That last post was tough to write, but i'm glad I got it off my chest... The fact is, what occupies the mind is what will come off on the page (or screen), at least for me. I tend to be very direct and clear with people, and more often than not, will dwell on a subject until it is resolved. For the last post, i'd argue i'm on my way to recovery, but am still resolving some of those issues in my mind...
Onto Israel... If you called me a year ago and asked me where I expected to be working after my year at INSEAD, I would have said:
1) Hong Kong
2) Tokyo
3) Singapore
4) London
5) New York
My thoughts on going to Israel were non-existent, not necessarily negative at the time. Of course, I had an impression from friends and colleagues who had moved there that it was a "tough place" to live and work, that the taxes were too high, that the government was disfunctional, and that the country might have seen its best years decades ago... Wow, that sounds fairly harsh when you look at it.
As such, I didn't even think about it as a real option for much of my time at INSEAD - instead I focused on opportunities in China, Japan and Singapore, since I was convinced that the far east was the place to be...
At the same time, I was also convinced that I'd want to go into Private Equity, a fairly obscure investment business, in which a PE firm purchases companies that are either distressed or just simply undervalued in the market, makes some changes within the management team or the way the company operates, potentially does some fundament fixes as needed, and then exits within 4-7 years. Now, for me, I had always enjoyed my consulting work in New York, but was convinced that Consulting, as an industry, was too risk-averse for me. Basically, you charge a standard fee for the most part, and provide advice to the company, which they then choose to accept or not. Rarely will you truly stick your neck on the line around an idea you believe in, even on projects where we included implementation. Don't get me wrong - the work was fascinating, the people were the smartest i've ever met, and the work was diverse and constantly changing, which helped me, given my strong undiagnosed case of ADD.
To me, PE would provide consulting-like diversity and excitement with the added bonus of liability and risk. This excited me greatly, to the point that I focused entirely on it while at INSEAD. However, as I moved along a bit in my time at INSEAD, I found out that much of the cool "consulting-type work" done in a PE context (the actual turnaround, day-to-day and strategic changes) are not really done by PE professionals. More often than not, they rely on existing management with a few new faces, and an outside consulting team, if needed. I was somewhat saddened to hear all that, since its information that proved my original thesis to be flawed. However, I was lucky to be introduced to a small section of the PE business, intended for startup phase businesses that just need seed funding to get going. This area requires a ton of hands-on experience, because the entrepreneurs rarely have all the skills they need on their current team. It felt like a great fit and I began to pursue it with great vigor in Asia.
Asia is a funny place - everyone says it is the next big market, and that China will be 'the force to be reckoned with' shortly. The growth in these markets is completely insane. However, when you go a level or two deeper, you'll notice a major contrast to western markets in where the growth is coming from - mostly manufacturing and the entrepreneurship of copying pre-existing business models. This clear from VC spend vs. PE spend (tons of the latter, less of the former). When I was in Singapore, there was concern about students there lacking 'creativity' (mentioned in my Singapore post), which holds true to some extent in china and other parts of Asia. They claim the education system focuses too much on hard skills and not on creative thinking. Today, VCs pay for pre-existing business models applied to China and the greater Asia. As a contrast, there is a reasonable amount of VC spend in India on new innovations, maybe due to the English education system, or the European-style beurocratic government that lends itself to ridicule, contempt and hatred, often spawning creative juices.
Onto Israel... If you called me a year ago and asked me where I expected to be working after my year at INSEAD, I would have said:
1) Hong Kong
2) Tokyo
3) Singapore
4) London
5) New York
My thoughts on going to Israel were non-existent, not necessarily negative at the time. Of course, I had an impression from friends and colleagues who had moved there that it was a "tough place" to live and work, that the taxes were too high, that the government was disfunctional, and that the country might have seen its best years decades ago... Wow, that sounds fairly harsh when you look at it.
As such, I didn't even think about it as a real option for much of my time at INSEAD - instead I focused on opportunities in China, Japan and Singapore, since I was convinced that the far east was the place to be...
At the same time, I was also convinced that I'd want to go into Private Equity, a fairly obscure investment business, in which a PE firm purchases companies that are either distressed or just simply undervalued in the market, makes some changes within the management team or the way the company operates, potentially does some fundament fixes as needed, and then exits within 4-7 years. Now, for me, I had always enjoyed my consulting work in New York, but was convinced that Consulting, as an industry, was too risk-averse for me. Basically, you charge a standard fee for the most part, and provide advice to the company, which they then choose to accept or not. Rarely will you truly stick your neck on the line around an idea you believe in, even on projects where we included implementation. Don't get me wrong - the work was fascinating, the people were the smartest i've ever met, and the work was diverse and constantly changing, which helped me, given my strong undiagnosed case of ADD.
