I’d like to begin with the benches of Tel Aviv. Thank you! My startup journey ironically began on a Rothschild bench. Two entrepreneurs had just left a startup event. I sat next to them and struck up a conversation. I was functioning on my ‘gut instinct,’ the same instinct this country is so (in)famous for. Within that single conversation, they became great friends. They are the benchmarks (pun intended) for the initial hoist I needed to start a company. At the time, they were at the beginning of their start up journey, as a team of founders only. Today, their company WSC, has a team of 100+ and they are revolutionising the sports industry with automatic highlights. Their resilience and motivation inspired me. I had moved back to Israel to become a journalist, but my biggest concern and passion had been and is until today, the imagination and what is happening to it.
When I started Dreame, I met an investor in London who questioned my being in Israel to work on my company. His image of Israel was a place of violence, backwardness and conflict. I told him of the secret sauce flavouring this wonderful place. In its minuscule lifetime, it had mastered the perfect balance between spontaneity and rationality within its personalities. People here are very grounded and analytical yet you can approach complete strangers on a bench who then become your mentors. Bumping into people every day on the streets of Tel Aviv is a key element in my growth as an entrepreneur. Often I have run into the exact person I need to see in that moment. I tracked my ‘spontaneous’ encounters for a year to analyse the trends. Here is the Haaretz article.
The small and strong community within our small country helped me build two incredible teams for two unforgettable non-profit projects; Once I was a house and Streets Project . During OIWAH, we transformed a villa pre-demolition into over 100 art pieces with over 80 artists and raised 200,000 NIS for charity. I created floor plans, rules, schedules for months but it actually all came to place in one month when I stopped nit-picking the micro-details and just did. 4,000 people later and 75% of the art sold I saw how with the right people I was able to turn this demolition into an unforgettable project.
Adrenalin during the Streets Hackathon took on a slightly different form. We were 50 people, building a website in 48 hours. The team was floating between in-depth, historical conversations and hardcore designing and developing. Adrenalin in Israel, takes on a form that I believe to be unmatched in other parts of the world. Maybe it is conflict, small distances to travel or constantly growing alongside our country. Match adrenaline with a hands-on attitude and you have the spirit of Israeli entrepreneurship.
Many people have guided me in this journey so far. It’s not just their belief in the idea or their loyalty to our friendship, but because this is how startup nation expands, in its strength as well as its numbers. It is genuine and there are so many individuals that are irreplaceable and integral parts of this journey. It is important to humbly take support when given and when relevant. The passion that the entrepreneur holds with themselves is key. Since belief is infectious. I measured my belief in Dreame every day. When I noticed that I was on less than 5 for a few days in a row, I changed what I was working on or who I was working with. Measuring your belief is a very valuable activity. Here you can see the belief-o-meter experiment.
Over the last year, these friends and their belief has taken Dreame to the next level with two big projects. The Big Dream so far were two installations in Tel Aviv & Jerusalem comprised of hundreds of dreams into one piece of art that was then puzzled by thousands of yoga mats. In Tel Aviv it envisioned the future of Israel and in Jerusalem , the future of the city.
The artworks touched on the environment, culture, co-existence, language and many beautiful dreams such as tea pots that generate rain clouds, a train that travels to India throughout the Middle East and water everywhere. The best parts of the installations were the 50 volunteers involved in puzzling the installation each time (something that would only happen in Israel at 6am), the actual rain that fell out of the sky at 10:30am when the mats of the rain clouds were laid out (on the longest & hot day of the year- June 21st) and the energy in the events. Thousands of individuals meditated and partook in a collective yoga class on top of the bright future visualised by the artwork & inspired by the dreams.
Crowdsourcing the skills and kindness of friends reached an entirely new level when I opened a physical space for Dreame. Inspired by the French Salons in the 1920s, I approached some good friends to transform what was Cafe Tamar on Shenkin street to a pop up cultural salon with Dreame art, food and music. In less than a month we painted, built and created a magical and bohemian salon in the heart of the city. I club-crowded funding from friends, who each became founding members of Rega Salon ; a moment to dream. Each friend and believer invested between 1000-5000 shekels. They then used this amount as credits whenever attending the salon without needing to pull out their wallet. We raised all the initial funding we needed with this model. All the founding members, to this day, feel at home whenever they come and use their tab.
All these initiatives are thanks to this crazy city and even crazier country. I did move here with a purpose of becoming active in the political regime of Israel. I also had a dream to write a book about the street names of Tel Aviv. I am still working on these two goals. I believe that through Dreame, art and storytelling, it will happen when the time is right. In the mean time, I am focused on growing Dreame and thanks to the amazing network I have here, as well as incredible homes such as Rega and Google Campus, I embrace the stepping stones I am jumping across.
It’s not been an easy journey. I have experienced many cliches of an entrepreneur’s journey; my good friend stole the concept after 6 months of working together, a male investor asked me “a male question” about revenue projections and I have experienced the lows as much as the highs. Yet, giving a talk at Fuck Up Nights, helped me realise that these mistakes are a part of the strengthening journey and that if you continue to believe in your mission, your strength will manifest your dreams. My mission is to empower the creator in each of us with Dreame ; to enable us all to co-create with our imaginations and to believe in our dreams.
Just to end this piece on a point of momentum — my never-ending companion. Startup nation wouldn’t exist without it. Within this ever tiny and tight knit community, there is power. You can be instantly connected to the right people, receive honest, game-changing advice and create plans that will shift your entire company. So thank you to all of my friends and mentors for making my successes all the more sweet and my failures all the more manageable and thank you Israel for welcoming me with open arms. I look forward to many more wonderful moments with you.
