Startup Nation United'M': An ambassador of Shayetet 13 with a unique special mission
Startup Nation United
'M': An ambassador of Shayetet 13 with a unique special mission
An ambassador of his unit and the people of Israel, a person known as 'M', like so many of us in this critical time, is rising to the occasion to defend his unit and safeguard his nation.
A man who goes by 'M' spent five years in Sheyetet 13, the Navy Seals of the IDF, a unit renowned for its rigorous, extensive training and highly dangerous missions that are integral to the safety of Israel.
But when we spoke to M, he was engaged in another critical mission: ensuring those complex and urgent needs of his unit are being met throughout this conflict.
M's 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.
M speaks of his time in Shayetet 13 and the significance of serving in this elite unit, offering a glimpse into the integral role this experience continues to play in his life. It encompasses a year and a half of rigorous tests that challenge one's mental, physical, and social limits, to less conventional yet equally crucial forms of training.
He explains that every night in Shayetet 13, the team gathers in a circle for honest, open, and sometimes challenging conversations. They discuss what they are doing well, what they are not doing well, as a team and individually, and nothing is off the table.
“I don't think that the average person outside of the IDF would expect The Flotilla 13 to sit down at the end of every day and sort of do a touchy-feely circle,” he states, yet it is these kinds of bonding exercises that force them to improve every single day. Most importantly, it brings the team to a point where using the word 'team' doesn't quite capture it.
“I really dont have specific words to say because my team is my family, it's my people.” With missions that demand each member to trust one another with their life, creating the family unit is vital.
While details of their activities are classified, Meir explains the nature of their service: “Our specialty is to do the things that you cannot imagine or think possible… there is this combination of intelligence, experience, resilience, team building, and execution that really bring everything together.”
Their tasks in war are no less tricky, “In wars, our missions are to do special missions.. small things that big units cannot do, think about a small surgery that has a very big impact.”
When this war began, his Sheyetet teammates who had finished their service flooded back to their unit to serve. However, with the influx of members, these teams were in critical need of equipment and supplies.
This is where Meir comes in, his special mission lies at the heart of places like Silicon Valley, Stanford, and Palo Aldo, where he takes meeting after meeting, many with figures who have never heard of his unit before, to share what he can of his story and the mission of Shayetet, gather much-needed funds in rapid time, and send them back to his brothers (quite literally his brothers, as three of Meir’s brothers are currently serving in Shayetet as we speak.)
Though M longs to be back with his team, he is uniquely positioned to understand the delicate and confidential needs of Shayetet and find creative ways of gathering funds, locating equipment, and transporting them back to his unit.
An ambassador of his unit and the people of Israel, Meir like so many of us in this critical time, is rising to the occasion to defend his unit and safeguard his nation.
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.
