Some people think that the key to success lies within their daily routines. Do you agree with this, and if so, what is your daily routine?
I think it’s true to a degree. My routine is pretty loose, but I find it helps to put some order in the chaos. Navy Seal Commander William H. McCraven once made a comment about starting by making your bed in the morning if you want to change the world. I do find that making sure there is order in the environment I am in makes it easier to focus, so I start by making my bed every day. I find that training in the morning makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something early in the day and gets me off to a great start. What I put into my body is super important to me, so intermittent fasting and starting with a green juice helps my brain cells. .
Looking back at your teenage years, did you have any entrepreneurial interests?
I didn’t realize they were entrepreneurial interests. I never really had the ambition to become an entrepreneur. I’m an accidental entrepreneur in some ways, but I did always have ideas for things to create or to do differently. I found I connected dots and saw the world differently than a lot of other people. That served me really well. Not thinking in a way that is confined to expectations and that was encouraged in my home. I had lots of ideas and entrepreneurial thoughts; I just never thought about structuring them as businesses as I do now. I approach that very differently with my teenaged nieces and nephew, and when they have an idea, I encourage them to act on it not because I care about them making money now, but because it changes the way that they think. It teaches them basic skills in budgeting, supply chain and other things that I think are important to learn.
Is there a specific time of day when you feel most productive?
I’m not typically a morning person, but I changed my routine over COVID, when I was up to train before 5 every morning. I am lucky I get to choose time zones because I travel. Anything that happens immediately after training is energetic and fun, and positive. That’s the best and most productive time for me to be creative as there is something that happens with the dopamine burst from the morning activity.
Do you think there is one character trait/skill that is important to have in order to become a successful entrepreneur in today’s world?
Yes, I think that perseverance is super important. Maybe it’s a cultural defect or trait, but I come from an Israeli family, and there’s this feeling that nothing is impossible. If something is hard, it doesn’t mean its impossible, just makes you more motivated to find a way. Resilience and perseverance are most important- and confidence- believing in yourself and knowing that you can get there. I actually grew up in the entertainment industry, and I find that a lot of those skills are similar.
Has being a woman in the business world affected you positively or negatively, and how so?
Probably both. It took me a long time to really even come to terms with the fact that I might be different than anyone else. I am a product of the start up technology ecosystem, and I never really felt like a woman within a man’s world with a few exceptions, but it did mean I unknowingly was playing a role. Over the past few years, I have found a much more authentic leadership style that allows me to leverage what’s good about being a woman instead of trying to adopt male traits or behavioral patterns. Recent studies are all showing that women are very strong managers because we lead with compassion, so I have given myself permission to bring together two sides of my personality which are very different. I have been a different person at work than at home for most of my career. It turns out my personality at home could be very beneficial in a work environment. Women like me, I think, are finding they can be one person like a man who goes to work and comes home without checking his CEO at the door.
What is one major goal that you wish to achieve by 2030?
I am currently involved in building the innovation ecosystem of an amazing university town in Portugal. The legacy of building something that matters in a country I care about in conjunction by leveraging my other cultural associations is a huge gift. I expect that by 2030 I will have put together an incredible, living community that is firmly grounded in the impact space: in medicine, healthy aging, and sustainability that is both profitable and meaningful- and drives job creation to boost the local economy through partnerships in my native Israeli ecosystem, Brazil and other parts of Europe and the Americas.
Who is your biggest influence and why?
I think the greatest influence on my path has been my dad. We are so alike that we sometimes clash but growing up, I had this amazing feeling- you asked about feeling like a woman- there was really nothing in my house I was discouraged from doing regardless of gender, which I think is unusual. My dad just made it really clear from day one that I could accomplish anything I wanted to and made me feel really confident in my own abilities to get somewhere. The fact that he believed in me made me believe in myself, so I have always pushed myself to be better and do better. It doesn’t help me to feel more content, but I am always trying to bump things up to the next level, and it has helped me recognize talent and potential in others that they don’t always see in themselves. Hopefully, it does some good for others and allows me to pay it forward.
If you could pick one female entrepreneur, who would you say is your biggest inspiration?
