Start up lessons India can learn from Israel

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day dream of India succeeding as 'start up' country has to kick start, there is a lot to learn from the original 'start up nation' Israel. The tiny country of Israel sees almost two new start-ups bloom every day and today houses some 5,000 start-ups. New Delhi of course is just starting up!

On being asked if Modi's call for a 'start up India' can succeed, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "As far as the 'start up nation' I think this has a lot to do with entrepreneurial spirit. I have noticed that in Silicon Valley (USA), you hear Indian dialects and you hear Hebrew, sometimes you hear some English, which means there is a lot (happening). There is a lot of spirit for enterprise in both our countries."

He also added that he expects "a lot" from Indo-Israeli relations and that he was "anxious to meet Prime Minister Modi again in September in the UN just a few weeks away".

Meanwhile in a few weeks, President Pranab Mukherjee is expected to visit Israel and when that happens he would make history by becoming the first Indian head of state to ever visit Israel. Israeli diplomats in Jerusalem say Mukherjee will definitely be given a flavour of the huge innovation capacity of Israel.

Mushrooms find it hard to grow in the arid environment of Israel but start-ups mushroom all over, in garages, in attics in glib office buildings in basements of university cafeteria; in this holy land, it is hard to cast a stone that may not hit a start up somewhere.

One such top-notch firm is located in the heart of the Negev Desert where due to the dry heat nothing really grows yet enterprise flourishes irrigated by the human brain. Jerusalem Venture Partner's (JVP) is rated one of the best in the world in its domain. It nurtures and grows infant ideas and in the last four years, it helped create 120 companies worth $1.3 billion. Today its affiliate JVP Cyber Labs is working on the hot topic of cyber security, which Israel believes is an untapped market.