June 8, 2015, Updated July 5, 2015
Dov Moran travels and lectures widely. Photo by Yossi Zeliger/Flash90
Dov Moran travels and lectures widely. Photo by Yossi Zeliger/Flash90

It’s no secret that one of the reasons Israel produces such a high volume of startups per capita is the army. But while the 8200 military intelligence unit has taken most of the spotlight, Geektime international tech blog is now running an article on successful startups that bloomed from other parts of the IDF.

Dov Moran (M-Systems) credits the Israeli Navy’s microcomputer department for helping him on the road to success, while Maya Gura (The Gifts Project) tells the blog how serving as a chief of staff in the personnel department helped her create a perfect business team for her startup.

Outbrain’s Ori Lahav and Yaron Galai (both served in the navy), Mellanox Technologies’ Eyal Waldman (infantry), and Eyeview’s Oren Harnevo (paratroopers) also weigh in.

“A Golani platoon sergeant, a staff commander on a navy ship or an artillery officer all deal with challenging situations in their army service and we can judge them on that basis. An entrepreneur must exhibit a lot of courage, hard work, determination, leadership and management ability. From this standpoint, people from all units are on the same scale. Either they have what it takes to win the startup game, or they don’t, no matter what unit they served in,” Izhar Shay, a high-tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, tells Geektime.

To read the full article, click here. 

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