Real Life Superpowers

In this episode we speak with Nir Eyal, an expert in behavioral design and author of the bestselling books: “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" and "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life".

He’s known as the habits guy, the one who can help understand how to get app users to come back again and again.

Bloomberg business week named him “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology”.

He’s a former lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

He’s also founded and sold two tech companies, and he actively invests in habit-forming products such as Eventbrite, Kahoot, Canva, Product Hunt, and more.

In this interview, we explore Nir's insights on how to design products that create user habits, the ethical considerations of persuasive design, and his strategies for overcoming distraction and staying focused in today's always-connected world.

We discuss:

• The difference between persuasive technology and cohesive technology

• The hypocrisy of the media

• The abuse of the concept of addiction, as an excuse to not take control of one's life

• How to take control of our attention

• Phubbing (phone snubbing)

• Where pain plays in

• The power of planning your day

• Reactive work vs reflective work

• How labeling feelings helps

• And much more!

Enjoy this deep dive into Nir’s mind and expertise!

In this episode, we speak with Ifty Kerzner.

He׳s first and foremost a creator. He was a fairly known singer, and composer in Israel, with several successful hits, a tv host, and a journalist.

But he wasn’t satisfied.

So he realigned his goals and pivoted.

He co-founded Kissterra - a startup that helps insurance companies increase profitability through artificial intelligence. They’ve raised a $76M Series A, and had refused an offer to sell for $40M (but we don’t go into that in our conversation).

His energy can be felt from the get go.

He’s sensitive and super passionate, speaking openly about pain and failure, not trying to paint a perfect picture of life.

Which is admirable.

Listening to him made us wonder how much charisma and the ability to hold a strong stage presence, can be an advantage in entrepreneurship.

We discuss:

- The difference between competence and arrogance

- The effect of parenthood on his self-confidence

- How pain fuels his life

- The power of strong partnerships

- Going to therapy with your business partner

- Intuition and emotion

- And much more

Enjoy your listen

As we enter the next frontier in artificial intelligence, with generative AI leading the way, this conversation can be super relevant for entrepreneurs who are trying to navigate this new landscape and figure out what skills it makes the most sense to hone in order to stand out.

The conversation is with Tomer Dean. He’s the co-Founder, and CEO of Audiolabs - a startup that builds AI technology to convert podcasts into short-form video clips.

He’s a tech entrepreneur, listed on the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30, full-stack developer, guest writer at TechCrunch, host of 2 podcasts, the list goes on.

Growing up in Silicon Valley, he started his digital career at the age of 15. He taught himself how to code his first website, which he later sold at 16 for $10,000.

He hasn’t stopped coding and building since.

During the years, he’s built many side-projects and companies in SaaS, media, consumer, and e-commerce.

Some were bootstrapped, some VC-backed, and some sold.

We discuss:

• The momentum of generative AI as a perfect time to enter the market with a valuable product

• Tomer’s rather aggressive approach to validating products (“we prefer to sell and then build”)

• His experience-based, practical methodology for identifying and screening potentially successful ventures

• The five elements investors are looking for when you pitch them

• How to navigate pitches to investors in order to make sure you’re getting honest feedback (and improving your chances of moving forward with them)

• Pro tips for cold emailing

• …And much more!

Enjoy your listen and if you do - don’t forget to rank the podcast on your native podcast app!

We’re excited to collaborate with the Israeli website CTech by Calcalist, owned by Calcalist כלכליסט – Israel’s leading business newspaper. CTech is the gateway of Israeli high-tech to the tech world and vice versa.

If you’re not already a regular reader, we strongly recommend you check it out and stay up to date on all high-impact stories from the Israeli tech scene.

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin:

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor – please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

“Entrepreneurship is an instinct, it’s not about experience. It’s either you have it, or you don't. You can learn some of the traits, but I think it's something that is mostly instinctive”.

[we apologize for the quality of the sound in this episode, we’re aware it’s challenging to listen to Udi but we decided to release it despite the technical obstacle here because we think he’s worth it]

In this episode, we speak with Udi Ziv, CEO of Earnix - a startup that he’s stepped into to scale and successfully turned into a unicorn.

He’s a serial entrepreneur, selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of 100 Israeli tech leaders you need to know.

He has a lot of experience-based insights on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.

We discuss:

• Balance as a theme in life

• The product vs service dilemma

• Finding a product market fit through providing services and finding commonalities

• The problematic trend of overlooking profitability in the pursuit of growth

• The shift from startup to enterprise

• And much more

Enjoy your listen!

We’re excited to collaborate with the Israeli website CTech by Calcalist, owned by Calcalist כלכליסט - Israel's leading business newspaper. CTech is the gateway of the Israeli high-tech to the tech world and vice versa.

If you’re not already a regular reader, we strongly recommend you check it out and stay up to date on all high-impact stories from the Israeli tech scene.

Image credit: Eli Dasa

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website

In this episode, we speak with Eilon Reshef, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Gong.

