We, a group of 12 investors, were invited by Israel consulate to visit Israel and understand their startup ecosystem. This article is written by one of the investors and he summarize the whole trip nicely.

1. 以色列是《聖經》中上帝許予其選民的“應許之地＂，
但千百年來，這片黃土捲入無數戰火，干戈不斷。踏入
21世紀，這毗連歐亞非三洲的國度，卻奇蹟似的孕育出
一個“初創之國＂。
Israel has been war-stricken over the past centuries. Yet,
as we enter the 21st century, this country that borders with
Europe, Asia and Africa, has miraculously transformed itself
into a “start-up nation”.
創業之邦以色列之行
My Journey to Israel –
an Entrepreneurial Country
香港中文大學創業研究中心
榮譽項目總監陳志邦
Dominic Chan, Honorary Project Director,
Center for Entrepreneurship,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
筆
者自 2008 年起關注及參與
天使投資，早年也有營運創
新科技公司，地域包括香
港、英國、美國及澳洲。筆者過往曾
經到訪全球創新聖地矽谷觀摩，至去
年又到近年創新科技的熱門國家 ―
有“Startup Nation＂（“ 初創之國 ＂）
美譽的以色列取經。Dan Senor 和
Saul Singer 2009年的著作《Startup
Nation》揭示了以色列的經濟奇蹟，
如何透過歷史、外圍環境和內在因素
等，造就了今天創業的成功故事。
是次考察由以色列駐香港大使館的經
濟部安排，五天裡拜訪了政府單位、
科技投資公司、加速器營運者等多個
單位，並與50多間初創公司會面，種
類包括網絡安全、電子商務、教育、
綠色環保、農業科技、大數據分析、
App 開發者平台和網路平台等。
政府進取的風險承擔態度
旅程中筆者有幸與以色列的首席科學
家 Avi Hasson 會面，與他一席話體
會到以國政府進取的風險承擔態度。
Hasson 的職責包括政府投入科技公
CGCC Vision APR 2016 43
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2. 司的資金分配，他說自己在上任時詢
問同事的第一個問題是“ 我們投入
的項目當中，有多少個資金獲得完全
償還？＂他認為，如果同事的回答是
70%，那就已經是太高了，因為這意
味着政府沒有冒足夠的風險，而且排
擠了私人市場的資金。
相對而言，香港在處理政府資金投入
時，偏向注重短期回報，亦不着眼
於擁巨大價值的創業公司的“ 存活 ＂
率。兩地對風險承擔的看法各有不同
的評估和取態，筆者認為政府可更着
重提攜創意高、潛在價值巨大的高風
險高回報創業公司。
以色列創新市場成熟
以色列的科技創新市場比香港走得早
而且前。早於1998年6月，以色列市
場已經創下驕人的成績，ICQ 通信公
司被美國 AOL 公司以 2.87 億美元收
購，燃起了許多年青人的鬥志，鼓勵
他們勇敢追尋創業夢。ICQ 面世至今
將近 20 年，以色列已經孕育出很多
成熟的創業者，同時擁有豐富的工作
及創業經驗，部分更是某些行業的專
家，非常明白行業的痛點；反觀香港
近年雖鼓勵學生及年輕人創業，但他
們之中很多都缺乏工作經驗及產業知
識，不似以國創業者那樣懂得和投資
者協作。
在以色列看到的公司，都經過了一段
時間的技術研究及開發。行業專家的
經驗需要時間浸淫和累積，中間沒有
捷徑，此舉大大提高了商業理念的競
爭門檻。香港普遍的情況是很多的商
業理念都來自共享經濟，例如資源配
對 App 就比比皆是，只是配對象有
所不同：人力與工作、裝修公司與裝
修項目、補習老師與補習學生、房東
與房客等。整體上概念上的突破較少
見，雖然當中成功的例子還是有的，
但缺乏競爭門檻下，抄襲的競爭者應
運而生。香港其實也有不少公司擁高
陳志邦 Dominic Chan
質素知識產權，其科學和技術研究成
果透過加強技術轉移及商業化，未來
必定大有所為。
以國創業着眼國際市場
以色列面積為香港的20倍，人口跟香
港差不多，以市場規模而言兩地都屬
偏小，因此需要抱有宏觀的視野，展
望衝出本土市場。在以色列所見的50
多家公司中，沒有一家跟我們討論本
地市場，他們的着眼點從來都是國際
市場。相反香港遇到的創業公司都比
較普遍訂定香港市場作為中心，當中
較為宏觀的或多或少都是海外回歸，
或在國際性公司工作過的創業者。
地理位置造就獨特民族精神，這亦是
初創成功的一大因素。以色列在中東
的地理位置風險處處，危機意識下國
民必須自強不息。以國規定男生與女
生都必須接受軍訓，軍訓讓人學懂紀
律和團隊精神，對於營運初創公司尤
為重要。香港背景和以色列截然不
同，因此不具備這些客觀條件，少了
一分成熟、團隊默契和紀律。
對於投資者而言，潛在投資回報始
終是其重要考慮。估價差距是投資
者預測回報的其中一個指標。根據
iangels.co 網站分析，以色列在種子輪
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3. 的平均估值為 150 至 250 萬美元，矽
谷則為480萬美元。根據 CrunchBase
數據，以色列的創業公司在退出時
（Exit）有 6.9 倍的價值創造率（公司
價值除以總投資金額），而美國為 5.9
倍。以種子輪平均估值及價值創造率
的計算作參考的話，以色列的創業投
資回報比美國還要高。香港在這方面
的數據並不完整，缺乏“退出＂的數
據，但香港種子輪平均估值不見低於
以色列，對投資者來說，香港的初創
企業值博率比以色列為低。
今次考察之旅與以國政商界多個團體
交流，親身見識到以色列的確是一個
值得香港學習的對象。知道自己的不
足才可以進步，香港的創業生態仍
然有一段漫長的路，大家一起繼續
努力吧！
T
he author has taken an interest and
partaken in angel investment since
2008. I had visited the Silicon Valley,
the sacred place of global innovation. Last
year, I also went to Israel, the country that
has been crowned “Startup Nation” in
recent years. The field visit was arranged
by the Department of Economics of the
Consulate General of Israel in Hong Kong.
During the five days of my trip, I visited
government departments, technology
investment companies, operators of
accelerators, etc. We also met with over 50
start-up companies, which are involved in
network security, e-commerce, education,
