Israel + Spain: Startup Collaboration

The Startup Nation: A Case Study- topic of my keynote talk at the recent International Startup Congress in Sevilla.? What is unique about Israel, what we can learn from other countries and what they can learn from us. “Tikkun Olam” (Hebrew: fixing the world) as a basic tenet in Judaism- a dire need at this point in time and why multinationals are engaging with Israeli companies. ? Personally, a tough decision to leave Israel during this very difficult time – but ultimately I felt it was important to continue developing international business opportunities as an Israeli based company.? With 2,000+ participants from 46 countries, the conference was focused on establishing Sevilla as a key international startup hub in Spain, alongside Madrid and Barcelona.?? My takeaways from the conference:

1)??? Spanish Global Opportunity- with over one billion Spanish speakers worldwide, this market has a need for innovations that are customized for their audience- one which Israeli startups have not yet addressed.

2)??? Sustainability, health, retail, mobility and finance are sectors seeking innovations and where Spanish speaking entrepreneurs are investing their efforts with much to share with Israeli counterparts.

3)??? Startups from Spanish speaking countries are mostly bootstrapped- and those with financing are focusing on revenue funded growth vs those in Israel funded by VCs and CVCs.

4)??? Global startups need to collaborate with each other to meet the needs of corporations seeking to solve pressing issues.?

5)??? Cooperation and business can build bridges among people from around the world– without the involvement or discussions on politics

Thank you to the Asociación Internacional de Startups for organizing this effective engaging event in the beautiful city of Sevilla and to the many great people I met at the conference and the SIA - Startup Investor Accelerator for promoting the ecosystem and supporting its investor group!

?Astghik Zakharyan ,?? Atanas Georgiev , Josep R. Novell LL.M. , jordi Bosch Masa , Federico Pirola , Patrick Christian Alain Perrodo , Daniel Alonso , Jorge Martínez-Arroyo , Ermelinda Hajdari , Ciro Iacomino Ignacio Campoy Aguilar Carlos Herce Fernández Pascal Tischler Francesca Ramirez Sanchez Henrique Veiga Justinas Pasys Daniel Cristian Szeitner Baldrich Guillermo Otárola Carcey Félix Manuel Díaz Hernández Guillermo de Jorge josu gomez barrutia Pilar Troncoso Vyacheslav Zharavin Yael Oaknin