To me, PE would provide consulting-like diversity and excitement with the added bonus of liability and risk. This excited me greatly, to the point that I focused entirely on it while at INSEAD. However, as I moved along a bit in my time at INSEAD, I found out that much of the cool "consulting-type work" done in a PE context (the actual turnaround, day-to-day and strategic changes) are not really done by PE professionals. More often than not, they rely on existing management with a few new faces, and an outside consulting team, if needed. I was somewhat saddened to hear all that, since its information that proved my original thesis to be flawed. However, I was lucky to be introduced to a small section of the PE business, intended for startup phase businesses that just need seed funding to get going. This area requires a ton of hands-on experience, because the entrepreneurs rarely have all the skills they need on their current team. It felt like a great fit and I began to pursue it with great vigor in Asia.
Asia is a funny place - everyone says it is the next big market, and that China will be 'the force to be reckoned with' shortly. The growth in these markets is completely insane. However, when you go a level or two deeper, you'll notice a major contrast to western markets in where the growth is coming from - mostly manufacturing and the entrepreneurship of copying pre-existing business models. This clear from VC spend vs. PE spend (tons of the latter, less of the former). When I was in Singapore, there was concern about students there lacking 'creativity' (mentioned in my Singapore post), which holds true to some extent in china and other parts of Asia. They claim the education system focuses too much on hard skills and not on creative thinking. Today, VCs pay for pre-existing business models applied to China and the greater Asia. As a contrast, there is a reasonable amount of VC spend in India on new innovations, maybe due to the English education system, or the European-style beurocratic government that lends itself to ridicule, contempt and hatred, often spawning creative juices.
The U.S. by contrast, has been changing its focus from manufacturing to services for the last 50+ years. Additionally, in the U.S., Ireland and a few other spots in Europe, entrepreneurship has been embraced, with a focus on innovation, primarily in technology, medicine, and agriculture. As a result, these places have been sources of innovation for the global economy. Israel is a prominent member of this group of countries as well, with a ridiculous amount of entrepreneurship due to government encouragement, military participation and innovation needs, and a strong education system.
Hence, I found myself applying to positions in China and Israel, and began to see a real contrast in the kinds of work one would do in both places and what might differ. My take is quite simple - In Israel, I will learn classical VC from the Georges Doriot tradition and build a strong Israeli-U.S. network. In China, I will meet a bunch of cool up and comers and potentially build an interesting network in Asia. Since ultimately I see myself being in either Israel or the U.S. long-term, it made sense to go for an opportunity there.
Now, onto my thoughts on Israel. Whereas one time in my life I would have strongly considered moving strictly for Zionistic reasons, my feelings are now quite opportunistic. I do believe that Israel will be a fun environment for me to live, and certainly a change of pace from my lifestyle in New York. It has become home to Jews from all over the world, including a good number of people I knew from college and NYC. Even now, I always have strong feelings when I'm at Ben Gurion airport, either in anticipation of a fun and exciting time in Israel, or in contemplation around why I am leaving and where my 'real' home is... Israel can be an incredibly warm and inviting seductress, clearly enticing me to change my life to be there...
But, I do have some concerns...
#1 - The Culture - I am not an Israeli and was not brought up as an Israeli. I know they're a different breed, with a somewhat different value system and view on life. It will be a tough adjustment to being surrounded by these people, even though some of my closer friends today are Israeli or have Israeli parents. Will I fit into this culture and society?
#2- The Government - One of the black-eyes of Israel has to be the government, particularly of Ehud Olmert, who's approval ratings were at one point as low as 1%. This is a government that has screwed the public on a lot of occassions, despite being a fairly democratic society. They are listed regularly at a dangerous point on the "Corruption Ratings", put out by the World Bank. This is ineffective government at its best, with a country surviving and thriving despite its government. I hate to make the association, but I'd argue India and Israel have an awful lot in common in this regard...
This issue is a big one for me because i'm not a huge fan of Israeli actions in relation to the Palestinians, particularly regarding settlement development, which seems somewhat stupid at this point. I realize these are tough issues for any politician to handle, especially with the demographics in Israel moving the country towards religious and right-wing individuals, but I wonder if a political party with some courage couldn't help make those changes. I am also not a fan of pushing Israeli Army service upon myself (to some extent) or my loved ones, if I became a citizen. Not exactly the greatest idea on earth...
