Start-Up Israel Continues to Set an Example of Low-Funding Success

Israel has turned into one of the world’s hottest startup hubs, and a lot of government promotion has helped many of these startups persist. The industry is doing well, and when Mobileye was purchased by Intel for $15.3 billion last year, it made a mark on the sector, putting it in the spotlight.

But there have been other impressive acquisitions in Israel’s tech sector aside from Mobileye.

We’re an innovative culture that has been trying to overcome everything, from driving safety to water and 3D imaging.

What’s interesting is that Israeli startups are not receiving the “supergiant” funding that Silicon Valley startups receive. This funding is $100 million or more, and it remains a rarity in Israel’s startup sector. CrunchBase claims that there have been quite a few funding rounds where tens of millions of dollars were invested in companies.

Mantis Vision comes to mind, raising $55 million for the company’s 3D video and image capturing technology.

And exits have been profitable for many startups, with SodaStream being acquired in August for $3.2 billion.

The potential to grow a small startup, exit and make hundreds of millions or billions of dollars has enticed a lot of Israelis to start their own companies. Perhaps we’re a land of big dreamers, and while venture rounds remain unimpressive for many of these startups, we’re seeing that Israeli companies are persisting.

The startup culture is much more than just coming up with new, innovative ideas.

Israelis startups are trying to make a difference in the world. These companies have learned to live without the massive funding rounds that have propelled Silicon Valley startups in the past. Israeli startups know how to exist without this funding, being able to pull up their bootstraps and make do with smaller staff and less funding.

When the odds are stacked against these companies, they learn how to streamline processes and use the funding they receive to grow their business. Maybe it’s better for a company to have fewer resources, stay a smaller team and follow a vision that comes together with the same team that the company started with.

Companies are also focusing on higher levels of maintenance management to make sure that their internal issues are handled properly. Computerized maintenance management systems are helping companies manage work orders. CMMS software is being deployed to help organize, automate and simplify maintenance operations in startups.

The use of automation and streamlining has allowed Israeli startups to prosper, learning to do more with less. Acquisitions are easier when a company offers a hi-tech technology, a team that’s streamlined and a culture that has been able to produce growth year after year.

There’s a passion in smaller startups that creates a sort of culture within the company that is nearly impossible to replicate in enterprise companies. These promising companies have been able to scale their operations with the capital they have available to them – no matter how little.

And it’s leading to an expansion across the country.

In fact, Israel has announced recently that it’s also working on an Israeli-Palestinian hi-tech hub on the West Bank that will receive government funding and boost cooperation.