What's The Big (TLV) Idea?

Israel is one of the tiniest countries in the world, but is second to Silicon Valley in the number of startups created. What's the deal?

Like every other monday, I was excited to see where we were going to end up. This particular Monday, we were given an address, Achuzat Bayit 2. I didn't really know what was there, all I knew was that it was in Rothschild/Neve Tzedek area. I looked it up and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange pops up. I was wondering what in the world we would be doing there, but I went along with it.

We arrived to the building and were met outside by our guide, Dafna. She then explained that we weren't actually going into the Stock Exchange itself, but rather an Innovation Center housed inside the building! What is this Innovation Center of which I speak? Good question. I wondered the same thing too, until I got there. I soon discovered that Taglit had partnered with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to create this exhibit of different Israeli startups to show off to the public. They had different sections of products like health, transportation, and even fashion! We all wandered around for a bit, learning about the individual companies and then we finished the experience with a lecture about being "The Startup Nation" and what it took to get there and what it takes to stay there. After we were done at the Innovation Center, we took a green turn towards the Urban Farm on top of Dizengoff Center.

At the farm, we learned about sustainability and how the farm grows so many things on top of a shopping mall. We learned about different ways to grow vegetables like floating platforms and hydroponics and even got to build a hydroponic planter ourselves! As we were talking about what goes into taking care of the farm, we also got to taste some of the produce they grow and it was so nice and fresh. We also got to explore the garden and overall it was a wonderful day. If I had to give that day a rating, it would be a solid 7.5/10!