What I know about startups I learned mostly by living vicariously through my students and their experience in the Zell Program. Not everyone succeeded in creating a company in the program, and some created their ventures several years later, while some never did. I learned from all of them.
I didn’t start my career or end it as an entrepreneurship educator, but I spent a formative part of my professional life as one. In
fact, my career can probably best be described as a meandering journey.
I knew I wanted to be a lawyer since I was ten. A ten year-old obviously has no idea what that means… (arguably a 25 year-old doesn’t either). I must have seen a TV character or met one of my parent’s friends who was a lawyer… Later, I think the pull was the fact that it was a profession with a set career path.
My dad was an entrepreneur and we lived the roller coaster ride of ups and big dips that is inherent to this life. It came as no surprise that my brother became a doctor, and I fulfilled my questionable childhood dream of becoming a lawyer. We sought stability. For me, that didn’t hold for long. But my journey starts before that… before I
can remember.
My parents left Israel to study in the U.S. (At the time, it was very difficult to get into the very few universities in Israel). I was born in the middle of my mother’s undergraduate degree. I have been told in no uncertain terms that I was completely planned, and in no way a mistake, but I don’t think that ever convinced me in any serious way.
In any case, planned or not, it curtailed my mother’s academic career for many years to come until she ended up catching up, eventually getting her Masters in Education and spending her earlier career as a teacher and then school principal.
My parents returned to Israel after my dad's studies and planned to stay. However, the Yom Kippur War in 1973 drastically changed that plan. The family business that my father returned to take over tanked with the economy, and he was drafted into the army for a prolonged period of time (the war was short, but the aftermath was long).
My mother had appendicitis while in her last trimester of pregnancy, and overall, I always had the sense that this period was rather traumatic for them. In 1976, they packed us all up and returned to Los Angeles for good. Unlike most Israelis, who longingly (and often with no real basis in reality) plan their return to Israel, my parents were in the U.S. to stay.
For me, the move to the U.S. involved a huge adjustment to a new language and a completely new and foreign environment. I immersed myself in hours and hours of American television, which in hindsight was my first real introduction to English. (Whenever people complain of the ill effect of television on kids, I think of my immersive language instruction, complete with cultural nuance, delivered over hours of American television broadcasting. It is not all bad).
I started second grade in ESL (English as a Second Language). It took me six months to get out of it and into the regular class. The experience of having to work harder, and of having something to achieve, stayed with me and defined my strategy toward education going forward.
By high school, I was fully entrenched in American culture as prom princess, the cheerleading captain, and a competitive figure skater… I continued that at UC Berkeley where I studied Political Economy of Industrialized Societies and joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
The one offbeat excursion was a semester abroad in Israel (rather than Italy with all my sorority sisters). That excursion proved more meaningful than I could have imagined at the time (and certainly more than my parents could have imagined when they insisted I go there).
I immigrated to Israel after my bachelor’s degree. It was supposed to be a gap year before the JD/MBA degree I had deferred for a year. But I ended up meeting my life partner, Oren (in an elevator of all places, which must have been the first and most compelling elevator pitch I heard).
I was in love with him and with Israel, which felt like a place that was young and vibrant, where making a difference would matter. I 'pivoted' my JD/MBA plan, and applied for a Bachelor of Law (LLB) and separately but concurrently, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Tel Aviv University. Studying law in Hebrew was, in hindsight, both a great way to relearn Hebrew (I could not read or write and by then was only passably speaking), and a truly humbling experience. Additionally, it taught me that grades are not always as deterministic or important as I had believed (my children have made this point to me as well).
After several years as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, and with by then four kids, I took a break to try to figure out what I really wanted to do when I 'grew up'. Though in many ways the question remains unresolved, at the time, it was clear to me that I wanted to make an impact and do something meaningful.
