Mobile start-ups thrive in Israel
By Levi Shapiro
By combining engineering talent, access to capital and a start-up friendly environment, Israeli companies have made their country a leader in the mobile media sector. But ICQ founder and Angel investor Yossi Vardi has a different and more light-hearted explanation: the Jewish mother. "Nobody is harder to satisfy than a Jewish mother," he said, relaying an old joke:
Q: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: (In despondent, motherly voice) Don't worry about me...I'll just sit here in the dark.
According to the Israeli Export Institute, Israel has the world's highest proportion of scientists and engineers with postgraduate education: 135 per 10,000, compared to 78 per 10,000 in the United States. Many engineers were first exposed to advanced communications technologies during their mandatory three-year military service, followed by degrees at world-class engineering universities such as Technion, Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan.
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