and [[angel investor]] company in [[Estonia]], says "there is much to be learned from the Israeli experience of venture capital incubation through building incentives for privatization."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.solonpartners.com/?p=961 |title=Solon Partners: Start-up Nation. The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle |access-date=May 3, 2011 |archive-date=October 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022064332/http://www.solonpartners.com/?p=961 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[CNN]]'s [[Fareed Zakaria]] called ''Start-up Nation'' "a book every single Arab businessman, Arab bureaucrat, and Arab politician should read."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/11/09/gps.book.of.the.week.cnn |title= Book of the Week |work=[[Fareed Zakaria GPS]] |publisher= CNN |date= November 19, 2009 |access-date=May 4, 2011 }}</ref> The book is cited as a handbook of "classic economics." It teaches small businesses "how effective a cohesive team can be, especially when that team places an emphasis on [[chutzpah]] first."<ref>[http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/12/start-up-nation-business-lessons-from-israel.html  Start-Up Nation: Business Lessons from Israel]</ref>
Former Palestinian Prime Minister [[Salam Fayyad]] reportedly kept a copy of ''Start-up Nation'' on his desk as a source of inspiration for the [[West Bank]]'s own burgeoning technology industry.<ref>{{cite news |title= Israeli Technology Companies Turn to West Bank for Outsourcing |author= Gwen Ackerman |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-15/israeli-technology-companies-turn-to-west-bank-for-outsourcing.html |newspaper= Bloomberg News |date= March 15, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Economy of Israel]]
*[[Israel Innovation Authority]]
*[[Israeli inventions and discoveries]]
*[[Science and technology in Israel]]
*[[Silicon Wadi]], the areas with a high concentration of high-technology companies in Israel
*[[List of Israeli companies quoted on the Nasdaq]]
*[[List of multinationals with research and development centres in Israel]]
*[[Venture capital in Israel]]
*[[Yozma Fund]] - venture capital funds started in Israel with government support
==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=WSJ>{{Cite news |title=Where Tech Keeps Booming In Israel, a clustering of talent, research universities and venture capital..|first=James K.|last=Glassman|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704779704574553884271802474|work=Wall Street Journal |date= November 23, 2009|accessdate=April 4, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=Forbes>{{Cite news|title=Israel As Incubator|author=Maureen Farrell|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/11/10/israel-innovation-entrepreneurs-opinions-book-review-contributors-start-up-nation.html|work=Forbes|date=November 10, 2009|accessdate=April 4, 2011|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130123070403/http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/10/israel-innovation-entrepreneurs-opinions-book-review-contributors-start-up-nation.html|archivedate=January 23, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
<ref name=CFR>{{Cite book|title=Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle|url=http://www.cfr.org/israel/start-up-nation/p20356|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|accessdate=April 22, 2011|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021052035/https://www.cfr.org/israel/start-up-nation/p20356|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="USA Today">{{Cite web |title=Israel offers fertile soil for entrepreneurs, book says|url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/books/reviews/2009-12-22-start-up-nation_N.htm|author= Jon Rosen|work=USA Today |date=December 23, 2009|accessdate=April 22, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=Economist>{{Cite news|title=Beyond the start-up nation: Israel has become a high-tech superpower over the past two decades. Can the good news last?|url=http://www.economist.com/node/17796932?story_id=17796932|author= Schumpeter
|newspaper=The Economist |date=December 29, 2010|accessdate=April 22, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name=TJP>{{Cite web|title=They tried to kill us, we won, now we're changing the world|url=http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=214670|author= David Horovitz|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=January 4, 2011|accessdate=April 22, 2011|author-link = David Horovitz}}</ref>
<ref name=Monitor>{{cite news|title=Innovation center? How Israel became a 'Start-Up Nation.'|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0309/Innovation-center-How-Israel-became-a-Start-Up-Nation.|author= Ilene R. Prusher |newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=March 9, 2010 |accessdate=April 22, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="Publishers Weekly">{{Cite web|title=Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle|work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=September 7, 2009|page=36 }}</ref>
<ref name="The Washington Post">{{Cite news|title=Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 31, 2010|author=Zachary A. Goldfarb }}</ref>
<ref name=inaglobal>{{Cite web|title=Israël, une nation d'entrepreneurs|url=http://www.inaglobal.fr/economie/note-de-lecture/dan-senor-et-saul-singer/start-nation-story-israel-s-economic-miracle/israe|publisher=inaglobal|author=Steve Nadjari |date=April 11, 2009 |accessdate=April 22, 2011|language=fr}}</ref>
<ref name="The Economic Times">{{Cite web|title=Israel's Secret The 'informal ... improvisational' approach to business innovation|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-12-06/news/27592253_1_chutzpah-david-ben-gurion-innovation|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103112112/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-12-06/news/27592253_1_chutzpah-david-ben-gurion-innovation|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2013|work=The Economic Times |location=India|date=December 6, 2010|author=R Gopalakrishnan|accessdate=April 22, 2011|author-link=R Gopalakrishnan}}</ref>
<ref name="The Weekly Standard">{{cite magazine|title=Innovation needs more bitzua and chutzpah|magazine=[[The Weekly Standard]]|volume=15|issue=18 |date=January 25, 2010|first=Douglas J.|last=Feith}}</ref>
<ref name=haaretzrev>{{cite news|last=Schuster|first=Ruth|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/the-israel-effect-1.4560|title=The Israel Effect|work=Haaretz|date=November 8, 2009}}</ref>
<ref name=oreilly>{{cite web|last=Oram|first=Andy|title=Innovation Lessons in "Start-Up Nation"|url=http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/02/innovation-lessons-in-start-up.html|work=O'Reilly Radar|accessdate=May 6, 2011|date=February 14, 2010}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
* [https://www.startupnationcentral.org/ Start-Up Nation Central], "an independent non-profit that builds bridges for Israeli innovation"
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:2009 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Business books]]
[[Category:Books about Israel]]
[[Category:Economy of Israel]]
[[Category:Twelve (publisher) books]]
[[Category:Economics books]]