Our interview this week is with the CEO and Founder of SunHouse Marketing, which is a digital marketing firm based out of Beit Shemesh, Israel. Fran is an Olah from Toronto who came her in the late-90's with her husband and children. In this episode, Fran shares with us: - Important advice for Olim looking to start businesses - Insight into what a home with a mother and wife who works full time runs - The evolution of her professional life since coming to Israel. Enjoy! https://www.sunhousemarke...
Nov 21, 2019•35 min•Ep. 15
Hello, fellow entrepreneurs. We're back and this week Alex interviews Nachum Kligman who is an oleh that lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel and made aliyah from Passaic, New Jersey. Nachum is the founder of the SaaS company Book Like a Boss, which allows business owners to keep their lives better organized. Book Like a Boss has done well over a million in sales all while Nachum currently has 7 kids, prays three times a day and spends considerable amounts of time learning Talmud. What's his secr...
Nov 12, 2019•41 min
Stephanie Hodes is an Olah from South Africa who found the hiring process in Israel extraordinarily difficult. As a solution, she founded Urban Recruits, which works with olim to set them up at jobs that are right for them. They act as intermediaries between the applicant and the hiring company in order to ensure that all the cards are on the table. Enjoy! To find out more about Urban Recruits and/or Stephanie, here are some links: http://www.urbanrecruits.co.il/home/ https://www.linkedin.com/in...
Nov 04, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Welcome back everyone! We have returned and are better than ever. We are taking steps to providing you with the most valuable and useful content possible. This interview is with Brian Polonsky, an oleh from Los Angeles who formed his own head hunting firm. Brian came from a world of organizing 8-figure deals to having to start all over from a new country and finding a way to make it work. Polonsky shares amazing gems of wisdom so listen up!
Oct 24, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 13
This episode is something very special for you. Yoram is an artist who grew up in New Jersey, travelled all around Europe after college and finally landed in Israel. After a long journey of becoming an artist, getting married and raising four wonderful children, a fire burnt down Yoram's studio taking over 1,500 of his original paintings in the process. This episode touches on: - How to get through financially difficult times - How to persevere in times of great loss and darkness - How to stay m...
Aug 19, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 11
First thing is first. Due to technical difficulties, this episode is not the greatest audio quality we've had. With that said, this episode is still full of wisdom and truth nuggets about being an entrepreneur in Israel, especially as an oleh. In this episode we dive into: - The beauty of the Israeli army and how it is a perfect place for entrepreneurs - What an oleh who did not go into the army can do to leverage what he or she has to offer - How to approach the language barrier and do's and do...
Aug 12, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 11
This is the story of an Oleh who found himself strapped for cash, no job and contemplating the possibility that Aliyah was a mistake. Instead of giving in, our interviewee, LiAmi, founded the organization Keep Olim which has 10's of thousands of members in their Facebook group from a mind-boggling 100 countries. In their own words, "KeepOlim is a new amuta (non-profit) that provides programs and services to new Olim (immigrants to Israel). From Free Legal Aid, Adopt an Oleh Program, No Oleh Alon...
Aug 05, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Moises Zack is a senior mortgage consultant with the First Israel Mortgages firm based in the holy city of Jerusalem. Zack got his start in business by following in his father's footsteps in the diamond industry and made the career switch to helping people navigate the Israeli mortgage system some time ago. In this interview Moises gives us: - Very clear insight into the Israeli mortgage system - Tips on how to navigate that system - What to be cautious and/or aware of when buying a property and...
Jul 30, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Shlomo Mirvis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Intelligo Group , the world's leading AI powered background check company. Before starting Intelligo, Shlomo was a commander in the IDF and a lawyer. Shlomo is a child of Olim from South Africa and has inherited his South African accent while on Shlihut with his parents from age 6 months - 6 years old. In this episode Shlomo explores: - The power of honesty and trust as a currency - The importance of friends of family and their role in a work-life balan...
Jul 22, 2019•33 min
Thank you all for coming back for another interview. This week is we are with Sacha Gorelik, an olah who came to Israel with her family when she was 14 years old, who is also a wife, mother and someone who runs her own company. Sacha specializes in writing copy for people selling on amazon that can help boost their sales and create a brand identity. In this interview we learn about: - Sacha's experience of making aliyah as a teenager - The importance of failure - The journey of transitioning fro...
Jul 15, 2019•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Welcome back to another episode of Ascending: Olim Entrepreneurship Playbook. This week Alex interviews Aaron Applbaum who is a partner at MizMaa. Taken from MizMaa's website, "MizMaa is working with the deep technology innovators emerging from Israel’s high tech sector. We are providing long term investment capital, and years of investment, marketing, finance, and systems expertise. Our goal is to back these leaders in the innovative changes they are making to the marketplace." Some highlights ...
Jul 08, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Welcome back everybody to Ascending: The Olim Entrepreneurship Podcast! This week, as hinted to in the title, Alex interviewed Yoni Kayman who is the founder and CEO of Magnum Bikes Inc. His company manufactures and distributes electric bikes and was actually the first electric bike company in Israel. Yoni actually comes from the background of being a rabbi and founding Aish Tel-Aviv and for the rest of his story, well, you're just gonna have to listen. In this weeks episode we dive into: - What...
Jul 04, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Thank you so much for stopping by! This week's episode is with Jeremy Welfeld, an Oleh from Washington DC who came to Israel with his wife and two kids. There are so many informative and inspiring things discussed in the interview, however one point that Jeremy stressed, perhaps above all others, was how big of a role patience played in his establishing Jem's. Among other topics, covered in this interview was: - Jeremy's process of moving to Israel - twice - The role of Jeremy's parents and upbr...
Jun 27, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Thank you so much for stopping by! This week's interview focuses on Jay Shultz, founder and president of the Am Yisrael Foundation. Some key points touched upon during our conversation were: - Why Tel-Aviv is the center of the Jewish world - The lacking of a sense of community in Israel and how he counteracts it - The integral role olim have played in Israel's innovation since its' inception. Enjoy! If you would like to find out more about Jay and/or the Am Yisroel Foundation: http://amyisraelfo...
Jun 20, 2019•34 min
Please enjoy this powerful episode with VC Michael Granoff of Maniv Mobility. In this episode we touch upon topics such as: - Israel's place in the VC ecosystem - The importance of developing clear energies particularly for transportation - Michael's role in Better Place, a revolutionary and ambitious company that looked to bring electric cars to Israel - The importance of failure as a means for success and why that process makes Israel the start-up nation. Thank you so much for your interest in...
Jun 13, 2019•43 min•Ep. 2
Please enjoy this raw episode and insightful episode with Yoel Israel, CEO Wadi Digital. Some of the topics we covered: Why one should always be saying No to clients? How raising prices makes you a better service provider? Why Yoel moved back to Philadelphia for 3 years and invested in real estate in the Philly ghetto? How hiring an awesome digital marketing agency is like hiring a great accountant? Why Yoel believes that fulfilling your dream of making aliyah at 80 years old is so sad? Please l...
Jun 05, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 1
