Startup Nation UnitedStartup Resilience: Trullion leans on their values in times of adversity
Startup Nation United
Startup Resilience: Trullion leans on their values in times of adversity
Isaac Heller walks us through the amazing initiatives of his employees and his sturdy belief in the resilience of our tech community
Isaac Heller is the co-founder and CEO of AI-powered accounting technology company Trullion. As an observant American Oleh, Isaac and his family were on their way to their synagogue in Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Simchat Torah when the sirens began. What was meant to be a joyous Chag was replaced with running back and forth from their bomb shelter. Once he turned on his phones, Isaac’s first line of action was checking in with his family abroad, and then checking in on what he describes as his other family- his employees and teammates at Trullion.
Isaac and Trullion’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.
What stands out from our conversation with Isaac is the strong values and culture created in Trullion: a tightly-knit team where individuals rise to the occasion. Isaac walked us through the remarkable initiatives his employees have spearheaded to support their country, some of whom have their own stories featured in this series.
He tells us of Ariel Fisher, Director of Customer Success and a local rabbi supporting those children and wives whose fathers and husbands have been called to reserves. He tells us of Linda Navon, a Senior Customer Experience Manager who, with her Spanish background, helped charter a flight from Madrid with medical supplies. He tells us of Mikey Weis, Director of Finance, whose initiative aims to raise $1 million for protective vests and other equipment for the unit of the IDF in which he served. And he can keep going.
For Isaac and his team, this time of crisis is a reminder of their core values, those values that his employees are personifying with their incredible activities, as he says, “We need to convert that sadness into what are we going to do for our country, for our hostages, and really, for humanity.”
While many of his employees are stepping up with their initiatives, 10% have gone to serve in reserves. Isaac speaks of the significance of maintaining business continuity and looks to Israel’s past as a source of inspiration. No trauma can be compared, and what we have experienced is unlike any previous war, yet Isaac points out that some of the strongest Israeli companies were born out of incredibly challenging times in our country’s history.
“Some of the biggest companies in the world are MobilEye, AI for autonomous driving, Mellanox, AI for chips, these companies were founded in 98, 99, 2000. These companies were a few years old when they were going through the second Intifada. And look at them now, look at how much they represent to the world, to Israel, to innovation.”
For Isaac, experiencing adversity while maintaining core values and pushing forward is what he believes makes Israeli companies resilient, what makes them keep going, and why the Startup Nation will always remain a success story.
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.
