Pursuing a career as an entrepreneur is undoubtedly for the unconventional. It takes being a particularly bold woman to choose this path, and even more so to leave everything behind and make aliyah. Among Israel's extraordinary society, made up of a one-of-a-kind, international melting pot, are these ambitious businesswomen, bravely striving to integrate into a new environment at a time when community is a most valuable resource. Local communities "Kehila" and "HER Tel Aviv," focused on helping women adapt during this transition, joined forces to present an unprecedented networking event in Tel Aviv on August 27.
Kehila, founded by Grace Lancer and Hanna Shtein, fosters an environment where female business owners can network, share ideas, and promote their services. The community welcomes a diverse range of professionals through bi-weekly meetings. While these gatherings have typically been small-scale, the recent event, co-hosted with HER, marked a significant expansion. HER, founded by Israeli-American Sivan Hadari Avneri, aims to create a safe space for women who have made aliyah, focusing on small business owners, women in tech, health, fertility, careers, and even facilitating new friendships. The platform also features a job board and marketplace.
"When I made aliyah, even being half Israeli and half American, I myself found it challenging to adapt to Israeli culture," Hadari Avneri told the crowd of 100 women at the event. "I left my whole family in New York and I was here by myself. And there's all these challenges that all of you face, which is not knowing the language or trying to get together with a culture that's a little bit more chutzpah than you're used to at home, or finding an apartment, finding a job, finding girlfriends. You just start from zero because you're a Zionist, which is not a dirty word. You're a Zionist and you want to be here."
"Hanna and I started Kehila at the beginning of this year," Grace added. "The reason was that we both come from cities like London and LA, where networking is a really big thing. We wanted to create a space to bring English-speaking female entrepreneurs together in Tel Aviv because we felt like there was a gap in the market for this."
As the sold-out event began, attendees were each assigned to one of ten groups, indicated by a number on their name tag. Each group was given a designated area and a question sheet to facilitate networking. This structured approach proved helpful, as even outgoing individuals like myself initially found it intimidating to mix and mingle with such a large and diverse group.
In the blink of an eye, the room was gushing with passionate conversations, discussions, and laughter. "I hate the word networking because a lot of the time it's fake," Hanna said. "We wanted it to be a genuine space where people could form relationships first, and business connections could naturally follow. We think that the best business connections come from real relationships."
This approach proved successful, as evidenced by the diverse attendance, including a notable presence of local Israelis alongside women from all over the world. While chatting with two friends at the event – a jewelry maker and a tour guide – I gained insight into the high demand for such gatherings. "I don't see these kinds of events in Israel often, so I knew I had to come," one of them remarked.
The event's complete success became evident as even I, to my surprise, unintentionally made new friendships and connections, got tips, and brainstormed ideas on various subjects. "Isn't this just amazing?" an enthusiastic, frequent participant asked me on her way out. As the event drew to a close, women of all ages were still actively connecting, wholeheartedly expressing their gratitude to Sivan, Grace, and Hanna. What began as a room of timid individuals transformed into a community connecting Israeli female entrepreneurs on both personal and professional levels, marking the beginning of a new era for women in Tel Aviv's entrepreneurial scene.
