Startup Nation UnitedBrothers and Sisters for Israel: from Startup Nation to Volunteer Nation
Startup Nation United
Brothers and Sisters for Israel: from Startup Nation to Volunteer Nation
The organization exemplifies how the spirit of our Startup Nation has enabled us to become the most impactful Volunteer Nation during times of crisis.
Brothers and Sisters for Israel is a civilian organization that exemplifies how the spirit of our Startup Nation has enabled us to become the most impactful Volunteer Nation during times of crisis.
Its 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.
We spoke with Lee Moser, Managing Partner at AnD Ventures, whose husband is one of the co-founders of Brothers and Sisters for Israel. We wanted to understand how their organization, which gained popularity for its activities protesting judicial reform, has redirected its manpower and efforts to assist during the conflict.
When Lee and her husband woke up on October 7th to the sounds of sirens, they thought, okay another flare-up from Gaza. It took them minutes to realize we were facing something we had never faced before in the History of Israel. As we do in this country, they went straight to action, redirecting the volunteers of their organization to aid the IDF and the many civilian victims of Hamas terror.
Brothers and Sisters for Israel functions like any well-run high-tech company. Their headquarters, located in a shared high-tech co-working space, is made up of different highly specialized teams: the fundraising team, logistics team, tech team, research team, and so on. Members of each team are already seasoned and experienced in their area, as Lee says “You do what you are good at”. You have successful CFOs managing finance, partners at funds (like Lee herself) handling research, deep tech professionals handling cyber, etc.
Their growth over the past few weeks has been explosive. With their 15,000 daily volunteers, a team of 1,000 at their headquarters, and 40 dedicated and professional teams, their projects are vast. These include Psychological assistance for those traumatized and evacuated, cyber experts searching for references to kidnapped persons, and maintaining five logistic warehouses stocked with donations ranging from 150,000 meals to 40,000 ceramic vests that have been distributed through the IDF. It's a massive operation designed to maximize efforts.
And it is not only through Brothers and Sisters that Lee is helping our nation recover. Her fund has committed to investing $200,000 in five different early-stage startups in the next two weeks. The goal: to ensure our ecosystem, and the startup culture we have worked so hard to build, continues despite so many of our founders and leaders on the frontlines.
As always, we posed the question of how. How did Lee, her husband, and all those volunteers manage to rally together and build these efficient systems in a matter of hours despite the sense of crisis all around us?
Lee is clear that boils down to our core Startup Nation culture. In her words, “You have an idea and you start running”
Expanding on this, she stresses,
“[It’s about] being a Startup Nation and being a part of this country that creates great solutions and great technology that are disrupting the world. It is also the initiative of stepping forward and doing what needs to be done, no matter what…It's a matter of culture… I think it’s very unique to Israel.”
Being so mission-driven comes with sacrifices. Like many who have dropped everything to assist in the conflict, Lee acknowledges the sacrifices she has made and the support of those around her:
“First of all, it's very hard. I have two young daughters, five and three, and they're home with my parents and babysitter, and I miss them a lot. But I know I have a sense of mission, and I need to be here. Second, I have a great partner and an amazing team that are supporting me and giving me the backing to do [what was needed] in the past two weeks.”
Lee and all those supporting and working with Brothers and Sisters for Israel embody how our unique culture of devotion and execution translates into our ability as civilians to serve our nation to a tremendous degree during times of crisis.
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.
