Mickey Boodeai started his cybersecurity career in the Israeli military. His service accelerated his career growth through experiential knowledge unlike anything at the corporate level. At the age of 18, he was already assigned to massive, complex projects in offensive cybersecurity.

Israel became a tech hub because of the military. Mickey says, “It comes down to culture. The culture for a lot of Israeli tech companies starts in the Israeli military. So 99% of Israeli tech startups are graduates of elite units in the intelligence unit or other computing units.”

Now Mickey has been in the security industry for 25 years. He founded multiple startups, including Trusteer, which sold to IBM in 2013 for $1B, and Transmit Security, co-founded with Rakesh Loonkar. 

In this episode of Forge Ahead, Mickey talks about Israel’s booming tech hub, why he doesn’t look for a university degree on resumes, and insights to attract talent during periods of growth when there’s a talent shortage.