Additionally, I am not a fan of the high tax rates, and the global taxation model (in line with the U.S.) in which citizens pay taxes on income to Israel, regardless of where they live. Its dumb, especially in this new global economy where mobility is critical. There is a need for real improvement on these fronts...
#3 - The Stigma - For whatever reason, a Jewish person working in Israel does not necessarily gain what would otherwise be considered "international experience", because there is an underlying association of Jews with the land of Israel. As such, working in Tel Aviv is like working in New Jersey for a lot of American Jews. If you want the experience of working abroad, London, Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore, or Tokyo are substantially better places to work, b/c they have a stronger association with "working abroad" for some reason. It's kind of unfortunate, since I can assure you that there are few scarier places for me to start working than Tel Aviv.
#4 - Travel within the Arab World - This might be a bit stupid, but honestly, I always enjoyed travelling, and had the following countries on my list that I might need to scratch off:
- United Arab Emirates - Yes, I've been to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but I'm interested in seeing the other emirates, and maybe Oman
- Syria - This might seem like a strange choice, but Damascus is meant to be amazing, with one of the most interesting markets or souqs in the world.
- Lebanon - I was supposed to travel with a group of colleagues a few weeks back to Beirut, but we couldn't go at the end due to the Hezbollah takeover and the violence ensuing. However, I'd like to get there one day...
- Iraq - Yup, this one's wild, but if they ever clear up this mess over there, I'd be quite interested in seeing the birthplace of biblical Abraham, as well as other historical sites. Iraq could be a major tourist trap, if it can be sorted out...
All that being said, I am not unhappy with my choice to move to Israel. I believe the benefits and the opportunity outweighs the costs. It will however be quite an adventure...
But, I do have some concerns...
#1 - The Culture - I am not an Israeli and was not brought up as an Israeli. I know they're a different breed, with a somewhat different value system and view on life. It will be a tough adjustment to being surrounded by these people, even though some of my closer friends today are Israeli or have Israeli parents. Will I fit into this culture and society?
#2- The Government - One of the black-eyes of Israel has to be the government, particularly of Ehud Olmert, who's approval ratings were at one point as low as 1%. This is a government that has screwed the public on a lot of occassions, despite being a fairly democratic society. They are listed regularly at a dangerous point on the "Corruption Ratings", put out by the World Bank. This is ineffective government at its best, with a country surviving and thriving despite its government. I hate to make the association, but I'd argue India and Israel have an awful lot in common in this regard...
This issue is a big one for me because i'm not a huge fan of Israeli actions in relation to the Palestinians, particularly regarding settlement development, which seems somewhat stupid at this point. I realize these are tough issues for any politician to handle, especially with the demographics in Israel moving the country towards religious and right-wing individuals, but I wonder if a political party with some courage couldn't help make those changes. I am also not a fan of pushing Israeli Army service upon myself (to some extent) or my loved ones, if I became a citizen. Not exactly the greatest idea on earth...
Additionally, I am not a fan of the high tax rates, and the global taxation model (in line with the U.S.) in which citizens pay taxes on income to Israel, regardless of where they live. Its dumb, especially in this new global economy where mobility is critical. There is a need for real improvement on these fronts...
#3 - The Stigma - For whatever reason, a Jewish person working in Israel does not necessarily gain what would otherwise be considered "international experience", because there is an underlying association of Jews with the land of Israel. As such, working in Tel Aviv is like working in New Jersey for a lot of American Jews. If you want the experience of working abroad, London, Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore, or Tokyo are substantially better places to work, b/c they have a stronger association with "working abroad" for some reason. It's kind of unfortunate, since I can assure you that there are few scarier places for me to start working than Tel Aviv.
#4 - Travel within the Arab World - This might be a bit stupid, but honestly, I always enjoyed travelling, and had the following countries on my list that I might need to scratch off:
- United Arab Emirates - Yes, I've been to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but I'm interested in seeing the other emirates, and maybe Oman
- Syria - This might seem like a strange choice, but Damascus is meant to be amazing, with one of the most interesting markets or souqs in the world.
- Lebanon - I was supposed to travel with a group of colleagues a few weeks back to Beirut, but we couldn't go at the end due to the Hezbollah takeover and the violence ensuing. However, I'd like to get there one day...
- Iraq - Yup, this one's wild, but if they ever clear up this mess over there, I'd be quite interested in seeing the birthplace of biblical Abraham, as well as other historical sites. Iraq could be a major tourist trap, if it can be sorted out...
All that being said, I am not unhappy with my choice to move to Israel. I believe the benefits and the opportunity outweighs the costs. It will however be quite an adventure...
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