Ascending: Olim Entrepreneurial Playbook

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.sunhousemarketing.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/franjakubowicz/

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 secret? You'll just have to listen to the riveting interview and find out. 

Enjoy!

If you want to learn more about Nachum and/or Book Like a Boss, here are a lot of links to help you with that:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kligman/?fbclid=IwAR1fQfxxHtrJDe7LauxZlw1bxVbygFbMoa9YfOHv7w3e4GPj_8bWdm3zp1Y&originalSubdomain=il

https://frumentrepreneur.com/

https://bossitude.com/

https://booklikeaboss.com/

https://book.nachum.co

https://twitter.com/kligman

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/stephaniehodes

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!

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 married through all of life's turbulence

You can find out more about Yoram here: https://www.yoramraanan.com and feel free to pick up his paintings or visit him in Moshav Beit Meir.

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 don'ts when looking for a job

Please forgive the audio and please enjoy!!

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 Alone for the holidays, Bikkur Cholim (visiting the sick Olim), social events, advocacy on behalf of Olim, self-help groups (and coming-soon, a low cost, quality individual mental-health counseling; as well as a support hotline)."

In this episode we are on the receiving end of:

- Some very difficult facts about Olim and the rate at which many return to their country of birth

- Prevalent hardships Olim face, what Keep Olim is doing to help and what Olim can do to help

- Steps those who have not yet made Aliyah can take to make the transition that much smoother

- All the amazing work Keep Olim is doing to help keep Olim in Israel

Thank you so much to LiAmi for his time and openness. Every listener with benefit from hearing this.

And thank you all so much for listening, subscribing and sharing. Keep it up!

Keep Olim's website: https://keepolim.org/en/

Website of the organization Maof mentioned in the episode: https://www.sba.org.il/hb/MaofServices/Pages/default.aspx

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

- Insight into the role Jews already in Israel play in the lives of new or potential Olim.

Moises Zack can be reached at [email protected]

Enjoy the episode! 

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 balance

- How to speak to VCs with confidence

Enjoy the show!

Shlomo can be found on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shlomo-mirvis-33b3642/

Intelligo website: https://www.intelligo.ai

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 from a freelancer working for $10 an hour maximum, to someone running her own company

And

- Steps Sacha takes to ensure work doesn't take over her life

In this week's episode there are shoutouts to Moe Mernick and Chananya Davids (both Ramat Bet Shemesh residents)

If you would like to get in touch with Sacha she can be found at:

Website: https://sachagorelikcopywriting.com/contact/?fbclid=IwAR2TuyyLuN7tcswhPFRyYlgj-NRrX1swIU0Q2UjclKTJ-dKO864qxmuq9bE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SgAmazonCopy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mynetwork/invite-sent/sachagorelik/?isSendInvite=true

Enjoy and, as usual, please leave reviews, comments, questions, concerns, queries, etc. etc. etc.