On our second day of classes at the Israel Summer Business Academy (ISBA), we were off to Google Israel, located right in the heart of Tel Aviv. Class was held in “Campus TLV”, a portion of the Google office dedicated to entrepreneurs who come to work on their ideas within the confines of a very creative space. We, too, got our creativity flowing as we worked in teams to talk about what we believe has made Israel the innovative nation it is today, and what our definitions of an entrepreneur and innovation are.

After class, we were taken on a tour of the Google offices. From the oranges to the arcade, and even the workout area, I was so impressed with all of the different floor themes. I also loved the signs posted on all of the doors with various health and nutrition facts. It was fascinating listening to Yossi Matias, the head of Research and Development for Google Israel. To learn that the Israelis are responsible for the suggestions that pop up every time I make a Google search and that the World Cup scores are being updated in their office was very cool. I am so happy we had the opportunity to visit there!

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing work and relaxing under the sun. A group of us  had a nice dinner just down the road and topped it off with some delicious Italian style gelato. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s discussion of Israel’s venture capitalist firms and can’t wait to try the highly praised chocolate at Max Brenner.

Carly Bloom is a sophomore at Olin Business School and a member of the first class in Olin’s Israel Summer Business Academy.