Orange County businessmen plan investment in Start-Up Nation and the region.
There was the non-invasive sensor that identifies alcohol in a driver’s blood and can prevent the ignition of the vehicle if needed.
There were the dough-based products with minimal carbs.
And there was the famous Jerusalem stone.
These Israeli inventions—and others like them—caught the eye of a high-level delegation of 40 American businessmen in Israel this month seeking investment opportunities. The group was looking to bring some of Israel’s latest innovations—and more classic ones—back to the United States.
“I almost want to send my kids to Israel to see this most innovative technological hub which teaches people to create with their entrepreneurial spirit,” Wayne Lindholm, executive vice president of Hensel Phelps Construction Company, said in an interview during the group’s visit to Tel Aviv last week.
Lindholm’s firm built both Los Angeles International Airport and the Intel semiconductor fabrication plant in Kiryat Gat, Israel. He is both a board member and a former president of the Lincoln Club.
Sammy Sayago, a serial tech entrepreneur and founder and CEO of WhyW8t LLC, a data-driven technology, research, marketing and communications company, said, “You Israelis love your country. If you have peace, stability and transparency, businesses want to come.” He manages a database of 100 million unique records in the U.S. alone.
Lei Wang, the executive vice president of Gemdale USA, a national real estate investment firm, said, “I feel that Israel is really the safest and most democratic place both for the U.S. and for other countries around the world.”