Starting up in Tel Aviv vs Sand Hill Road

And, why Yossi Verdi is the Ron Conway of Israel

When you want to be in movies, you go to Hollywood. If you're an Israeli entrepeneur that wants to build an Internet company, you don't head to Tel Aviv, you head to Silicon Valley. "The moment you have a prototype, pack your bags, come here, sleep in a car, and bring the CEO/founder here," said Nuconomy CEO and founder Shahar Nechmad, who talks to VC Cafe on Vator about the startup environment in Israel. 

Not only is capital sparse in Tel Aviv, there is little experience.

"American VCs have much more experience building very large companies," said Shahar. "Israeli VCs still think about the Internet as they think of enterprise applications," meaning they don't have patience to wait for revenue a year or two out.

Now, just because Silicon Valley is where startups should grow their businesses, it doesn't mean that there aren't VCs who can help jumpstart your startup.

If you want to get instant access, the man to know is Yossi Vardi, a prolific investor in Israel. "Everyone comes to his table," said Shahar. "Yossi is responsible for 90% of Internet successes in Israel."

Watch the interview for more on why Yossi's involvement is important and other differences between Tel Aviv and Silicon Valley.

(Editor's note: Vator Box will be discussing Nuconomy, along with another Israeli startup ClickTale in next week's episode. Stay tuned.)