I was offered the opportunity to run an entrepreneurship program at a small private university. I like to say that at the time I had felt uniquely unqualified for this role, as I had never taught, managed, or been an entrepreneur…. but I was excited about the challenge. I was also excited about the chance to work with young people, which I felt would be meaningful and fulfilling.
I had the privilege to be able to grow and develop the Zell Entrepreneurship Program over ten years, and in those years, I was fortunate to have been able to help many entrepreneurs launch their startups, and help many great people achieve their own potential and hone skills for future success.
I continued in my career path with what at the time seemed to be a natural next step, but when connecting the dots, it was clearly just another point on the uncharted journey. I joined Marker LLC as an investment partner in 2015. Marker LLC was a New York-Herzliya venture capital fund specializing in Israeli technology companies ready to expand to the U.S.
Sitting on the other side of the fence was a truly eye-opening experience. It was not only about whether the venture could succeed, but also about how it was priced and how the fund would make its money from the investment. The vantage point is completely different, but so is the ability to support startups without discrimination. As an investor, I could no longer be solely the support agent for everyone I met, I needed to choose, and invariably say no, more often than I liked.
When the fund merged and morphed in 2017, I took the opportunity to plunge into entrepreneurship more actively and joined Selina as its COO. It was a wild ride and beyond the many great people I am still in contact with, I learned a lifetime's worth of value about high growth companies from the inside out.
It was on my many visits to Panama, the then company headquarters, where I reconnected with my cousin and decided to take the bigger plunge and join him and a third co-founder in forming Horizen Labs.
I had dreamed of creating my own startup, but never before had I had the convergence of team, idea, and timing. I am continuing to learn and grow as a co-founder and COO of the company, and certainly getting to practice what I have been preaching (and even getting to make adjustments from that more visceral experience).
The roller coaster continues and I am thrilled to be on it. It's been a truly amazing journey that has provided many of the insights I hope to share.
This book has been a long time coming. I knew I wanted to take the years of learning and synthesize it for students of entrepreneurship and aspiring entrepreneurs. I also knew that the growing repository of Zell case studies is a wellspring of experience and reflections that would be a perfect synergy with the outline of the content.
My vision is to make this printed version the springboard of a much larger online endeavor that will continue to grow. Stay tuned for that, it is coming soon and will include an ongoing curation of more and more case studies and mixed media resources. The Zell students themselves will be part of this torch carrying activity to ensure it lasts irrespective of my involvement with the program.
The idea for this book took form over many years, but more seriously started brewing since I left the role of executive director and continued as chairperson in 2015. It took the strange circumstances of COVID-19 and a very special individual to finally make this a reality.
Lorein Abenhaim and I met and worked together at Selina and now at Horizen Labs. She and I mapped out the entrepreneurs, and after being connected to them, she reached out and interviewed each of them, took notes, recorded them, transliterated, listened, researched, followed-up, and drafted a narrative for each case study.
This first body of case studies was the result of our joint effort, but mostly of Lo’s journalistic training, her amicable and inviting spirit that encouraged our founders to feel comfortable and open up, and her refreshing prose. She self proclaims to prefer editing to writing (which she certainly did much of on the chapters of the book itself), but the case studies are a testament that she does not give herself enough credit. With the utmost gratitude and love, I credit Lo not only for her contribution, but also for egging me on to get it done. Without her, this book would not have been possible.
Beyond that big push, the sources of inspiration for the book are myriad and many, and the direct contributions have been invaluable.First and foremost, this book and all of my learnings would never have been possible without the fortuitous meeting between Sam Zell and Professor Uriel Reichman in 2000 that sparked the creation of the program. Both have inspired and supported me throughout the journey of my career since I joined Zell, and in one way or the other in writing this book.
Sam has been a stalwart supporter of the growth and development of the program, and of this book. He shared his experience writing his own book, which helped give me perspective. I have personally learned and continue to learn from him and his incredibly sharp mind. His 'Sam-isms', and generlly his ethos, included in each chapter as golden nuggets of wisdom
included in each chapter, were the guideposts that helped me focus the narrative, and of course, I was flattered beyond words that he agreed to write the foreword.
