Saul Singer is co-author, with Dan Denor, of “Start Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.” I was given an early edition of this book a couple of years ago and it’s a brilliant read. It tells the story of how, hampered by an Arab nation boycott that makes regional trade impossible and with precious little natural resources, Israel managed to instead become a major player in the global business world, especially in technology. Israel has the highest number of startups per capita of any nation in the world and a very large venture capital eco-system which the government supported in a very far-sighted manner via the Yosma programme in the 1990s.
The book is a fascinating exploration of how Israel’s mandatory military and reserve service, a “critique” culture, ongoing inward immigration and a cultural embrace of risk helped bring this about.
I managed to catch up with Saul on a recent trip to Israel and record the below interview: