The K Factor

Mendy Lipsker

Mendy is a Real Estate Broker since 2004, located in Brooklyn, doing business mostly in the 3 boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens. Often called a sellers broker; they often come directly to me. Mendy’s focus is on commercial, but residential is welcome.Since early 2011, he has hosted a networking group every Wednesday morning, called BJRX. Mendy is an active member and host of other groups, including the Young Jewish Professionals and C-Suite Executives. A Graduate of Rabbinical College of Canada and Rabbinical College of America, he also  is the the owner of other businesses, including esrogimcenter.com and City Cards International Services (city-card.net)

In this interview Mendy shares:

• Harassing the entrepreneurial bug
• The Merchant Service Industry
• Not to l listen to the naysayer’s
• Life as a Real Estate Broker
• The right frame of mind for the industry
• How to create a win win deal
• The comeback Entrepreneur

Chayim, also known as “CK,” has bought and sold over 100 properties consisting of 4,500 units throughout New York City over the past 14 years. He has a natural talent for identifying distressed situations and securing off-market deals. Chayim plays a critical role in the creative structuring partnership arrangements and has a special ability of perfectly balancing the needs and priorities of all parties. Chayim manages relationships with all real estate brokers and prospective sellers of real property. 

In this interview Chayim shares:

• Utilizing the Yiddeshe Kop
• Entering the Real Estate industry
• Dealing with a downturn
• The right ingredients to make a deal
• What goes around comes around
• Success comes from the home
• How to learn more about the tech start up scene

Yosef Levine

Innovation Managing Director at Deloitte & Touche LLP

Yosef R. Levine is a Managing Director is a leader Deloitte's Audit Innovation technology incubator. He serves as the Global Audit & Assurance Risk and Controls, Confidentiality, and Privacy leader. In this capacity he is responsible for all matters of quality, risk, regulatory and legal in relation to global products and solutions. He is also the Managing Director of Deloitte’s Israeli Business Service Desk. As a seasoned auditor, he serves emerging growth companies and complex SEC clientele in the retail, service and technology space.

In this interview Yosef shares:

• Breaking into Corporate America
• Utilizing Chabad chutzpa
• Being flexible and ready to pivot
• Advice for young accountants
• The new tech startup reality
• Israel as the startup nation
• How to learn more about the tech start up scene

Baruch is an accomplished and aggressive civil trial attorney representing business matters before the Los Angeles Superior Courts, the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts and before Bais Dins across the country. Mr. Cohen was recently admitted to appear before the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and is a member of the prestigious Million Dollar Trial Attorneys Group - group for trial lawyers who have recovered at least $1,000,000 on behalf of his clients.

In this interview Baruch shares:

• The importance of keeping your standards
• Document everything. Confirm everything in writing.
• Listen to your internal compass (polygraph); if it sounds to good to be true; it is.
• Pause before pushing "send" on an email.
• Consult with counsel BEFORE taking action, not after.
• Insert Bais Din arbitration clauses in your contracts.
• Standing up for our Holy Land

Daniel Cotlar was a "near founder" and Chief Marketing Officer at Blinds.com. He led the company from startup days to more than $200mm in annual sales before selling the company to the Home Depot in 2014, staying on through summer 2017 to position it for success within the Home Depot. With a career spanning from startups to Fortune 100, and an MBA from Rice University, Daniel has presented marketing and strategy topics at Rice and University of Houston as well as industry conferences. Today he supports future business leaders as an investor, advisor and board member of technology start-ups.

In this interview Daniel shares:

• The power of an internship
• Learning to pivot
• Understanding web analytics
• Making a difficult decision
• From retail to eTail
• Online vs Traditional Marketing
• Transitioning to corporate America
• The startup world is ripe for frum people
• Huston Texas is a great community

The podcast is produced by CHYE - Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs in partnership with community news website COLlive.com.

To recommend someone for an interview and to reach Rabbi Werde please email [email protected]

Rabbi Mendel Duchman served as the Rebbe's shliach to Irvine, California from 1979 to 1991, during which he built a thriving Chabad Jewish community crowned by a 500-seat synagogue and community center which continues to attract and grow till today. In 1997, Mendel channeled his formidable organizational and financial talents into an ongoing successful entrepreneurial career in the cosmetics industry. As the CEO of a leading brand of natural, organic skin care products Nonie Of Beverly Hills Mendel Interacts with major players in the retail and eTail industries. Today, he continues to operate his successful firm while dedicating two full days each week to coaching shluchim

In this interview Mendel shares:

• Believing in your product
• Importance of focus
• Understanding your market
• The changing face of retail
• Using business for Kiddush Hashem
• Sell your benefits not features
• Have a cause to dedicate to

During a decade of brand copywriting, Avi Webb has been fortunate to name products and companies, create numerous ad campaigns and develop online content that seamlessly sync with their intended audiences.

In this interview Avi shares

• Crafting a marketing message that produces an emotional reaction
• Knowing your client’s needs
• Creating an enduring brand
• Think about your long-term goal
• Finding your niche
• Effective email marketing
• Meet with People you admire 

Starting out flipping burgers in a fast food joint Akiva jumped into the ecommerce world in the early years. After much trial and error Akiva formulated his strategy focusing on discovering consumers pain point with products and then creating his own product solution.   

In this interview Akiva shares

• Starting point of selling online
• Getting into white label products
• The future with Amazon
• Building a long-term business
• Coming up with a new product
• Gamming the system

Feeling frustrated by the difficulty of phone ordering food from local Kosher restaurants Shmuly set out to create a seamless ordering experience by building a App from the ground up. With nothing more than grit and creativity Jmenu has been making its way into the lives of kosher consumers throughout the Tri State area and soon beyond.  

In this interview candid Shmuly shares

• Turning your frustration in to a business
• Building an App
• Finding new startup funding
• Brand awareness marketing vs Customer education marketing
• The struggles of a new entrepreneur
• The importance of prioritization

As a young child Yossi had a fascination with printing. First starting out working in other companies Yossi’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to open his own. Utilizing his innate ingenuity and determination Yossi built up a customer base by out preforming his competition. With time The Print House has become one of NY most recognized printing companies with the in-house resources that rival some of the country’s largest printing operations.  

In this interview Yossi shares

Utilizing ingenuity

Have a competitive advantage

Honesty in business

Best marketing

The future of print