Startup Nation UnitedUBQ Materials: Unyielding spirit in the face of devastating loss
Startup Nation United
UBQ Materials: Unyielding spirit in the face of devastating loss
The climate tech company lost two of its team members to the Hamas massacre. This is their story of resilience and the fighting spirit that characterizes our nation.
Today’s story features Jack (Tato) Bigio, the co-CEO and co-founder of UBQ Materials, a company that experienced the horrors of October 7th in the most piercing way, losing two core teammates in the Hamas massacre. Jack tells of their grief and how their team united in solidarity, pushing forward together in a remarkable way.
Jack and UBQ’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.
UBQ Materials, a climate tech developer of advanced materials made from waste, is in the business of shaping a better future for our world. But their company was left reeling from shock after the events of October 7th. With their R&D facility and commercial plant established in the South of Israel, 35 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, many of their employees live in adjacent communities.
So when Jack awoke to rockets in Tel Aviv 53 days ago, his first thoughts were about the welfare of his team “I realized that if I was getting rockets, most probably all my staff living in adjacent areas were being bombed ten times more than me. So I immediately sent a WhatsApp to our plant manager and COO.”
Jack explains what unfolded throughout that day, including frantic texts from his employees who were fighting for their lives as terrorists invaded their homes in Nir Oz and Be’eri. After some time, he lost communication and was left in the dark waiting to hear signs of life from members of their tight-knit team.
Devastatingly, two out of the thirteen teammates of UBQ living in these communities were murdered by Hamas terrorists. Hadar Rosenfeld, their Head Accountant was killed along with her husband. Their 10-month-old twins miraculously survived. Their Head Engineer and Second Plan Manager, Uri Russo, was also shot dead, defending his family who survived because of his actions.
The other eleven teammates living in the area lost family, friends, and much of their community.
Speaking on the people who made up those communities in the South, Jack expresses the depths of the tragedy, “The people in these communities are the heart and soul of this country, developing the land, developing the future, creating communities. They are extraordinary people, professionals, artists, and academics, passive and peaceful and cooperating in freedom. This is the biggest tragedy.”
Bearing this gigantic loss, how did UBQ have the strength and resilience to move forward?
“Our first priority was the welfare of our employees in Israel,” explains Jack. Whether it was food, electronics, or clothing, the UBQ team was there to provide.
Upon ensuring each of their employees in Israel was taken care of, Jack kept all their stakeholders informed on the situation, sending letters every three days to their investors, their global employees, and their suppliers to keep them in the loop.
The UBQ team then spent the first three weeks processing their trauma and using all their strength to put their app back together, organize their teams, figure out transportation, and rent new spaces. Within less than a month, UBQ was back to operating.
The ability to persevere despite the incredibly personal loss felt in the UBQ team personifies the fighting spirit of our nation. Jack says it best when he describes their first day back in the office and what it meant to the UBQ team,
“The first day together at the factory, we were all very emotional. We could see the rooms of our colleagues empty and their photographs and their belongings. But we were so happy that we could continue. We are showing that the terror will never stop us from doing the right thing. And that spirit is extremely valuable. The resilience and solidarity of these people is beyond anything I have ever seen and I'm so proud of our team members and Israeli society in general.”
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.
