Startup Nation UnitedStanding Behind Our People: Concrete and immediate aid
Startup Nation United
Standing Behind Our People: Concrete and immediate aid
“We are a product of the Startup Nation,” says Alexandra Segev of the non-profit
Alexandra Segev is a French-Israeli, a doting mother of three, and a tech entrepreneur, but today, she chooses to define herself as a Zionist and a proud Jew. This definition underscores her and her team's efforts over the last three weeks to provide urgent relief in a time of crisis.
Her story is part of Startup Nation United, a series showcasing how individuals and organizations in the tech industry have united under a common vision to do their part during the ongoing war. The podcast is produced and moderated by Michael Matias and Yaffa Abadi, in collaboration with CTech, as a spin-off of the popular podcast series “20 Minutes Leaders”, also published in collaboration with CTech
Alexandra is not a stranger to jumping into action. During Tzuk Eitan, her anguish over not serving her country as a soldier, translated to a crowdfunding initiative, catching the spirit of her Zionist soul.
But on the 7th of October, while vacationing in Greece, things were different. “What hurt was not only my Zionist soul, it was my soul as a Jew, my soul as a mother, my soul as a wife, my soul as a woman…And we decided to act.”
She took her learnings of those campaigns she executed for Tsuk Eitan, and with a clear set of dos and don’ts, launched Standing Behind Our People. Her dos: act fast, catch virality, show donors the impact of their funds immediately. Her don’ts: never rely on any external crowdfunding websites to avoid timeous admin, and never work alone.
As an entrepreneur engrained in the heart of the Startup Nation, Alexandra immediately brought on a team of highly experienced, capable, and determined friends. Within hours of the brutal massacre, their team had launched a fully functioning website complete with an internal payment system, spreading the word through WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and more. They worked tirelessly, Raising 100,000 euros on the first day and exceeding 650,000 euros within ten days, from over 1,200 donors.
Standing Behind our People does not function like a traditional non-profit. Focused on concrete and immediate aid, they deploy 80-90% of their donations immediately. To do this efficiently, their operation is supported by technology, building out processes to receive and filter requests efficiently, verifying and vetting each request, and a channel of partnerships to ensure there are no duplicated requests. They also have a team of ex-soldiers who can contact every recipient, assess the situation, and ensure its urgency.
Their remarkably efficient methods are only possible due to their highly structured team of entrepreneurs, accustomed to working in chaos, adapting to a rapidly changing environment, and most importantly achieving more with less.
Expanding on her team sheds light on the magic of their core leadership: Alexandra's husband, a former VP of partnerships at a startup, oversees partnerships with existing initiatives; her best friend, also a former founder, leads operations and processes; her best friend’s brother, the CEO of a startup, is responsible for R&D. They have heads of logistics, branding, growth, HR, and legal. Each person utilizes their expertise, taking ownership of their respective departments and recruits… you could almost look at it as the most successfully functioning startup in the shortest time.
As Alexandra emphasizes, “We are a product of the Startup Nation.”
The sense of urgency with which Alexandra and her team of leaders and volunteers have been working has had a significant and immediate impact on our nation during this crisis. Like so many stories in our series, they serve as a testament to the tremendous strength and resilience of our Startup Nation—a nation that will recover.
About:
Yaffa Abadi is the founder and CEO of Abadi Brands, a boutique consultancy specializing in personal branding and thought leadership for investors.
Michael Matias, Forbes 30 Under 30, is the CEO of Clarity, a startup that preserves trust in digital media by fighting deepfakes, and an active angel investor in the AI and Cyber domain.
