Governor Snyder: On Israeli Entrepreneurial Mindset (@Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking)

State can learn from start-up culture in Israel, Snyder says

By Paul Egan Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

   LANSING — Michigan can learn from the entrepreneurial culture of Israel, where people generally are more willing to take risks with ideas and investments, Gov. Rick Snyder said in an interview Tuesday from the Middle East country.

   In Israel, “if something doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing,” but part of the learning and development process, Snyder told the Free Press.

   In “a large corporate environment,” which is more prevalent in Michigan, there is often a reluctance to be associated with anything that might not pan out, Snyder said.

   Snyder, who headed the computer company Gateway and later worked as a venture capitalist before he was elected governor in 2010, left Michigan on Friday on a nine-day trade mission to Israel.

   Since arriving in the country, he has met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and trade minister Naftali Bennett and signed a letter with the Israeli government promising Michigan’s greater cooperation on industrial research and development.

   Snyder also visited General Motors’ Advanced Technical Center in Herzliya, a research facility.

   The governor said he spent part of Tuesday visiting an early childhood program in Netanya, a coastal city in north-central Israel.

   Snyder, who included an extra $65 million for early childhood education in the 2014 budget, which he signed last week, said he hopes to bring some ideas in that area back to Michigan, as well. Israel has not had an early childhood program directed by the central government and is building on efforts at the local level, which is, in some ways, similar to what Michigan is doing, he said.

   Later this week, Snyder is to attend a celebration of Israeli President Shimon Peres’ 90th birthday.    Snyder said he wants Michigan to serve as a bridge for increased trade between Israel and the U.S. and said the strong Jewish community in metro Detroit, among other links, makes the state a natural fit for increased trade and as a location for Israeli manufacturers.

   The trip was organized in part by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and by the Michigan Israel Business Bridge, a nonprofit based in Bloomfield Hills that promotes business ties between Michigan and Israel.

   Snyder is accompanied by Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO Mike Finney and other MEDC officials, as well as business leaders. He said the trip will be paid for by donations to the MEDC Foundation and won’t be charged to taxpayers.

   Michigan companies exported nearly $117 million in goods and materials to Israel in 2012, ranking 19th among U.S. states. Transportation equipment was the largest export item, at nearly $70 million, followed by machinery, chemicals and food manufactures.

   Snyder has made four earlier trade missions to Asia, Europe and Canada. In 2008, Gov. Jennifer Granholm visited Israel.

   Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com  . 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.