11 becomes a two-way street, proving beneficial both to the investors and to the entrepreneurs, as technology, knowledge, and interests align.” While acknowledging generalizations, Dr. Thomas Schnülle-Weingart, associate partner at FPS, adds: “From our experience, the biggest difference between Israeli and German investment culture is risk appetite. Germans tend to be risk averse and seek certainty in their investments. In turn they are often more comfortable accepting more modest returns. Israelis are far more accepting of risk and in turn tend to seek deals with higher return potential.” “Understanding this difference is essential to tailoring deals and communicating opportunities across cultures. Risk appetite also appears in approaches to development and new projects. Israelis are more willing to take risks and simply try new ideas. Failure is not seen as negatively by Israelis. Germans, tend to invest a lot of thought and effort to ensure their developments are successful. While these two approaches may seem diametrically opposed, when properly brought together they are quite complementary. As always, open communication is key.” Abelski of ERM agrees: “The most prominent cultural distinction between Germany and Israel lies in communication style. In Germany, a ‘yes’ is unequivocal, and a ‘no’ is absolute, whereas in Israel a ‘yes’ may turn into a no, while a ‘no’ is rarely a definitive no. This requires understanding both cultures and being able to bridge between them.” As such, any transactional lawyer dealing with German-Israeli transactions must understand German expectations and Israeli deliverables, and vice versa. Furthermore, despite similarities between Israeli and German contracts law (as the Israeli one took inspiration from the German) there still exist notable differences in the legal frameworks of both countries, encompassing nuances in legal due diligence processes and SPAs, as the corporate ecosystem is vastly different between the two countries. Adept legal representation is crucial to significantly streamlining the deal-closing process, turning it into a smoother endeavor.” With such commercial, economic and cultural synergies in place, we look in awe and admiration at the Next October initiative launched. By this coming October, these partnerships may well have brought even more technological innovation to the global stage. There are differences to pay attention to
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=