"We do not get discounts because we are women": the startups that are conquering the high-tech field

They dreamed of influencing and changing, they had a unique idea, they took a risk and set up an innovative venture themselves - in honor of International Women's Day, we talked to women who are proving that they too can conquer the world and succeed big time - just like men

Noa Moskowitz

07/03/2022

Monday, 07 March 2022, 12:16 Updated: 13:11

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High-tech workers' office (Photo: ShutterStock)

Dana Miulgai (30 years old, married), co-founder of the start-up company Fibo

Dana has been in the high-tech field for 15 years.

Holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Reichman University and comes from a background in product management and user experience.

She started her career in high-tech as a software tester at a small start-up company called SweetIM, which was later bought by the giant company Perion, from where she progressed to the Wix website building platform where she worked for 4 and a half years as a product manager.

In 2018, she founded the start-up company Fibo, and today she is the VP of Co-Founder & CPO.

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Dana Miolegai (Photo: Dror Einav)

Tell us about your start-up company

"I founded Fibo together with two partners - Itamar Appleblatt and Roi Kimhi. The company was established as part of the Zell Entrepreneurship Program at Reichman University that promotes startups. We worked with mentor Uri Levin, one of the founders of Wise, who invests in many companies, and presented ideas "Every time we came up with an idea, he told us we had come up with a solution to a problem that didn't really exist, and suggested we think about real problems. So my partners and I tried to think of an idea that would make sense and have value."

Roi raised the problem he is facing - receiving tax refunds, and Itamar agreed that this is exhausting bureaucracy. I, who worked all my life as an employee, did not know what tax refunds are. We also found that 91% of employees do not apply for a tax refund because they are not aware that they deserve a tax refund and also because of the bureaucracy involved in submitting the forms. We realized that this is a big problem and hence our desire to solve it "Tax refund automatically for the user. This way we save all the bureaucracy and get the employees the tax refund they deserve. We were able to give people tens of millions of shekels back. It's fun to create a product that does good and solves a real problem."

As a woman, what is it like to be a partner of two men?

"Today it does not matter so much. We already have 35 employees in the company and more than 50% of them are women in management positions. We put equal opportunities as a top value, both in company representation and in salary. Me and my partners are very good friends and always back each other. "I am very sensitive to the issue of equality, and I have never felt discriminatory treatment from investors because I am a woman."

There are claims that in the high-tech field it is difficult to combine career and personal life.

Do you have time for your relationship?

"My partner also works in high-tech and has a demanding job. Career is something that is very important to both of us and we have decided that we want to invest in a career in the coming years. Everything comes at the expense of something else, and it's okay to have a career career. "That my partner is very supportive and understanding. Once when I had a big workload I came home at 4am. Instead of complaining that I came back so late, my partner ordered me pizza. It is very important that there is mutual support between the couple."

What is your vision?

"The vision is to make the tax refund accessible to all employees in Israel, and to expand the financial services we provide today. We plan to save bureaucracy in other areas."

"I think we should strive for equal opportunities, equal pay for women and men and female representation of at least half of the management. We should talk about this not just one day a year, but take care of it all the time. We women should focus on doing good work and promoting each other, and if any. One will invest in action, we will succeed in influencing and achieving equality. "

Neta Schreiber Gamliel (31 years old, married, mother of a 3 and a half year old child and a 2 month old baby), co-founder of the startup company SafeUP

Neta does not come from a technological background, and began her career in the public sector.

"All my life I have been around social action and I believed that through the public sector I could make an impact," she says.

She has a bachelor's degree in economics and psychology and is a graduate of the cadet program for local government, which aims to integrate quality manpower in local authorities.

After graduating, she worked as the deputy director of the education department in the city of Harish, and when she realized that she wanted to produce more influence, she rolled into the field of entrepreneurship.

Her first start in the startup world was in the BOOKIT app that connected customers and providers in the areas of lifestyle.

She participated in the "Sharks" program and won an investment, and in 2020 she founded her startup - SafeUP together with her partner Tal Zohar.

In 2021, Neta was even named one of Forbes Magazine's 30 Most Successful Young People Under 30.

Neta Schreiber Gamliel (Photo: Yuval Weizmann)

Tell me about your startup company

"My dream was to deal with the issue of personal security among women and harassment and sexual assault. When I was a girl I went out with friends to a party held at home. During the party, one of my friends disappeared. Me and another friend started looking for her "

"I realized I had the ability to protect my girlfriends and the responsibility to do so. So I thought of a solution that would allow any woman to feel that there are women behind her. That's how SafeUP was born - an app that is a community network of women who give each other a sense of security in real time. Designed for women and girls over the age of 13. "

"We verify anyone who signs up for the app to make sure the community network is safe. When a user walks down a dark street and feels threatened by their security, they can open the app showing around its location three other users defined as guards. She can call them via video or audio call to accompany "The same way, or calling them to come to her aid. The very fact that you know there are women around you who can help you, makes you feel safer. Today the company has 25 employees and is funded by venture capital funds."

