| Magazine Feature |

Early Risers

By Rochel Burstyn | January 4, 2017

ANIEL GEFEN

London-born-and-bred Gefen began married life as a campus rabbi in California but soon found himself out of a job. He returned home to London with his wife and baby boy and took a job as a cashier at his father’s grocery store. But he wasn’t happy. “I found the work unchallenging” he says.

His wife pushed him to find something more suited to his talents so he went to Work Avenue a Jewish career-services organization in Britain where a business advisor shared an idea: virtual secretaries. He’d heard the trend was picking up steam in the United States and Gefen agreed it could be a growth area.

Gefen 25 at the time began calling everyone he knew to land clients. Eventually his company launched: Jet Virtual a telephone answering service that provides a remote full-time receptionist. Clients’ calls are diverted to a professional secretary who transfers calls takes messages and payments and manages schedules.

Building on his success Gefen then started Jet Virtual Offices a company that makes small businesses appear larger and more impressive than they are by allowing them — for a small monthly fee — to have a business address for meetings in locations such as Regent Street Wall Street Grand Central Station and Beverly Hills. (Gefen has agreements with the office owners in those locations and only pays per usage.) The idea was a spur-of-the-moment brainstorm. “When a client asks if you provide services the answer should always be yes. One day a client asked me if I offered virtual offices. I said yes while quickly googling to find out what that was!”

Within two years Gefen was working 16- to 18-hour days and feeling frustrated with his unreliable workers who would come late when they showed up at all. Especially awkward was when his secretary 30 years his senior took out her bad mood on a client.

Those seemed like dark times and Gefen was ready to give up. “Suddenly I had a crazy idea: I fired all my employees and outsourced every aspect of the work to my competitors down to administration invoicing and chasing payments.” That move freed Gefen to work on the business instead of in the business.

“At first I was literally working out of a hotel lobby” he says. “I was there so much I was often mistaken for the manager. Eventually I realized I could live absolutely anywhere in the world and within the year moved my family to Israel.”

Today Jet Virtual and Jet Virtual Offices run themselves with Gefen only checking in about one hour per week.

With all that extra time on his hands Gefen went looking for new ventures. In October he launched GetFeatured.Media a PR agency that guarantees businesses-brand exposure through placement in major publications and on radio and podcast broadcasts.

Gefen isn’t done yet. Next on his list is the launch of a company he’s calling Gelt. The firm will set up wealthy Jewish investors with Jewish businesses looking for investment.

Words of Wisdom

Key to Success

“I’m continuously working on my business — creating better systems making new deals — and not getting wrapped up in the day-to-day details that go into working in it.”

Avoid these common mistakes

“Running a business is not for everyone. You’re taking on all the risk and, especially in the beginning, you’re not a free agent; you’re working for your business. But if you are persistent and smart you will quickly learn how to make your business work for you.”

Don’t get too emotional and remember, time is money. “I used to spend hours chasing down payments, and would get so angry and frustrated. It would end up losing me even more money because I was doing it when I could have been working. Better to have someone else do the chasing.”

Companies sometimes start with an impressive website, business cards, brochures, and ads, and then go broke before they even have their first client. “Get your customers first,” Gefen advises. “That will lead to testimonials that will attract more customers. The easiest way to get clients is to grab at what’s called the ‘low-hanging fruit,’ meaning, calling everyone you know to tell them what you’re doing. Their business will validate your work.”

Hire a business mentor. At $500 a month, a mentor can help you avoid pitfalls that might cost you much more than that.

Don’t be a slave to your own insecurities. Don’t give in to the voice that says you can’t do it — especially if it’s your own voice. Just do it!

Barry Schwartz

Age: 36

Location: West Nyack, New York

Claim to Fame: CEO and co-creator, together with his twin brother, of technology company RustyBrick.

The Schwartz brothers have fond memories of playing with their father’s gadgets growing up, like dial-up modems that connected to remote hosts through a landline. By the time they were in ninth grade, they were offered their first job: creating a website for a Chinese restaurant.