More about Dreame: A company that connects between the imagination and talent. Their mission is to reignite the dreamer in each of us and to inspire us to become a creator with the greatest sources of our creativity. Today Dreame’s platform is comprised of over 500 curated artists worldwide. The experience enables you to turn an idea, story, thought, emotion, dream, vision, bucket list, song, quote or memory into a customised artwork. The artworks are shipped directly to your home in multiple print formats; framed prints, phone cases, yoga mats and more.
When I started Dreame, I met an investor in London who questioned my being in Israel to work on my company. His image of Israel was a place of violence, backwardness and conflict. I told him of the secret sauce flavouring this wonderful place. In its minuscule lifetime, it had mastered the perfect balance between spontaneity and rationality within its personalities. People here are very grounded and analytical yet you can approach complete strangers on a bench who then become your mentors. Bumping into people every day on the streets of Tel Aviv is a key element in my growth as an entrepreneur. Often I have run into the exact person I need to see in that moment. I tracked my ‘spontaneous’ encounters for a year to analyse the trends. Here is the Haaretz article.
The small and strong community within our small country helped me build two incredible teams for two unforgettable non-profit projects; Once I was a house and Streets Project . During OIWAH, we transformed a villa pre-demolition into over 100 art pieces with over 80 artists and raised 200,000 NIS for charity. I created floor plans, rules, schedules for months but it actually all came to place in one month when I stopped nit-picking the micro-details and just did. 4,000 people later and 75% of the art sold I saw how with the right people I was able to turn this demolition into an unforgettable project.
Adrenalin during the Streets Hackathon took on a slightly different form. We were 50 people, building a website in 48 hours. The team was floating between in-depth, historical conversations and hardcore designing and developing. Adrenalin in Israel, takes on a form that I believe to be unmatched in other parts of the world. Maybe it is conflict, small distances to travel or constantly growing alongside our country. Match adrenaline with a hands-on attitude and you have the spirit of Israeli entrepreneurship.
Many people have guided me in this journey so far. It’s not just their belief in the idea or their loyalty to our friendship, but because this is how startup nation expands, in its strength as well as its numbers. It is genuine and there are so many individuals that are irreplaceable and integral parts of this journey. It is important to humbly take support when given and when relevant. The passion that the entrepreneur holds with themselves is key. Since belief is infectious. I measured my belief in Dreame every day. When I noticed that I was on less than 5 for a few days in a row, I changed what I was working on or who I was working with. Measuring your belief is a very valuable activity. Here you can see the belief-o-meter experiment.
Over the last year, these friends and their belief has taken Dreame to the next level with two big projects. The Big Dream so far were two installations in Tel Aviv & Jerusalem comprised of hundreds of dreams into one piece of art that was then puzzled by thousands of yoga mats. In Tel Aviv it envisioned the future of Israel and in Jerusalem , the future of the city.
The artworks touched on the environment, culture, co-existence, language and many beautiful dreams such as tea pots that generate rain clouds, a train that travels to India throughout the Middle East and water everywhere. The best parts of the installations were the 50 volunteers involved in puzzling the installation each time (something that would only happen in Israel at 6am), the actual rain that fell out of the sky at 10:30am when the mats of the rain clouds were laid out (on the longest & hot day of the year- June 21st) and the energy in the events. Thousands of individuals meditated and partook in a collective yoga class on top of the bright future visualised by the artwork & inspired by the dreams.
Crowdsourcing the skills and kindness of friends reached an entirely new level when I opened a physical space for Dreame. Inspired by the French Salons in the 1920s, I approached some good friends to transform what was Cafe Tamar on Shenkin street to a pop up cultural salon with Dreame art, food and music. In less than a month we painted, built and created a magical and bohemian salon in the heart of the city. I club-crowded funding from friends, who each became founding members of Rega Salon ; a moment to dream. Each friend and believer invested between 1000-5000 shekels. They then used this amount as credits whenever attending the salon without needing to pull out their wallet. We raised all the initial funding we needed with this model. All the founding members, to this day, feel at home whenever they come and use their tab.
All these initiatives are thanks to this crazy city and even crazier country. I did move here with a purpose of becoming active in the political regime of Israel. I also had a dream to write a book about the street names of Tel Aviv. I am still working on these two goals. I believe that through Dreame, art and storytelling, it will happen when the time is right. In the mean time, I am focused on growing Dreame and thanks to the amazing network I have here, as well as incredible homes such as Rega and Google Campus, I embrace the stepping stones I am jumping across.
It’s not been an easy journey. I have experienced many cliches of an entrepreneur’s journey; my good friend stole the concept after 6 months of working together, a male investor asked me “a male question” about revenue projections and I have experienced the lows as much as the highs. Yet, giving a talk at Fuck Up Nights, helped me realise that these mistakes are a part of the strengthening journey and that if you continue to believe in your mission, your strength will manifest your dreams. My mission is to empower the creator in each of us with Dreame ; to enable us all to co-create with our imaginations and to believe in our dreams.
Just to end this piece on a point of momentum — my never-ending companion. Startup nation wouldn’t exist without it. Within this ever tiny and tight knit community, there is power. You can be instantly connected to the right people, receive honest, game-changing advice and create plans that will shift your entire company. So thank you to all of my friends and mentors for making my successes all the more sweet and my failures all the more manageable and thank you Israel for welcoming me with open arms. I look forward to many more wonderful moments with you.
More about Dreame: A company that connects between the imagination and talent. Their mission is to reignite the dreamer in each of us and to inspire us to become a creator with the greatest sources of our creativity. Today Dreame’s platform is comprised of over 500 curated artists worldwide. The experience enables you to turn an idea, story, thought, emotion, dream, vision, bucket list, song, quote or memory into a customised artwork. The artworks are shipped directly to your home in multiple print formats; framed prints, phone cases, yoga mats and more.