What Singapore shows us is that with the right help from the government, the right concentration of academics, and a lot of technologist a place can really be the next Israel or Singapore.
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\u201cYou are crazy.\u201d
\nThat was the predominant sentiment I heard a little more than five years ago when I told U.S.-based venture capitalists about my plans to move my family out to Singapore to oversee Innosight\u2019s nascent investment and incubation arm. Since I had never done venture investing before, I was trying to get advice from as many people as I could. The conversations all went pretty much the same.
\n\u201cWhy Singapore? You\u2019ll never find any interesting deals there.\u201d
\nSure, I would respond. At the time Singapore didn\u2019t have a sizzling start-up scene. But the conditions seemed to be ripe for one to develop. Like Silicon Valley, Singapore has strong research institutions and limited enforcement of noncompete clauses, a condition that academics now suggest can be a major driver of innovation. Like Israel, Singapore is small, with limited natural resources, which means economic growth requires innovative macroeconomic approaches. Both Singapore and Israel have liberal immigration policies for skilled workers. Both also have mandatory military conscription for males (Israel also has mandatory conscription for females), and as Dan Senor and Saul Singer argue in Start-up Nation, the Israeli military has been a breeding ground of innovation.
\nvia How Singapore Became an Entrepreneurial Hub – HBR<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What Singapore shows us is that with the right help from the government, the right concentration of academics, and a lot of technologist a place can really be the next Israel or Singapore. \u201cYou are crazy.\u201d That was the predominant sentiment I heard a little more than five years ago when I told U.S.-based … <\/p>\n