Only 4% of Israeli start-up companies succeed, a new study conducted by IVC Research Center and REVERSEXIT found.
The study examined over 10,000 start-ups founded between 1999 and 2014.
It found that 46% had shut down or were no longer active. 14% of the start-ups had been bought, but only half of those (303) were acquired at a profit.
Of the 5,400 companies still active, only 2.5% are categorized as "successful" based on the study's authors who hold that a companies' annual revenues must total $100 million or the company must employ over 100 people to be considered such.
"According to most entrepreneurs, success is the realization of a business idea, a dream or technological innovation and its concrete implementation into a real business,” Koby Simana, the CEO of IVC Research Center, stated. “Among younger entrepreneurs, we also found the wish to 'hit it big time' that is, to build a startup and sell it for a significant profit, although this view did not represent the majority.”