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It\u2019s been one amazing journey growing MyCurrencyTransfer.com & MyTravelMoney.co.uk. We\u2019ve built a strong and highly motivated team, had a blast and extremely proud to have so far helped over 1.2 million visitors<\/strong> find a fairer and cheaper deal on both travel money and international payments.<\/p>\n For us, it\u2019s just the beginning. Moving our startup to Tel Aviv for three months and immersing ourselves in one of the most pioneering startup capitals of the world is the next exciting chapter in our company development. From our humble beginnings at the wonderful TrainE-TraidE <\/a>Finchley incubator to TechHub<\/a> @ Google Campus in Old Street, we now embark on our short term HQ relocation to \u2018The Startup Nation<\/a>.\u2019 We’ve set up shop at the awesome TechLoft<\/a> co-working space.<\/p>\n Why have we relocated our company HQ abroad to Tel Aviv for 3 months?<\/b><\/p>\n Israel has the largest proportion of startups per capita in the world. It\u2019s the \u2018Startup Nation\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n We want to be immersed in one of the most dynamic and successful startup hubs in the world. This small country, the size of New Jersey, is home to thousands of startups.<\/p>\n Serendipity Factor.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n During our stay in Tel Aviv, we will meet face-to face with other high impact startups, entrepreneurs, and investors. In the first week of being here, we\u2019ve spontaneously met literally dozens of high impact, high potential companies that are only too happy to knowledge share.<\/p>\n Awesome companies have done the same & thrived<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Being 5 hours away from London does have its challenges. At first, we thought can we really do this? What about client meetings, telephone contact with our partners, team members, supplier, etc? However, when we started to read inspirational stories of companies like Buffer\u00a0(read Leo’s account here on why Buffer went to Tel Aviv<\/a>)\u00a0and Starwood Hotels & Resorts (read CEO Fritz Van Paaschen explanation here<\/a>) that have done the same, we quickly turned our mindset from \u2018issues\u2019 into \u2018opportunities.\u2019 We live in a small world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tap into the local talent pool<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n We\u2019re based at TechLoft, a very cool co-working space for tech entrepreneurs. It was important for us to mimic a similar office environment to what we have in London, and this is the perfect home for our stint in Tel Aviv. We\u2019ve already engaged in usability testing with other like-minded startups who are only too keen to help. We\u2019re hiring too!<\/p>\n Over the next three months we\u2019ll look to network & potentially hire some great ruby & javascript developers & marketers. The wealth of talent in Tel Aviv is frightening \u2013 you only have to look at some of the achievements below.<\/p>\n What about the rest of our team, partners & key suppliers back in the UK you may ask? The team will only be a Skype call away & we have systems & call infrastructure set up to speak with our partners daily in the UK. It’s business as usual.<\/p>\n The folks back home will hear our daily podcasts, read our tweets and see our Instagram photos. We want to share this experience throughout the company & involve everyone associated with the company.<\/p>\n Focus hard on new product development<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n We firmly believe that the best products and ideas evolve from building a team with similar ambitious goals visions. Whilst we all \u00a0have our own differing views on the path to achieving that vision, spending close time together in a fresh environment will no doubt spark and stimulate exciting ideas.<\/p>\n Tel Aviv will give us much needed laser focus on achieving our product development sprints, utilizing and leveraging off an amazing community & their experiences to help sprinkle some stardust to our plans.<\/p>\n Tel Aviv is an AWESOME city.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Tel Aviv is a modern, trendy and cosmopolitan beach city. It was voted in the world\u2019s 10 best urban beaches & boasts over 350 hours of sun per month.\u00a0 Alongside Bondi, Rio and LA\u2019s Venice beach, this is no mean feat! Another cool fact? Travelers Digest named Tel Aviv one of the top 10 cities for good people.<\/p>\n We will however need to get used to Friday being the \u2018weekend\u2019 and Sunday a \u2018weekday\u2019!<\/p>\n Israel Startup Facts and Figures.<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Named by Newsweek one of the ten most technologically influential cities in the world<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The country invests 4.7% of it\u2019s GDP into R&D<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Israel is ranked 3rd<\/sup> in the world for venture capital activity<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Largest NASDAQ IPO\u2019s than any country in the world outside the USA & Canada<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More startups established annually in Israel than any other European country<\/p>\n young israelis helped develop revolutionary prosthetic limbs that save lives<\/em><\/p>\n Did you know the following about Israel?<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A country the size of New Jersey<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Voice mail technology was developed in Israel<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 by four Israelis<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More museums per capita than any other country.<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Produces the 3rd<\/sup> most scientific papers per capita<\/p>\n Top 10 reasons to travel abroad with your startup<\/b><\/p>\n – Serendipity Factor<\/p>\n – Brings your team closer together<\/p>\n – Builds your company culture<\/p>\n – Builds your network<\/p>\n – Become more rounded as entrepreneurs<\/p>\n – See how other startup ecosystem\u2019s work<\/p>\n – Getting too comfortable in one environment can be your own worst enemy<\/p>\n – Develop cross-cultural communication skills<\/p>\n – See the world & new business environments<\/p>\n – Ability to find and nurture local talent you might not otherwise come across<\/p>\n He said it\u2026.<\/b><\/p>\n Engage with us!<\/b><\/p>\n Has your startup done something similar or have thoughts on this article?<\/p>\n Tweet us @mytravelmoneyuk<\/a> OR @currencytransfr<\/a> OR post some feedback in the comment section below<\/p>\n Are you in Israel and want to meet with us? E-mail daniel@mycurrencytransfer.com<\/a>\u00a0 ( @dan_currency<\/a> ) or stevan@mycurrencytransfer.com<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you Tel Aviv & Israel!<\/b><\/p>\n Team MyTravelMoney & MyCurrencyTransfer.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n![\"israel-travel\"](\"http:\/\/www.mycurrencytransfer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/israel-travel.jpg\")
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