I am honored and humbled to have had the support of Professor Uriel Reichman throughout my career and in particular through difficult times in my life. I have always considered him a true role model of entrepreneurial drive, perseverance, and love for the human spirit.
I am waiting for him to complete his own book, which I cannot wait
to read.
The first inspiration for writing this book was from Hanan Kattan, my unwitting partner on a journey to a Buddhist Temple in India, and soulmate since our TEDxHolyland adventure. Every call with Hanan starts with the invariable question of how many chapters I have completed. Her partner, Shamim Sarif, inspired me through her own writing, and I was thankful to have had the opportunity to read a draft of one of her books, which gave some insights into the writing process.
Similarly, Dave Sheanin, my high school buddy who brought me in to read a draft of Jim Collins' Beyond Entrepreneurship as a content editor, showed me the way a great business book writer thinks.169 When speaking about that book, he told me it was a sort of love letter to Jim Collins’ mentor and co-author, Bill Lazier. It sparked the idea of what I feel this book is, a love letter to the Zell Program itself and a celebration of its twenty years of impact. Others whose own book writing endeavors inspired me include dear friends Jules Miller, Amir Shevat and Dan Marom.
The content was obviously inspired in large part by the IDC and Zell Program faculty over the years and today, including Dr. Eyal Maoz, Dr. Ayal Shenhav, Dr. Amir Kfir, Eden Shochat,
Yoni Chefeits, Abigail Tenembaum, Michael Weitz, Liad Agmon, Professor Ronen Israel, Mike Emery, Dr. Etay Shilony, Dr. Iris Ginzburg, Dr. Yoram Friedman, Ariel Halevy, Neil Wilkof, Dr. Dan Marom, Amir Guttman, Dana Zakai, Lorraine Tuffias, Gilad Rosenau, Yael Hayut, Ron Bar El, Hilik Nissani, Galia Racine, Dr. Michael Tzur, Dr. Yossi Bachar (z”l), Dr. Orly Sade, Lior Student, Beatrice Michaeli, as well as alumni instructors: Gur Braslavi (Zell 2 – 2003), Liraz Sharabani (Zell 7 – 2008), Eyal Gura (Zell 2 – 2003), Maya Elhalal (Zell 1 – 2002), Karin Levi (Zell 10 – 2011), Nofar Issacharov (Zell 14 – 2015), Yoav Artzi (Zell 12 – 2013).
In addition, many thanks to the mentors who have been long-standing supporters of the program and include: David Chissick, Navot Volk, Ariel Avitan, Idit Caperton, Amit Avner, Amit Keren, Inbar Carmel, Noam Bernstein, Liad Rubin, Mike Emery, Gil Lemel, Inbar Raz and Dror Pockard, the many alumni mentors notably Nim Bar-Levin, Inbal Israeli Gaffa, Irit Anavim, Ori Schnitzer,Adi Vagman, Kevin Baxpehler, Shirley Schwartz, Litan Yahav, and advisory board members Yuval Tal, Eilon Tirosh, Yaron Galai, Roy Erez and Zohar Gilon who took the time to interview and helped in choosing many Zell classes and Shlomo Dovrat who served as founding chairman and drove the academic direction of the program for many of its formative years.
Also always supportive of the program and of me, from the Adelson School which upon its founding became the natural home for the Zell Program, the Dean of the Adelson School,
Dr. Yossi Maaravi, who is a board member for the student team boards and an Advisory Board member; The powerhouse behind the school’s operations, and the program coordinator for 5 years, Dana Barda Malcha, who not only supports the program and many of its activities, most notably the alumni interviews, but also supports me with anything I throw her way and in the many years has become family to me; and also my personal mentor, dear friend, a role model to me in humility and humanism, also the Academic Director of the Zell Program, Professor Yair Tauman.
