How nonlinear careers could drive Jerusalem’s hi-tech rise

The conversation centered not only on investment and infrastructure, but on something less tangible and potentially more important: the mindset required to build a globally competitive innovation hub.

“Jerusalem has incredible talent, but talent alone isn’t enough,” said Greenbaum Lipski. “We need to create real bridges between young professionals here and global industries so they can grow, lead, and innovate at scale.”

According to the panelists, Jerusalem’s long-term success will depend less on buildings or funding and more on the people willing to adapt, take risks, and embrace unconventional career paths.

Despite coming from vastly different industries, all three speakers returned to the same idea: modern careers are no longer linear.

“My career was not linear, ever,” Greenbaum Lipski said, describing her journey from studying computer science to moving into marketing and eventually leading operations at Microsoft.

“If my daughter asks me what she should study,” she added, “I probably won’t tell her to learn one thing. That’s not relevant anymore.”

For Akash, career growth has consistently meant leaving comfortable positions behind.

“I was an architect for four years,” he said. “Then after architecture, I moved into something else, and then management, and then looked for the next position - a higher position, a more difficult position. Never get comfortable.”

He referenced Malcolm Gladwell’s widely known “10,000-hour rule,” arguing that mastery alone is no longer enough in an AI-driven economy.

“Once you become proficient, you need to get uncomfortable,” Akash said. “That’s how you grow.”

Greenbaum Lipski echoed that idea as she reflected on her decision to oversee Microsoft’s operations in the Middle East and Africa before the Abraham Accords.

“The growth is where you don’t feel comfortable,” she said. “The most exciting thing for me is that I took risks all the time.”

The discussion repeatedly returned to one question: What will allow Jerusalem to compete with more established global tech centers? For the panelists, the answer was discipline.

Akash, who became the first East Jerusalem student accepted into Hebrew University’s computer science program, shared a story about being reprimanded early in his career for arriving at a meeting exactly on time instead of arriving early to troubleshoot technical issues.

“From that day on, my team started every meeting 30 minutes early,” he said.

Coming from what he described as an unconventional background, Akash said he learned quickly that success required outperforming expectations.

“The only way for me to get ahead is to be so much better than everyone else,” he said. “I was more Apple than Apple.”

Goodman described a similar mentality forged through challenges and failure. After a knee injury cost him his place on a professional Israeli basketball team, Goodman redirected his energy toward entrepreneurship.

“It’s the most painful thing a basketball player could ever go through,” he said. “So I decided I was going to take all my basketball knowledge and use it to help the next generation of players.”

One turning point came when his coach refused to rebound for him during practice after he lost his roster spot. Goodman realized that most rebound drills did not replicate real in-game angles. Determined to solve the problem himself, he went to Home Depot and built a multi-angled pitch-back machine out of plumbing pipes.

“A plumber tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘You know that’s not going to work in your bathroom,’” Goodman recalled. “And I said, ‘No, I’m building something for basketball.’”

That persistence eventually evolved into technology now used by NBA organizations.

The event was organized by JYP Forum, which focuses on building a connected network of young professionals across Jerusalem’s diverse communities.

According to JYP Forum founder and chairman Marc Faust, the city’s future growth depends on creating pathways for talent to access meaningful opportunities.

“In today’s economy, empowering young professionals is vital to growing a viable and impactful hi-tech ecosystem,” Faust said. “American Innovation Forum is designed to connect that talent with real opportunities, helping them turn potential into impact.”

Akash emphasized that this opportunity must also extend to East Jerusalem.

“East Jerusalemites are in a strategic position to participate in the growing hi-tech sector and are eager to work for American companies operating in the country,” he said. “We must make this a priority in order to improve economic conditions for everyone.”

For Greenbaum Lipski, Israel’s innovation economy ultimately comes down to culture rather than geography.

“We’re so small on the map, but we have more than 7,000 startups,” she said, pointing to Israel’s global leadership in research and development spending.

Referring to Microsoft’s new Jerusalem R&D center, she added that international executives visiting Israel often arrive expecting to discover some hidden technological advantage.

“People coming from Microsoft Global realize, ‘Wow, it’s you guys,’” she said. “It’s the talent. It’s the people.”

The panelists argued that Jerusalem’s advantage may come precisely from its diversity and unconventional pathways.

In a world increasingly shaped by AI and constant disruption, they suggested that the professionals best equipped to succeed will not necessarily be those who follow predictable careers, but those willing to continually evolve.

For Jerusalem, that may be the workforce capable of transforming the city into a major player in Israel’s hi-tech sector.