Startup Nation UnitedBuild to Support: Addressing the ever-changing needs of military and civilians
Startup Nation United
Build to Support: Addressing the ever-changing needs of military and civilians
The initiative had 50 volunteers on October 7 - and today has 3,000 folks who are matched to suitable projects in minutes
Build to Support, an initiative started by a group of volunteers offers an awe-inspiring showcase of unity, dedication, and sheer impact. His marketplace of 3,000 volunteers is dedicated to aiding civilians and the military within minutes.
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.
Mickey Haslavsky, who initially founded the group, woke up, like so many of us, hearing sirens on the morning of October 7th, and like all of us, that day unraveled to be full of devastation. From a video sent by his friend showing Hamas terrorists roaming the streets of his neighborhood, to the heart-wrenching news of a schoolmate presumed abducted, later confirmed as a victim of terrorism... the nightmare began.
But what also began was his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds overflowing with people around Israel ready and willing to donate their time, their money, and their expertise immediately.
Mickey quickly understood how he could serve his country, opening a small WhatsApp group of his friends in the tech industry with the idea of building a marketplace connecting volunteers with engineering backgrounds to those in need.
By 13:00 that day, the group had its first 20 volunteers, a few hours later it was at 50. Today this group stands at 3,000 with 30 dedicated managers available 24/7, and an imminent merger will expand their numbers and resources. Build to Support core management team includes David Tabachnikov, Omri Izhaki, Ilan Dorot, Peleg Bar-On, Gili Rosenthal, Yael Erel, Ben Jacob Dayan, Guy Twili, Orit Ophir.
Their initiative matches people to suitable projects within minutes, and with volunteers ranging from engineers, product managers, AI computer vision researchers, graphic designers, and everything else in between, their capabilities are overwhelming. Projects they assist with include aggregating information on missing people, content management for online warfare, tech support for various organizations, and countless more.
Build to Support also tackles those difficulties that arise in times of crisis and confusion, like masses of duplicated requests and the ever-changing and unclear needs of military and civilians.
Mickey emphasizes the importance of ensuring their channel is streamlined and efficient,
‘if we don't manage the process properly we won't be able to grow this into something meaningful because you need to make sure that people trust this channel.’
Just how did this project become so impactful so quickly? Mickey’s explanation is simple and echoes what we have all felt in our country in its most challenging period yet: “You want to protect your own land. That's the incentive right now.”
We asked Mickey what has been the most inspiring part of this journey so far, and while he couldn't narrow it down, the answer speaks to the unity and dedication that characterizes our nation,
“Every message we're sending in our WhatsApp announcement group and every call we're making is inspiring. You hear people, no matter how old they are, where they are, what they do, willing to stop whatever they're doing right now and to volunteer on an extreme scale.”
Build to Support has rallied individuals from across Israel, including some of the sharpest minds in the country, who have dropped everything to unify and use their unique expertise to serve their country.
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.
