‘Start-up nation’: How owning mistakes onstage spurs Israeli innovation
by Nicola Smith · Australian Financial ReviewNicola SmithForeign affairs and defence correspondent
Updated Nov 2, 2026 – 12.48pm, first published at 11.56am
A young woman takes to the stage to confess to a crowded room that she once blew up a successful international film project by acting like a diva and ignoring her hard-working production team.
“The main lesson is don’t be an asshole,” says Aviva Zimmerman, prompting laughter from the room. It’s “F---Up” Night in Tel Aviv, and the audience, half of them working in the high-end tech sector, are here to learn how to embrace failure and move on from their mistakes.
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Nicola SmithForeign affairs and defence correspondentNicola Smith is The Australian Financial Review’s Foreign affairs and defence correspondent. She was formerly the Canberra bureau chief and a foreign correspondent covering Asia and the European Union. She joined the Financial Review in 2025. Reach Nicola securely on Signal @niccijsmith.03. Email Nicola at nicci.smith@afr.com
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