Ausraeli: The new startup nation
Omri Wislizki,
Australian Landing Pad manager for Tel Aviv, was recently in Australia to spread the word about how Australian startups can benefit from the Australian-Israeli ecosystem.
Why is there a Landing Pad in Tel Aviv?
Israel has one of the most advanced startup ecosystems in the world, allowing startups to explore their options backed with a network of support. Located at SOSA, the Landing Pad in Tel Aviv connects startups to the three pillars of the industry—the community, investors and multinationals.
Although Israel is not a market to scale in, every startup in Israel is born global from day one. Everything that companies do from the beginning—from hiring, the way they build their codes, the strategies they use, receiving investment money to the language they use—all focus on scaling globally. If you’re ready to scale, there’s no better place to learn than in Israel.
As powerful as technology is, having a base operation in Tel Aviv is critical because multinationals and potential partners want to connect through introductions and prefer to meet in person. If your startup is in Australia, it makes connecting to this ecosystem extremely challenging.
In addition to ecosystem leaders, investors and students, we have had over 40 visits from members of parliament, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg and former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The Australian Securities Exchange, through the Landing Pad, is now working with SOSA.
How do startups get involved with this opportunity?
Startups can apply for any of the cohorts by
filling out the application form. We are interested in their vision, traction, scalability, disruptive technology, business model and the market relevance of the city they choose to go to.
We have one program that offers Australian startups who are in the product stage 90 days of acceleration and business development opportunities. We also have another program called the Startup Mission. We hold four to five missions a year and work with a third party (usually a state government or innovation program in Australia) to bring up to 10 entrepreneurs to Israel for a week-long professional boot camp. During this week, we work on their startup and product as well as introduce them to investors, multinationals and the startup community.
CryptoPhoto is one example of an Australian startup that went through the Landing Pad program and got connected to Check Point Technologies, the world leader in cyber security. Some startups are connected to multinationals, and work on their proof-of-concept together, while others receive validation on their product and business model. The conversation itself is valuable and we have seen many startups pivot from discussions that have later helped them connect to the ecosystem.
How will Australian startups benefit from the Israeli startup ecosystem?
Israel’s advanced ecosystem, with its collective knowledge and experience, can help Australian startups scale into the global market, and get warm introductions to global innovation players. We hope to keep helping startups and seeing them stay for longer to create more impact and value. The relationship between Australia and Israel is a beautiful one and it’s fantastic to see each country support one another in creating a global community.
Tell us about your trip to Australia.
Australia is amazing! Beautiful food, beautiful people and lots of beer – what’s not to love?
On a serious note, it was a jam-packed three-week roadshow that took me to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. In that time, I got to attend Australian accelerator and incubator programs such as CICADA Innovations and H2 Ventures, speak at universities and even visited
Runway Geelong.
What was the best part of the trip?
The best part for me was the conversation with the people and being able to leave an impression on them. At every event, the audience engaged and asked questions, wanting to know more about the startup ecosystem in Israel and the Landing Pad.
Another incredible experience was presenting at TechCrunch and StartCon in Sydney. That was really special because it not only created huge exposure for the Landing Pad but also because the crowd was so curious. By the end, I had no voice because I had talked to so many people who were interested in this area.
On this note I would like to thank all the amazing players of the ecosystem, the private sector, academia, government and corporates who took time off to meet me, help with introduction and hosted me the best way possible.