He’s a serial entrepreneur. After successfully selling his previous e-commerce startup Webcollage, he went on to co-found Gong, a SaaS solution that as they like to describe themselves - “unlocks reality to help people and companies reach their full potential”.

Gong is growing at a rapid rate and is very well known across the sales and marketing industry, having acclaimed several awards and doing marketing work that simply can’t be ignored.

We discuss:

• Life after an exit

• Bringing a new venture to life

• Getting your first client and putting your idea into action

• Experience-based insights on pitfalls to avoid

• The power of hyper-focusing

• Hiring people who are underqualified instead of overqualified (don’t)

• Why be an entrepreneur in the first place?

• ..and much more!

There’s a lot to learn from Eilon’s professional and entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy your listen!

We’re excited to collaborate with the Israeli website CTech by Calcalist, owned by Calcalist כלכליסט - Israel's leading business newspaper. CTech is the gateway of the Israeli high-tech to the tech world and vice versa.

If you’re not already a regular reader, we strongly recommend you check it out and stay up to date on all high-impact stories from the Israeli tech scene.

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website

In this episode, we speak with Oded Barak.

Having identified a need in the insurance landscape, he left a promising career as an executive in leading global corporations, to co-found his startup Five Sigma. To date, they’ve raised $26 Million USD, and dozens of insurance carriers and Insurtechs use their solution.

We discuss:

• The motivations of stepping outside of your comfort zone and walking away from a stable career to “hunt your own food”.

• Identifying a supply and demand gap and doubling down on it.

• The importance of experimenting and testing ideas, embracing uncertainty, and navigating with it as a given.

• The power of agility, paying attention to feedback and not sticking to a “set in stone” plan.

• What you need to consider in your go-to-market strategy.

• How to work your way up to tier-1 clients for your startup.

• Navigating stress.

• Actively seeking blind spots.

• And much more!

Enjoy your listen!

We’re excited to collaborate with the Israeli website CTech by Calcalist, owned by Calcalist כלכליסט - Israel's leading business newspaper. CTech is the gateway of the Israeli high-tech to the tech world and vice versa.

If you’re not already a regular reader, we strongly recommend you check it out and stay up to date on all high-impact stories from the Israeli tech scene.

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website

In this episode, we speak with Alon Gilady. He is a serial entrepreneur who is currently leading Renovai - his third technology startup.

He co-founded his first startup while studying for his BA in economics and philosophy. That venture was in the sports and entertainment collectibles industry. He was able to close licensing deals with brands such as FC Barcelona, NBA, and Disney, selling over 1.5M units through retailers in Europe and the USA such as Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, Tesco, and more.

In 2017 he co-founded a 3D-rendering studio with ten employees. The company created virtual reality experiences for architects and interior designers. Based on the knowledge and experience gained in this venture, the idea of Renovai was born with an ambitious mission: to empower online retailers with AI to make professional design and stylist services affordable and accessible for all.

We discuss:

• His “impossible is nothing” mindset, and how he was able to “skip the line” and close deals with some of the world’s leading sports brands and retailers, with zero experience.

• His approach to achieving moonshot goals

• The power of persistence

• Where luck plays in

• Pro tips for cold outreach

• And much more!

Enjoy your listen!

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website

'If you're an entrepreneur, you need to show me evidence that you've gotten in with these customers, and these customers are just chomping at the bit to get what you have, and they can't get it elsewhere. Because these are the companies that break through. If they can get it from a lot of other sources, you're just never gonna grow really fast, you're gonna be a small - maybe if you execute really well - a medium sized company, but you're never going to take the market.'

In this episode, we speak with Steve Hoffman, also known as Captain Hoff.

He’s a venture investor, serial entrepreneur, award-winning author, and CEO of Founders Space - a global startup accelerator, that’s been ranked by both Forbes and Entrepreneur magazines as the #1 incubator for overseas startups.

Under his many hats, he’s constantly leveraging his vast experience to mentor and empower entrepreneurs, helping them navigate the good, bad, and ugly.

He’s down to earth and has his sleeves rolled up ready to share his knowledge.

We discuss:

• What qualities he looks for in entrepreneurs and companies he invests in

• The importance of surrounding yourself with the right people (this is a clear common theme, so many of our guests emphasize this)

• Where trust plays into teamwork

• His unusual career path, led by identifying opportunities and following his passions and interests

• The power of listening to your heart in decision making

• Identifying where your talents truly lie

• When it’s time to give up

• How startups fail by assuming they can create demand, something that Steve says is not possible to do. Steve says truly great entrepreneurs don't focus on “just” building a product, they’re what he calls demand hunters.

• Why “humans as a service” (consultancies for example) is never a truly scalable type of business

• How to recruit talents

• How he navigates stress and anxiety

• And much more!

Enjoy listening to him!

We’re excited to be collaborating with the Israeli website CTech, owned by Calcalist - Israel's leading business newspaper. CTech is the gateway of the Israeli high-tech to the tech world and vice versa.