Their fledgling company grew slowly as word got out. At 16, they got a job creating advanced websites for Pitney Bowes. From websites, their menu of offerings grew to include building all kinds of software for any kind of web, mobile, or wearable technology such as Google Glass and Apple Watch.

While still in high school, Ronnie chose the company name, Rusty Brick Software, based on his initials (Ronald Benjamin Schwartz — though the company name doesn’t include the word “Software” anymore) and the company incorporated in 1999.

“While most people would consider a new job risky, it wasn’t like we risked much,” Barry says. “We didn’t have families when we started. It was very organic and grew by itself.”

Still, their mother was unsure whether their chosen professions would allow them to maintain a Jewish lifestyle, and was adamant that her sons get a college degree as a backup plan. However, Barry’s business degree and Ronnie’s computer science degree have never been needed for interviewing for any kind of job. Now RustyBrick has over 20 employees, hundreds of clients, and hundreds of product offerings.

The company’s primary focus is to build custom software solutions for all kinds of businesses — from workflow systems for import-export companies to managing the details for event-planning companies. RustyBrick’s custom-software approach allows the companies to schedule operations, bill patients, manage leads, and anything in-between.

In the Jewish community, RustyBrick is best known for close to 30 useful apps, such as the siddur, Shema, Shas, and the entire ArtScroll library, as well as apps that can find the closest shul or even try to arrange a minyan in an airport. “They’re not a moneymaker, but it’s nice to know that they’re so useful for so many Jews all over the world,” Barry says.

ShulCloud, a product built by RustyBrick as a cloud-based, shul-management software package that includes calendar, website, membership, and accounting features, has over 500 active shul members since its launch in 2011.

In fact, through their Jewish apps and software products, the brothers unwittingly formed the largest Jewish database in the world. They recently tapped into its wealth to create Jewish Ad Network, a new venture that will allow companies to target specific Jewish population groups.

Barry says the two brothers feel blessed with their success. “We’re just lucky and happy with how things have gone. We’ve made mistakes and tough decisions, but we haven’t failed much.”

Do something you’re passionate about. That way it’s easier to stick with it and succeed.

Don’t try to get rich quick with risky growth strategies. If you want to build a strong and lasting company that can sustain staff long-term, keep your business clean, structured, and conservative.

Words OF WISDOM

Key to Success

“I always recommend: Make sure you have a diverse set of clients and service offerings,” Barry says. “Don’t just do one thing. We make sure we’re doing all kinds of things for an array of clients so that when the economy changes, it won’t affect us as much as if we only worked in one area.”

Avoid these common mistakes

Trying to grow too fast, taking on too much work or too many employees.

MORDY BABAYOV

Mordy Babayov’s first business — started when he was eight years old — was not parent-friendly. He bought nosh for his school-age friends that their parents wouldn’t allow, and sold it to them for a profit.

Since those days, he’s changed industries, but his entrepreneurial spirit remains. Today, he’s CEO of The Suit Depot, an 11,000-square-foot, mirror-filled menswear store in Oak Park, Michigan that’s known for selling designer labels at discounted prices.

How’d he get started in the shmatteh business? During high school, Babayov dabbled in buying products and then selling them on eBay.

One day, he put up some second-hand designer dress shirts a relative had given him, and quickly found himself $200 richer. “Probably because I underpriced them,” Babayov admits. “Still, I realized that new designer brands would sell even better than used, so I started joining my sister on shopping trips. I bought designer clothes and sold them all on eBay.”

Babayov reinvested all his earnings back into his business until he could afford to broaden his scale. After hours of cold calls and research, he ordered his first shipment of slightly distressed merchandise from a regional distribution center, eventually branching out into seasonal overstock, closeouts, and other new merchandise. Babayov’s inventory slowly outgrew his bedroom, the family basement, and then his first small warehouse. He opened the doors of The Suit Depot in the summer of 2010.