green and ecological technology,
agricultural technology, big data analytics,
platforms for applications developers and
networks, etc.
An enterprising government
During my trip, I was lucky to have met
with Avi Hasson, the Chief Scientist of
Israel. Hasson oversees the allocation of
the government’s investment in technology
companies. He recalled the first question
he asked his staff when he took office,
“Of the projects we have invested in, how
many of them have made full repayment?”
He reckoned that if the answer he received
was 70%, that meant the government had
not been taking enough risk and private
funding had been excluded. Comparatively,
Hong Kong has put a stronger emphasis on
short-term return when government funding
is involved. We do not focus on the “survival”
rate of start-up companies with huge value
either. I believe that the government can
attach more importance to helping and
guiding highly innovative start-ups with
huge potential values; the risks are high, but
so are the possible returns.
A mature innovating market
The technology and innovative market of
Israel has always been ahead of Hong
Kong’s. As early as in June 1998, the Israeli
instant messaging company of ICQ was
acquired by AOL Inc of the US for USD 287
million. The acquisition was an inspiration
for young entrepreneurs. A decade has
passed, and a good number of mature
Israeli entrepreneurs have been nurtured.
This group of talents has solid working
and start-up experiences. In contrast,
while students and young people in Hong
Kong have been encouraged to start their
own businesses in recent years, there is a
lack of working experience and industrial
knowledge among them. In other words,
they are not as familiar with collaborating
with investors as their Israeli counterparts.
Most of the companies I visited in Israel
underwent a period of technological
research and development. Experience of
an industrial expert has to be acquired and
accumulated over time, which significantly
raised the competitive threshold in the
business sense. Such business sense has
usually come from a sharing economy in
the Hong Kong context. For example, there
are many resource matching applications
to cover a variety of targets in the market,
but there is rarely any breakthrough in
concepts. Successful cases are occasional,
but without the necessary competitive
threshold, copy cats followed fast. In
fact, many companies in Hong Kong
do own quality intellectual properties.
When these scientific and technological
accomplishments are effectively transferred
and commercialized, we can expect fruition
to happen in the future.
Israeli startups have their eyes on
the international market
In terms of market size, both Israel and
Hong Kong are on the small end. As
such, both locations should embrace a
macroscopic horizon and be determined
to excel beyond the domestic market.
When I discussed with more than 50 Israeli
companies, not a single one mentioned the
local market; they have always had their
eyes on the international one. In contrast,
Hong Kong startups often set the Hong
Kong market as their focus. Entrepreneurs
who see beyond the local market are
usually returnees from overseas or former
employees of multinationals.
A unique nationalistic spirit is yet another
crucial factor for the success of a startup.
