
Talpiot -- elite Israel Defense Forces school feeds startups - gleb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talpiot_program
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gleb
BlockQuote:

JERUSALEM -- After graduating from high school in 1993, Arik Czerniak entered
a secretive Israeli military program called Talpiot. The country's most
selective institution, it accepts 50 students a year and trains them in
physics, computers and other sciences. Its mission is to create innovative,
tech-savvy leaders capable of transforming Israel's military.

Upon graduating from the nine-year program, Mr. Czerniak took a different
route: He helped launch Metacafe Inc., an online company that lets users post
short videos, such as a clip of an acrobatic squirrel and one of a bikini-clad
woman making a snow-angel. Now 32 years old, Mr. ...

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There is a great article on Talpiot in today's WSJ. If you are a subscriber
you can read further at
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118368825920758806.html?mod=...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118368825920758806.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone)
If you are running a startup you really should be reading WSJ, it's a great
resource. Either way, a free version of this article will probably show up at
one of WSJ properties soon enough.

Note, that the college + 6 year of service is not an exception in Israel, like
the article implies. You can enlist before college and serve shorter period as
a private, or you can signup, go to college and then serve for 6 years as an
officer.

The recipe seems to select the 50 most promicing freshmen in the country.
Train them hard (in existing university), have them serve the country, let
them grow and then watch the GDP grow.