I’ve been inspired by a lot of women. Rather than to gravitate to obvious stories of famous people, I am lucky, as a YPO member, to be exposed and to real life entrepreneurial heroes who are everyday amazing success stories. There is one YPO member, Jennifer Labit, who has been EY entrepreneur of the year, and what inspires me and garners respect is her ability to have truly created something from nothing. A very strong-willed person of integrity who basically built an empire by resurrecting the cloth diapers industry, which is truly triple line: people, planet, and profit. It has done a lot of good for people who need it because she recycles them and gets people diapers that couldn’t otherwise afford them. I don’t think people realize how important diapers are and, when people are struggling financially, how hard it is to choose between diapers and food. This woman, with $100 in her pocket and a handful of food stamps in her early 20s, launched an empire that has regenerated this incredible industry that is so good for the environment because we know disposable diapers are an ecological disaster. It has not only brought back an industry and made the Earth better, but it has also improved people’s lives because rather than chuck the diapers into landfill, they can donate them back and redistribute. She is able to impact lifecycles in a way that really matters. There are many stories like that- that’s one that comes to mind because it is a person of really strong faith that has done a really great job of living their values quietly and mostly under the radar.
What has been the most formative advice you have received and why?
I have always believed in bootstrapping and putting off taking anyone else’s money for as long as possible. I think that’s served me really well. There is this saying in Hebrew: the one with the money gets an opinion. I think one of the reasons I’ve been able to implement my visions to fruition is that I don’t have too many cooks in the kitchen. On the one hand, I love teams and partnering with people, but I have mostly loose non-equity partnerships that leave a lot less to argue about Holding off on fundraising in a service industry has served me well.
What has been the most impressive/memorable question anyone has ever asked you?
That’s a really good question. I spend a good amount of time asking “why?” – whats my unique purpose and how is the world going to be any different from my having lived. I think that’s an ongoing issue that changes and evolves. People are often afraid to question themselves and change course when they need to. A good entrepreneur is ready to adjust to new circumstances. Very smart people I know have said that it is important to not fall in love with a problem and not a solution because there are many people who have gone down because they have been really stubborn about their particular product, which may not have been the right solution for any given problem, but if they had stuck it out and changed the direction, they’d have found a better solution to whatever problem they were trying to solve. We need to keep questioning ourselves all the time. Why are we here and doing what we are doing? It’s not just to make money or to be successful with a product, there is usually a deeper purpose that we are here to fill. Life is not only about material success which kind of gets boring. It’s nice to make money and help others do the same as for some it validates self-worth, but that’s always really short-lived, so why? What drives you? Why do you do what you do?
If you have siblings, are they also entrepreneurs?
I have two brothers. One is close to me in age, and one is a lot younger. The one I grew up with who is closest to me in age is running his own business. He is another accidental entrepreneur who was an investment banker and just wanted more time with his family and more flexibility. Now he manages residential properties on his own time. Great ingenuity and creativity. The other one spent many years in an IDF cyber-intelligence unit and then the startup world. He hasn’t launched his own business yet, but he has helped a lot of other people to do that. I expect he’ll follow suit soon.
Do you think the drive to become an entrepreneur is born with or is learned?
I think it’s a little bit of each. Nature versus nurture is a big argument that keeps coming back. Like I said before, some of the influences are cultural. I was born into a society that’s extremely nimble and resourceful and resilient because it has to be, where miracles happen, and nothing is impossible. I think that we are born with potential that needs to be developed- otherwise, they are seeds that just don’t sprout. If I had to choose, it would be some nature but more nurture: the drive that you inherit from your environment and the encouragement you get from the people around you. There’s a corny song about people needing people being the luckiest people in the world, but I find that we’re really codependent, and no one is as smart as we all are together. It’s both humbling and gratifying when we can receive feedback and encouragement and make each other better. It’s exciting seeing people achieve amazing things and inspire the drive in others to do better.
CONTACT INFORMATION & SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT Manhattan/ TLV/ Portugal CEO- Director/ Speaker/ YPO Entrepreneurship & Innovation Changemaker/ Investor New York City, Lisbon, Tel Aviv website:https://legacy.ypo.org/2017/04/philanthropy-powered-business/ and http://www.integracommunications.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/niritharel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirit-harel-28a6535/ email: [email protected]