I recently returned from a Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel, which is a free trip that brings young Jews ages 18-27 to Israel on a 10 day journey to observe history, culture, and current-day industry. It was the most exciting 10 days of my life, and I want to draw some parallels between Israel and software startups. Israelis have incredible passion, resourcefulness, and persistence, and personality traits that resemble a startup that's doing everything it can to stay afloat.

Let's start with passion. Israelis have an incredible love for their country -- something that I've never seen in America in the 19 years that I've lived here. And I think it comes down to one thing: Israelis understand and care about the cause they're fighting for, and that's merely the right to exist. And to take this a step further, all Israelis are drafted into the army. No "normal" person in the states would want to join the army. From my uninformed perspective, it seems like the U.S. Army recruits primarily from poorer neighborhoods, and that most of our country's leadership didn't have the opportunity to serve. In Israel, every political leader has served as a solder, so there's this incredible unity that immediately reminds me of a tech startup. The founding CEO did everything from marketing outreach to coding the core product, and it's understood that the CEO isn't just "making orders." Compare this to a big company, where the CEO may or may not have any technical experience, and makes strategic and product decisions that the programmers don't understand. Reminds me of America...

Next, Israelis are resourceful like no other. Paul Graham from Y-Combinator says being a good startup founder comes down to being "relentlessly resourceful", and Israel was just that. When I visited Tel Aviv, they were celebrating their 100th year of existence. Just 100 years ago, Tel Aviv was nothing more than sand dunes, but the immigrant Jews built it up to being the second most populated city in Israel (after Jerusalem), and is now dubbed "Silicon Wadi" because of its incredible hi-tech scene.

Another great example of relentless resourcefulness comes from the 6 day war: Israel was being attacked by 5 1/2 armies on all sides, and in a fight for their survival, the government raised over $30M from Jewish Americans. In fact, if it wasn't for Israel's relentless resourcefulness, the nation wouldn't be around today. And the same thing applies to web startups: as an entrepreneur, you need to leverage your network in ways you haven't before.

I'll finish this off with persistence. For thousands of years, Jews have been persecuted merely for being Jewish. And at last, they have a country that they could go home to. I compare this to entrepreneurs getting up from failed businesses. Even if things don't work out, you keep on going until you build something that's truly great. Ignore the naysayers, and do what's needed to ensure the success (and survival) of your enterprise. And that's precisely what the Jews did with Israel over the past century.

1) Zuckerberg keynote = Big LOLS! I feel bad for the woman who asked him the questions... people were just piling on top of her!

2) Gawker party was cool, but the bouncer was super strict! Thanks to the help of some friends, I managed to get in and have an awesome (sober) time.

I'll post in detail soon. For now, there's this something called SLEEP.

Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college. She's currently the founder of a startup, managing editor at Startupism.com, and Jessicamah.com. In her free time, she enjoys the prospect of being an underage angel investor while partying like a rock star. (and traveling to random cities and checking into hotels while being underage)

Thanks for the concerned IMs/emails. I'm here in one piece and can't wait for the rest of SxSW! For clarification, the main reason as to why I'm staying here is because pretty much every half decent hotel in Austin is fully booked. Plus, this is what I consider MY spring break. Girls should be allowed to splurge from time to time! More to come,

Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college. She's currently the founder of a startup, managing editor at Startupism.com, and Jessicamah.com. In her free time, she enjoys the prospect of being an underage angel investor while partying like a rock star. (and traveling to random cities and checking into hotels while being underage)

I try not to splurge, but sometimes I have no choice! Take for example SxSW: You guys convinced me to go to the South by Southwest Conference, so I'm going. Few issues:

1) The only flight out that worked for me cost $620. It was only $100 for an upgrade to first class, so I bought it. Some call it splurging but I call it well deserved.

2) Every half decent hotel in Austin is completely booked. What can I say, the only so-so hotel I found was this place called the Four Seasons. Hopefully I'll find myself a successful, sexy, (wealthy) business man while I'm there? I'll dream on.

3) I had to upload a picture of my face to South by Southwest's website in order to claim my badge. I don't have many photos of me on the internet, but I figured I'll show you guys what I have:

Fugley or what? Whatever, it's better than my driver's license photo. Funny enough, this is the first real photo I've shown to you publicly via my blog.

I'll promise to take lots and lots of pictures for you guys! I'll be lonely, so please shower me with visits.

PS - I'm underage so I can't check into the hotel. Their stupid company policy is that I have to be at least 19 years old. Any of you want to help me? I'm offering a reward!

Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college. She's currently the founder of a startup, managing editor at Startupism.com, and Jessicamah.com. In her free time, she enjoys the prospect of being an underage angel investor while partying like a rock star. (and traveling to random cities and checking into hotels while being underage)

1) Don't fly on United. Their customer service is slow and frustrating. Their frequent flyer program is incredibly flawed.

2) Don't fly with connecting flights if you don't have to. Look at me, I'm stranded in Denver because I was silly enough to take a connecting flight. Kayak.com fixes this problem.

3) Don't travel to new places with friends or family. Half of the fun in going to a new place is meeting new people. Leaving your friends/family at home forces you to make due with the new environment. Some may call this culture shock, but I call it adventure. Deal with it! :p br>
Now with that said, here's a list of things I do before going to any new city:

1) How to fly? I usually use Kayak.com, because it compares the airfare for all airlines on multiple websites at the same time. Super user friendly, great for those bargain hunters, and comes highly recommended.

2) Where to stay? You have three options: 1) Make friends with people who'll let you sleep with them (not literally) 2) CouchSurfat some stranger's house or 3) Stay at a hotel recommended by TripAdvisor. I've only done #1 and #3.

7) How to get around? Print out some Google Maps of the areas you'll be hanging out in. Choose a limo driver to escort you to wherever. I usually use CitySearch for this.

8) What are you going to do? Touristy attractions are for tourists. You're a wannabe entrepreneur, I assume, so checkout upcoming.org and meetup.com for events and gatherings in the city you'll be in. I first used meetup.com to get myself acquainted with San Francisco. After going to two or three meetups, I had solid connections I could depend on. Before leaving ANY city, make it a goal to meet at least one awesome person who you plan on keeping in touch with.

Jessica Mah is a 17 year old entrepreneur, blogger, and sophomore in college. She's currently the founder of a startup, managing editor at Startupism.com, and Jessicamah.com. In her free time, she enjoys the prospect of being an underage angel investor while partying like a rock star.