If you’re not already a regular reader, we strongly recommend that you check it out and stay up to date on all high-impact stories from the Israeli tech scene.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/home/0,7340,L-5492-580237,00.html

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website

“When you're recording a movie, there are a lot of scenes that don't get into the final movie. The same as with your life, you kind of choose what moves the plot forward. What's the next thing that I need to be putting right now that will move this plot forward. We are the editors. We are the actors, we are the players. We are the directors. We are the everything. Right?”

We don’t get to speak to as many women as we’d like to on this podcast. We’re actively working to change that. We hope that from our little corner of the audio web, we’re helping some women listeners out there tap into their own superpowers and step into their full potential. We know those are big words, but for what it’s worth, we mean them.

In the meantime, when we do get the opportunity to speak to women founders through this platform, those interviews have always been powerful, leaving us with a lot of food for thought.

This episode is no different.

In it, we speak to Meirav Harel.

With over 20 years of experience in finance, technology, and creating award-winning fintech innovation, Meirav Harel is a world-known expert inTech, blockchain, digital disruption, the future of finance and investment, and trading Interfaces.

She was named "1 of the 100 most inspirational women in Blockchain", by Cryptonewspoint, 1 out of 36 “top women Revolutionizing Crypto around the world” by TechRoundUK, and listed twice on the "Women in Fintech Powerlist" by Innovate Finance UK.

She lectures, consults, provides management services and in-depth research, to leading international financial, regulatory, and academic institutions around the world, is an ambassador to EWPN (European Women in Payments Network), Former Head of Strategic Innovation Technologies at BDO, and the list goes on.

We discuss:

• Leaving a stable job, despite being valued and enjoying it, in order to do something of your own. “Am I capable of taking a challenge upon myself and building what I see in my vision of what I can bring to the world, at a larger scale?”

• The power of setting goals and stepping outside of your comfort zone

• What it takes to be an entrepreneur

• The difference between failing and being a failure

• The almost endless potential that lies in combining different disciplines with technology

• Why everyone should learn to code

• The evolution and future of money

• How to navigate mentally and emotionally when things get rough at a personal level

• How the people you surround yourself with impact your performance, and what traits Meirav looks for in the people around her

• And more!

Listen to her, there’s a lot to learn from this real-life superwoman. She's been through a lot and is not afraid to be vulnerable and authentic, sharing her knowledge and hoping to empower others on their journey.

We’re excited to be collaborating with the Israeli website CTECH, owned by Calcalist - Israel's leading business newspaper. CTECH is the gateway of the Israeli high-tech to the tech world and vice versa. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bjiz00mb6c

If you’re not already a regular reader, we strongly recommend that you check it out and stay up to date on all high-impact stories from the Israeli tech scene.

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website

“My big takeaway is that planning and hustling and that whole hustle culture and pivoting and you know, just cheat sheets and get my hacks and let's just work harder? That's, to me, that's all in the rearview mirror.”

In this episode we speak with Tim Ash.

Among many accomplishments, he’s a bestselling author and international keynote speaker on evolutionary psychology and digital marketing.

He's considered one of the founding fathers of the discipline of website conversion rate optimization (CRO).

He's worked with companies like Google, American Express, Nestle, and Verizon to name a few.

He’s been ranked a “top 10 online marketing expert” by Forbes magazine, and “top 15 online marketing Influencer to Watch by Entrepreneur magazine,

His book “Unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying How We Think And Why We Act” has been endorsed by renowned psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini.

But after all of his great achievements, his conclusion is the brutal honesty that the journey will end, and the journey is just that - a journey. It’s fascinating to hear a person so released from cultural norms and evaluations - on a quest to be a professional - human being.

This episode is very different, you’ll hear for yourself.

Resources

Get in touch with Tim: https://timash.com/

Booking Tim for a speaking Engagement: https://timash.com/for-event-planners/

Tim’s Book unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying how we think and why we act: https://www.amazon.com/Unleash-Your-Primal-Brain-Demystifying-ebook/dp/B08BY1WYHM

The mankind project: https://mankindproject.org/

The book king, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine, Robert Moore, Douglas Gillette: https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, Don Miguel Ruiz: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Agreements-Practical-Personal-Freedom/dp/1878424319

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life, David Brooks: https://www.amazon.com/Second-Mountain-David-Brooks/dp/0812993268

Candide, Voltaire: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19380.Candide

Don't Look Up Netflix film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Look_Up

The Spiritual Dimension of the Enneagram: Nine Faces of the Sou, Sandra Maitri: https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Dimension-Enneagram-Nine-Faces/dp/1585420816/

Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator test: https://tests.enneagraminstitute.com/orders/create

Zooming out, if you like listening to this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss new conversations with peak performers, serving as a reminder we can all tap into the best versions of ourselves.

You’re also welcome to follow Ronen and Noa on Linkedin

• Ronen Menipaz on Linkedin

• Noa Eshed on Linkedin

And if we may ask for a favor - please leave us a review on your native podcast app.

Some further resources:

• Real Life Superpowers podcast on Ctech

• The podcast website