“Many people were skeptical that I was earning money from selling clothes on eBay and thought I’d be better off getting a degree and working a nine-to-five job, but I never thought I was cut out for that,” says Babayov, who credits his father, a successful businessman in his own right, for his constant support and advice. “It wasn’t really much of a gamble since I was reinvesting and didn’t have a family relying on the businesses success.”

He’s admittedly made mistakes along the way, slip-ups he views as learning opportunities and a brachah. “If I hadn’t made those mistakes then, they’d be much more expensive to make at this point,” Babayov says. “I don’t view those mistakes as losses, but rather a cost of doing business. All of this is unexpected and exciting. I never envisioned anything more than an eBay store.”

Don’t quit your day job on a dream. Only make the move from a side-gig to full-time when the business is sustainable.

Start slowly, learn the ins and outs of the business, and let your company grow at its own pace.

Begin your business as early as possible. The younger you are, the fewer obligations you have.

Words of Wisdom

Key to Success

Patience. Anyone can sell online, but people don’t want to sit around and wait for their items to sell. Also, investing all the profits back into the business.

Avoid these common mistakes

“People jumping in too fast or giving up when they don’t become rich overnight. Many people have what they think is — and very well may be — a great idea, and convince family or friends to invest in their idea. In many cases, these businesses fail. Unless you have years of experience in an industry, don’t start a business on borrowed money. I also don’t believe in get-rich-quick schemes. A sustainable business can take years to grow. Too many people drop out in the early stages before really giving it a chance to succeed. An important realization is that not everything is in your hands. The sooner you realize this, the less stressful business will be. Sometimes you just need to come to terms with the fact that you’ve done all you can and ultimately, your success is up to Hashem.”

Only invest what you can afford to lose. Growing a business takes sacrifice. Your family’s parnassah should not be on the list of sacrifices.

ZOLI HONIG

Age: 28

Location: Santa Monica, California

Claim to Fame: Co-founder and CTO of WaiveCar

We’ve all heard of rental cars, even electric cars. But what about a fleet of electric cars that customers can rent for free?

That was the business brainstorm of Zoli Honig, a 28-year-old native of Far Rockaway, New York.

When Honig’s friend Simcha Deutsch approached him with the idea of renting electric cars for free in January 2015, Honig wrote it off as unsustainable and unrealistic.

But Deutsch was persistent, so Honig crunched the numbers and discovered the venture might be feasible after all.

In the intial stages, Honig, a college dropout, was pressured by friends and family to get a “real job” — but that only spurred him on. “Actually, I found it helpful when well-meaning people pointed out all the reasons I was sure to fail, because it forced me to problem-solve those particular potential problem areas in advance,” Honig says.

Once the partners worked out the logistics and pricing, they found investors to cosign on electric cars until they accumulated a fleet of 20. In January 2016, they launched WaiveCar, a company that rents out electric cars in the Los Angeles area for two hours at a time, free of charge, and for a small fee every hour thereafter. Each vehicle is equipped with a digital display on the roof that essentially makes WaiveCars portable billboards. WaiveCar makes its money from companies who understand that their moving advertisements will reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers daily, significantly more than a standing billboard.

The company took off right away and every car is consistently booked. Honig recently made a deal with Hyundai, the Korean car manufacturer, to expand operations across the United States.

“The speed at which WaiveCar has grown was really unexpected,” Honig says. “I would never have thought we’d have a partnership with a major auto manufacturer less than a year after launching the business. It’s crazy!”

WaiveCar is Honig’s second significant business venture. In 2010, he launched his first business, an online elementary and high school classroom system. After a frustrating experience with the Blackboard system in use in the institution where he was studying, Honig surveyed teachers and administrators to discover their “pain points” with Blackboard. Cofounded with Moti Levy, Honig’s invention, called Chalkable, is an easy-to-use tool that allows teachers, administrators, and parents to access and manage their courses or teaching plan. It includes books, calendars, messaging systems, and links to an app store that automatically synchronizes with homework. He sold the company in 2013.

