Einav Levi

Israel

“Life has completely changed since starting my own business.”

Einav grew up in Netivot, a small city in the Southern District of Israel. Although she feels grateful to have grown up surrounded by a wide range of communities and cultures that gave her a wealth of knowledge and tastes, there is a lack of opportunity in the area due to high levels of unemployment.

After finishing school, she went on to study film and television broadcasting at Sapir College. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she had a variety of jobs all involving people, marketing, and sales, in order to earn a living. She worked as a saleswoman in a convenience shop, an office supply shop, which she ran for six months, before working as an office manager and in marketing at an artists' production company. 

Over the years, she accumulated a lot of knowledge about working with customers, building inventory systems, pricing and marketing. The decision to start a business came from the conviction and courage that starting a successful venture would only be possible if she approached it in the right way.

From an early age she wanted to be an entrepreneur but she decided to make the first step in order to find an occupation to fit her time commitments. She knew that her religious life and Sabbath observance did not leave weekends as an optional employment alternative. She took this decision a few months before starting her academic studies, as she understood that studying was going to be very intensive and she would need resources to be able to finance them. What was best for her was to start an independent business where she could manage the schedule according to her free time. The desire to be entrepreneurial in her field came from the desire to express herself in the best possible way.

Einav’s business is called Subtext. It opened in 2016 and focuses on creating promotional films for businesses and the private sector, documenting artistic and family films and a variety of visual solutions. It is also a social business that drives change and inspires social action through leading cultural projects, teaching young people, and giving lectures in the field of art and entrepreneurship

YBI's member in Israel, Keren Shemesh, supports young entrepreneurs for a period of up to two years. At the core of this is connecting every entrepreneur to a volunteer business mentor. The entrepreneurs receive a full package of support in addition to the mentor, which includes counselling by consultant mentors, expert consultants, seminars, workshops and lectures on entrepreneurship. Einav received these services by working with two business mentors, consulting with an expert mentor and participating in workshops and lectures. 

She says the biggest challenge was others’ initial skepticism. People in the sector were concerned and did not believe that a business like hers could succeed in her chosen location. She now employs around 12 freelance staff, each hired when needed for different projects. Her customer base is mainly municipalities, community centres and educational departments and institutions.

“Life has completely changed since starting my own business. I'm not really "waking up and going to work", but going to do the thing that I feel I'm best at and that I love so much. Besides, I am my own boss and have the privilege of retiring whenever I wish without having to answer to anyone. One important thing is the feeling that I have financial security, and that I am not dependent on anyone but myself and on the hard work that I am willing to devote to this sense of security.”

She is also contributing to the local community by participating in municipal projects and initiating various of social projects that have already made a positive difference. One of her biggest achievements has been seeing films and exhibitions that she has created lead to a change in public agenda in the city and beyond. In the not too distant future, she also aims to influence the economy by allowing more artists and creators to take part in the business and to provide them with a good, stable source of income.

She believes the business will continue to grow and expand its customer base over the next few years. Her main goal is to create a space that will provide a home for artistic creation and creative work for local people.

“The best advice I can give, to other young entrepreneurs, is to do what they love best and not be afraid of negativity. Believe in yourself and your projects, the greatest inventions have started from one small bold thought in the mind of an entrepreneur.”

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