All Israeli men and women have to receive
military training, which teaches them
discipline and team spirit – two very
important elements to run a startup. Hong
Kong’s context is significantly different from
that of Israel, meaning we do not have
these objective criteria – we are not as
mature, not as much a team player and not
as disciplined as the Israelis.
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4. 今次以色列之行拜訪了不少初創公司，從事的業務林林
總總，但所推出的產品都主攻市場缺乏的板塊，值得本
地企業借鏡。
其中一家從事教育商品的公司叫筆者最為印象深刻，
這家公司的創業者還相當年輕，只有三十來歲，今次
是和夥伴一起的第四次創業。他們開發的是一款為小
孩而設的電子讀書器，只要把它套在書的上方，每次翻
頁時機器便會自動以真人語音讀出當頁內容，更涵蓋多
國語言。讀書器目前於中國投產，而收入來自硬件銷售
及雲端書本聲音圖書館的訂閱服務，再加上書本推薦的
佣金。
而網絡與交易安全亦是不少以色列初創企業作出嘗試
的範疇，例如有公司開發出利用 3D 面孔識別作系統
登入驗證的技術，比一般 2D 面孔識別技術更精準和安
全。本港銀行日常也有使用於屏幕表面簽名方式作登入
驗證，但以國發展出更突破的技術，不單利用影像核
對，更會進一步分析簽名時的力度與習慣，大大加強
安全度。
日常生活的小處往往尚有改善空間，而以國不少公司就
看準這些細節帶來的商機。手機充電需要安插電線時有
不便，有公司就想到使用雷射技術無線傳送能量，手機
只需隨意放於書桌之上已可以完成充電，過程安全可
靠。女士測試化妝品往往需要親身試用方知效果，當地
一家公司就想到利用虛擬現實及重疊影像技術，讓女士
於手機程式上即可嘗試不同的化妝品效果，如此細心的
做法自然備受一眾愛美女士的歡迎。
We visited quite a number of startups during our Israel tour. While they belong
to different business sectors, all of them target their products at niche market
segments. Hong Kong companies can learn from their examples.
One such startup that markets educational products gave me the deepest
impression. The entrepreneur behind the company is a young man in his
thirties. This is the fourth time that he has started a business with partners.
They developed an electronic book reader for children: when the device
is attached to the top corner of a book, it will read out the content in live
voice every time the user turns the page and it can handle many different
languages. Production is now underway in China. The company’s revenue
comes from hardware sales, cloud audiobook library service subscriptions
and book recommendation commissions.
Network and online transaction security is another sector where many Israeli
startups test the water. For example, one company has developed a login
authentication technology based on 3D face identification. It is safer and more
accurate than ordinary 2D face identification. It is common practice for banks
in Hong Kong to authenticate account holders’ identity with screen signature.
Israel has come up with a more revolutionary technology that not only verifies
the signature image but also analyzes the writing force and habit of the
signee. It has greatly enhanced the security of bank transactions.
Everyday life presents business opportunities too. Many companies are
looking at small things in daily life that have room for improvement. The
mobile phone power cord makes charging inconvenient. A company came up
with the idea of transmitting energy by laser. You only have to put your mobile
phone on a desk to get it charged easily and safely. Ladies can now save that
trip to the beauty counter to try makeup products. One company is offering
virtual reality and superimposed imagery app so you can see how different
makeup products suit you on the mobile phone. This attentive idea is most
welcome by women who want to look their best.
以國初創創新求出路
Israeli Startups Blaze A Trail with Creativity
For investors, potential return of investment
is undeniably an import factor to consider.
According to the website iangels.co, the
average estimated value in the seed round
for an Israeli company is about USD 1.5-2.5
million, while that for a Silicon Valley
company is about USD 4.8 million. The data
of CrunchBase reveal that when an Israeli
startup exits, it would have created 6.9
times of value (the company’s value over the
total investment amount); the same number
for the US is 5.9. If we take reference from
the average estimated value in the seed
round and the value-creation rate, then the
return from investing in an Israeli company
is much higher than that from an American
company. There is no “exit” data in Hong
Kong, but the average estimated value in
the seed round does not seem to be lower
than that of Israel. For the investors, the
reward to risk ratio would be lower than that
of Israel.
This field trip to Israel has given me the
opportunity to personally discuss and
exchange ideas with many political and
commercial organizations. I have seen
through my own eyes that Israel is definitely
a role model from which Hong Kong can
learn. Improvement can only be made when
we know our weaknesses. There is still a
long way ahead for the startup ecology in
Hong Kong. Let us work hard together and
strive for success!
商薈 2016年4月46
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