Soon after, he got busy with WaiveCar. Today, the company is working with Hyundai to introduce 400 WaiveCars in four US cities over the next 12 to 18 months.

The most important thing is your customer-acquisition strategy. You might have the greatest idea in the world, but if you don’t have a way to show people your product and get them to use it, it’s just a waste of time.

Seek advice from people in the industry and learn from them.

Words Of Wisdom

Key to Success

Constantly thinking out of the box, a deep-seated desire to prove naysayers wrong, and being physically healthy and fit, which increases energy and productivity levels.

Avoid these common mistakes

Businesses die when founders and management don’t trust each other. “Business is like a marriage, you’ve got to trust your partner. If there are doubts, everything the other person does is questioned. Like a marriage, it’s hard to improve a business if the foundation is rocky.”

Get enough sleep: If you don’t sleep, you can’t function well the next day, no matter how many cups of coffee you drink. Take care of yourself so you can be the most efficient version of yourself.

DOV BRAFMAN

Age: 26

Location: New Jersey

Claim to Fame: creator and owner of electronics company Sharkk

Though he’s the boss of 25 employees, opened a warehouse and office in New Jersey, and maintains an office in China, Brafman is the first to admit that he’s not a naturally ambitious person. “I dropped out of yeshivah at 18 and was only looking for something constructive to do with my time. This is where my path led me,” he says of his electronics company Sharkk, which creates, brands, and markets electronics, mostly audio, and then sells them to major retailers and direct to consumers from its website.

Brafman first got interested in business during high school when he sold items online with his friend Mordy Babayov (of The Suit Depot) and decided he’d found his niche. Ignoring the obvious stumbling blocks (no money, no car, no internet access or even a home computer), Brafman began by frequenting the local public library and studying the ins and outs of selling online. Then he gathered the courage to approach local community members with a deal: He’d get a cut of their profits from selling their merchandise online.

His family, disappointed with his exit from yeshivah, was not initially supportive, but as time passed, they realized that Brafman was not squandering his time or intelligence. They quickly rallied behind him.

Brafman, who had always been attracted to gadgets (possibly because he didn’t grow up with them in his house), recalls a frustrating childhood memory: The first time he used a long-coveted Sony Walkman, it broke before the tape had even finished playing. With that in mind, Brafman’s goal was to create and sell affordable, quality electronics.

It was not smooth sailing. Brafman first had to dig around for connections in China and then explain his concept to those contacts. Natural misunderstandings arose from the language barrier, the mentality clash, and the fact that all conversations were done via Skype or e-mail. But eventually, Brafman managed to convey what he wanted and his company launched.

“When I realized that these products were making a serious impact on people’s lives, I became super ambitious,” Brafman says. He acknowledges that a successful business is a hard-won gift and knows it’s important to re-earn his success daily. “I tell my employees all the time, ‘success is rented and rent is due every day.’ Everyone needs to put their all into it. I treat every day like everything depends on it.”

Words of wisdom

Key to Success

“I sincerely enjoy and appreciate what I’m doing. I wake up every morning excited to get to work,” Brafman says. “Most of all, I’ve found that a person is the full sum of his parts. He will only be productive if he’s doing well overall, being stimulated, and feeling appreciated. I spend a lot of time ensuring that all my employees are happy, enjoying the challenge, and are doing well. Not just at work, but in their personal lives, too.”

Avoid these common mistakes

People tend to get over-excited with their first sale and lose focus of their goals.

Write down the things you love doing. It’s not always about what makes the most money; it’s how you want to spend your time.

Start small. Start with what you have — even if you have nothing. If you only have two spare hours a week, you can go to garage sales looking for products to sell on eBay.

A lot of people say they want to start a business, but only a small percentage actually do. Decide: How badly do you want it? If you really want it, figure out a way to make it happen. Just start! Literally. Put down this magazine and get going. Nothing in the world can replace execution.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 642)

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