In the context of the program itself, I am ever indebted generally and specifically with support for this book to Liraz Sharabani (Zell 7 – 2008) who has been in and out of my professional life over the years but always in my heart; to Nofar Issacharov (Zell 14 – 2015) who mastered the data underlying this book as she masters everything, including kicking off the Zell Next programming and is one of the purest souls I know; and to Tali Pais who just joined the team but has made such an impact I cannot imagine the program without her; Also to Yoav Artzi (Zell 12 – 2013) who with Liraz, answered the call to save the day and always knows how to make whatever we do not only top-notch professional but also tons of fun; and to Moran Nir (Zell 8 – 2009) who stepped in in 2015 and took things on seamlessly to allow me to continue my own growth.
There are also a myriad of people whose support of myself and the program on campus are too many to mention but a special shout out to Shiri Avzuk, Orit Reuveni, Adi Baril, Gili Dinstein, Ravit Benami, Ilil Ginzburg, Orly Shaked, Michal Inbar Fridman, Orly Krisi, Yaffa Matalon, Alice Mazkereth, Fanny Galperin, Mimi Laufer, and Maggie Guttman. Vice Presidents Ayelet Ben Ezer, Jonathan Davis, Mike Rey and Avi Nissim and Deans and IDC faculty, student administration, faculty administration, help desk, logistics and the security team, including the very dear Itai Avron.
Though not directly connected to this book, but impactful to the growth of the program over the course of its 20 years is the unwavering support by Natasha Shine Zirkel (Honorary Zell 6 – 2007) and brief but super meaningful stint at the Zell Program in 2010 by Yael Tiano (Zell 8 – 2009). Both helped me lead the program in its earlier years and left their mark, and both are dearly loved and cherished by me as friends for life. Also to Daphna Nissenbaum, dear friend founder and CEO of Tipa, whose idea to come interview for the job of executive director in the first place changed the course of my professional life.
The case studies involved hours and hours of interviews and narrative formulation, but also hours of transcription diligently carried out by the wonderful Lior Parnes whose help is very much not taken for granted. The book itself from layout to cover was designed by the talented and uber professional Noa Schwartz with her artistic eye and true love of books. The website version is being designed by Elya Weingrod, whose ability to curate talent, stay calm in storms and turn out beautiful work is a source of admiration to me.
For the giant task of copy-editing, I did not think twice before reaching out to Aaron Dubin (Zell 11 – 2012). He came to Zell with a copy-editing business in place, and I will never forget his suit and tie entrance to his Zell interview to pitch that business. Aaron labored on several versions of the book, and I am ever grateful for his eye for detail, amazing turnaround, and overall positive and thoughtful spirit. The book was also read by colleagues Shira Yasur, Uri Gafni, Adi Baril and Liraz Sharabani (Zell 7 – 2008) and Karin Levi (Zell 2010 – 11), whose comments gave a much needed perspective that helped get things right or just helped egg me on.
This writing project obviously took from my time available to Horizen Labs, and I do not take for granted the understanding from Rob Viglione and Dean Steinbeck to help me achieve this dream.
Thanks also goes to my parents for supporting all along and my kids who kindly inquired on the progress and are ever a source of inspiration to me.
The silent partner to this endeavor is always my partner in life, for more years than we were ever apart by now. Oren heard endlessly about the book and its progress and incessantly that I was just about to finish (though I was far off), and supported me through and through as he has done throughout my meandering professional journey and our life journey together.
The biggest thanks to and inspiration comes from the graduates and students of the Zell Program, from the first Zell class through to today. Those that started ventures and those making their mark on the world in all other ways from education, military, agriculture, law, real estate, management and impact. I feel blessed to have had them in my life and as an integral part of my professional and personal growth. They and their ventures, whether started in the program or not, whether successful or not, whether included in this first cohort of case studies or not, provided the core of this book and its spirit. I extend my humble gratitude to them for allowing me to be a part of their own personal and professional journeys.
Ultimately, it's the journey that counts.
