Why Israel is the "Startup Nation" | David Shore of OurCrowd

On October 7, 2023, Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists resulting in the worst single day massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. With the country now at war, how does civil society cope with 10-15% of its labour force being called up to military reserve duty?

David Shore, a Partner at OurCrowd, the most active venture capital investor in Israel joins me to discuss the situation in Israel and how startups he invested in continue building and succeeding.

Israel is one of the largest startup ecosystems in the world, consistently punching above its weight given its small population and hostile neighbours. For context, in Q4 2023, VC investments in Israel were US$1.4 billion compared with Canada's ~$1.1 despite being in the middle of a war and having only 1/4 the population.

In this episode, we delve into David's journey from an equity analyst on Bay Street (the Canadian Wall Street) to venture capitalist. David has decades of experience analyzing, supporting, building and investing in startups. His insights into what is required for success is invaluable for any entrepreneur. We also discuss what Canadian entrepreneurs can learn from their Israeli peers. We address the war, learn how Israeli startups are managing, and discuss how those lessons can be applied in Canada and elsewhere.

Video version: https://youtu.be/DS-YpFb9h0M