Could The Israeli Defense Forces Be The Best Training Ground For Entrepreneurs?

Israel produces more startups per capita than any other nation in the world except the U.S.. Its unique startup culture thrives in part thanks to Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) and especially the elite Unit 8200, which specializes in signal intelligence, code decryption and tech-enabled weapons.

There may be an advantage in the fact that due to mandatory military service, Israel’s best and brightest students do not go straight on to Ivy League colleges upon graduating from high school. For example, Unit 8200 can recruit the nation’s most brilliant minds and introduce them to the realm of innovation. “Unit 8200 indeed drafts Israel’s promising young men and women and then trains them so that they become experts in important fields of technological advancement,” says Pavel Gurvich, CEO and cofounder of Guardicore, a startup that protects any environment for simplified cloud and data center security. He served for 12 years in the IDF as a cybersecurity expert. “As a by-product of this training, these capable young people get the opportunity to develop unique skills that can later serve them well as entrepreneurs.”

Unit 8200: A surprise incubator for future entrepreneurs

Honing Skills

In a country where security dictates the need for out-of-the-box solutions and sometimes pure ingenuity, Unit 8200 cannot allow itself to be a mediocre intelligence organization. “In many areas, punching way above its weight is the only way it can maintain a significant edge,” explains Gurvich.

8200 recruits gain significant experience and insights into how complex networks are built and secured and where they are vulnerable. “Cyberspace has radically changed Unit 8200’s approach to collecting data. It no longer passively collects whatever information it can, but actively pursues valuable information,” Gurvich says. He adds, “Over the last decade, cyberspace has also enabled Israel and its allies in the West to develop its power projection abilities. Signal intelligence organizations must excel at storing massive data storage and using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify patterns, classify information and translate data. Similarly, they need to know how to use advanced math and algorithms to deal with encrypted traffic, as well as develop custom-built processors and other types of hardware to perform specific tasks with extreme efficiency. All of these skills are highly relevant to the private sector also, so these 8200 Unit graduates are in high demand.”

Confidence

Self-confidence is critically important for entrepreneurs, whether they are trouble shooting or pitching their vision of “the next big thing” to potential investors. “Service in the unit reinforces self-esteem and self-value. It empowers you to take on difficult challenges. You learn early on that there is always someone smarter than you. You learn what it means to talk to giants, then slowly climb onto their shoulders; finally, you learn how to become the shoulders someone else wants to climb up on,” Gurvich recalls. 

Working with military leaders also helped develop confidence. “I learned how to pitch my ideas to senior commanders, how to convince them to let me take risks and how to ask for more resources, including manpower,” says Gurvich, who’s company has now raised over $110 million in funding. “Likewise, an important part of the CEO’s job in the early days of a company is being able to secure funding for the project by convincing people to risk something for you and your ideas. In many ways, this was a familiar dynamic for me.”

Problem Solving

Entrepreneurs are working to achieve the unthinkable, to create the unimaginable and to change the world. To make their vision a reality, they need to overcome daily challenges and become their own fixers.”

Military conditions with uncompromising standards and life or death situations may provide the necessary tools to realize these goals: “I was recruited and trained by 8200, but like every soldier, I was first drafted into the IDF. I went through basic training, lived in a tent in the desert, learned how to obey orders, respect rank, wear my uniform, fire an M16, survive on field rations and everything else soldiers need to know. Immediately after graduating from basic training, I started my professional training. I was stationed at a nice facility on a sandy beach on the Mediterranean Sea,” Gurvich says. “The shift could not have been more extreme, and the message I got was, ‘Now that you know you are in the army, we need you to focus on something else’. We were given individual assignments that pushed each one of us to the limit. We alternatively worked alone or engaged in teamwork; the exercises got harder and harder. We were told what the goals were, but no one helped us figure out how to achieve them.” Gurvich admits that when you are a critical link in the process of protecting a country, you learn how to expedite processes, find immediate solutions and master problem-solving.

Leadership

In the early stages of a startup, every founder is multitasking in unfamiliar territory. Leading the project forward means keeping the big picture in mind without compromising time management, people management and decision making. “In the army, I quickly learned that you can’t command smart people to do hard things. You can maybe make someone do guard duty, but you can’t make them write an efficient algorithm, crack a code or identify weak spots in software. In order to succeed, you have to be able to inspire people who are smarter than you (and sometimes outrank you) to solve problems you can’t solve,” Gurvich says. “In a civilian environment, it’s very similar: it may feel like you can make people work on something, but you can’t really push the envelope if they don’t care about what they are doing or understand why they are doing it.”

Equality

In 2019, the army still suffers from a “macho” image, and equality is still lacking. Unit 8200 has no glass ceilings: it recruits based on ability alone, and as a result, it is composed of 50% women. Gurvich describes the unit’s diversity: “The unit recruits people based on character and abilities, without regard to gender, ethnicity, family or geographical background. This is not an easy thing in a small country like Israel, when almost everyone knows somebody who knows you, and getting into Unit 8200 is the dream of many conscripts. This non discrimination policy provided me (and many others like me) an extraordinary opportunity for personal and professional growth and success.”