From Venture Capital to Motherhood: Avital Eusgeld's Entrepreneurial Story

Avital Eusgeld was born in London and moved to Israel in the summer of 2016. She took her passion for innovation that inspires change and founded HiPitched, a strategic branding agency, creating brands for people and companies. 

Prior to founding HiPitched, Avital was a Venture Scout in Israel for Founders Factory (UK), looking for start-ups with growth potential. She was the Head of Value Creation for Venture Capital fund 83North (Greylock) where she worked on scaling and advising portfolio companies.

Avital previously sat on the Board of Advisors for Women In Tech - Israel and on the the Board of Advisors for Dreame, a technology company empowering the imagination through personalised, one-of-a-kind art and was a contributor to Humans in Finance, a global movement changing the face of finance through storytelling.

She is the mother to two little girls, age one and three and is passionate about helping other female founders, to build their personal brand.

What advice would you give to your younger self about starting a business?

If you want others to respect you, you need to respect yourself. 

I am a young female founder who is identifiably religious in how I dress and I don't shake hands with men. When I go to visit clients, I’m sure they’re shocked. They wonder how I can interact with them and how I have the outside knowledge to advise them. When I serve on a panel or participate in a podcast, I get reactions like, “I didn’t expect you to look like that.” But if you respect yourself, others respect you. If you know what to say no to, it’s easier to know what you can say yes to.

Building a successful business comes with its fair share of setbacks. Can you share a time you faced a major obstacle and how you overcame it?

About 3 months after I had my first baby, I returned to work and I needed to change up my working style. It's always nerve-wracking to ask a client/boss to agree to this, as how you work together directly impacts business performance & results.

However, I took the plunge and asked the client and his all male team, reciting the mantra 'If you never ask, the answer will always be no'.

Thankfully, the client agreed to hold our brand strategy kickoff workshop at my apartment, meaning that I could nurse my baby between the breaks. The client also agreed to take a slightly longer lunch break so that I could nurse and eat something myself.

My husband came home early for the afternoon shift, and when the baby was crying, as they do, with him in the room next door, the client laughed about it and told me to bring my daughter into the meeting.

There is something in asking for what you need that releases you to be the best you can be.

Work-life balance can be a constant struggle for entrepreneurs. How do you manage your time and maintain a healthy balance?

There’s no such thing as a “typical” week, but I do have some basic rules:

— Dinner with my husband every night
— No work calls between 3:30-7:00 PM
— If it isn’t on my iPhone calendar, it doesn’t exist
— No work on a Friday or Saturday
— Expect the unexpected (like a day off with a sick kid)

What is the most over or under-rated thing in the world of entrepreneurship?

Saying thank you. In the business world, a written thank you goes a long way. When someone has made the time for coffee with you, when a customer gives you feedback, when someone goes out of their way to do an introduction for you, always remember the thanks.

Learn more about Avital’s work here: hipitched.com

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