Do you feel that because you are a woman you have to face certain challenges in setting up a startup?

"Being a woman does not prevent me from achieving. At the same time, my partner is a man and I think that is an advantage. The app is designed to solve a female problem, and it could have labeled me a radical angry feminist. Thanks to having a partner who is a man it lowers objections. "He is the best person for the job. At the same time, if I had found the right partner, I would have set up the start-up with a partner."

"It's not easy, but we're also told that it's not easy. When you remove these barriers in your head, then it becomes simpler. I have a two-month-old girl at home and I did not go on maternity leave. I can not go with her to baby classes, and know in time This business works without me. It would not do me any good. Two weeks after the birth I took a close caregiver and I always have another hand so I can work. With my eldest son I went on maternity leave, and my daughter does not get the same attention my son received, but I want to "To be an inspiring mother. Everyone should have the ability to choose whether she wants to go on maternity leave or continue working."

Do you have a vision?

"The plan is to establish a global community of women from all over the world who help each other and give them a sense of security."

"We put many psychological barriers in our heads, for fear of failing and striving for perfection. If for example someone is looking for a job and she comes across a job she wants but she does not meet all the requirements, then she will not submit a resume. However, if a man meets 20% of the requirements "He will submit his resume and also declare himself to be the best. It is important to me to encourage women to remove these barriers."

Ravit Dadon (50 years old, single, single mother of a 10 and a half year old boy) and Tami Margalit (47 years old, single, single mother of a 10 year old girl), co-founded the start-up company As Simple as that (ASAT)

Before entering the world of startups, Ravit and Tami came from the field of television.

They have worked as senior producers of complex television projects for over 20 years.

A year ago the two decided to leave the world of production and founded the start-up company As Simple as that (ASAT) to make video content and streaming accessible using the language simplification method for people with language comprehension difficulties.

Ravit (right) and Tami (Photo: Photo: Sharon Herman, Mixsermedia)

"The idea to start a start-up grew out of a change that took place in my personal life, and following a television event. Three years ago, one day my relative became a demented man and I became his guardian. "Three Eurovision broadcasts were made accessible to people with disabilities - deaf and blind, and for the first time, a broadcast was made available to people with cognitive disabilities," says Ravit.

"The broadcast that was accessible to people with cognitive disabilities was the most watched of the accessible broadcasts. This is because people with cognitive disabilities make up 10 percent of the population. "The world of production and start-up for language accessibility of video content using the linguistic simplification method. We teamed up with experts in language processing and artificial intelligence and created a unique algorithm for simplification.

"Linguistic simplification is basically making the sentence simpler," says Tammy.

"For example, 'the letter will be provided to you by the doctor' will become, with the help of linguistic simplification, a sentence: 'the doctor will send you a letter.' We have written it technologically, and it makes it possible to make the video content accessible to anyone who has difficulties in understanding the language, such as people with brain injuries, mental health problems, new immigrants, people with intellectual disabilities and the elderly. "In simple and easy-to-understand language. We are currently working with Netflix and Partner so that everyone can choose the option of accessing the content and watch content at home with simple texts to understand."

An example of making a video accessible in As Simple as that:

Apple Event in ASAT Version (ASAT)

Do you feel that as women you have faced more challenges in setting up your startup compared to the challenges that men face?

Ravit: "We did a profession conversion from the world of television to a start-up from a place of maturity and maturity. In our encounter with men I did not feel discriminatory towards us because we are women."

Tammy: "We do not get discounts because we are women. For those who choose to invest in us, it does not matter if we are women. It's all a question of how we present our startup and how confident we are. We went through a process and learned a lot this year. us".

"Even when we worked in television we were single mothers. Thanks to our background as producers we have the tools that allow us to maneuver between career and motherhood. Our vision is that every person in the world can consume content in a way that suits him. It is important to me that my son .

"We want to take care of a better future for ourselves and other people who can benefit from our venture," Tammy added with a smile.

Do you have a message?

"I believe that women should already understand that they can and that no background noise should confuse them. For women, the road is more difficult, but we have more power than we have been taught," says Ravit.

Tammy adds: "No one should make assumptions about themselves because she is a woman or expect them to do it. Once you see yourself as equal, that's how they will see you."

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• Hi-Tech

• Women's Day

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