Introducing the Pitch Deck Sensation: 22 Year-Old Nina Rabb

Aliyah Success is a weekly newsletter for Olim and Potential Olim to land their dream job in Israel tech by Andrew Jacobson. For Season 1, we are interviewing 12 Successful Olim, including top professionals across finance, venture capital, marketing and more. If you got this email forwarded to you, subscribe here:

I first met Nina last year though a mutual friend. I kept hearing about her from entrepreneurs and investors in the ecosystem about her talent at helping founders develop pitch decks for their tech companies. So when she came to Israel, I had to meet her. Nina is indeed a force to reckon with. At only 22 years-old, Nina and her team have already helped 150+ companies developing customized materials to prepare for fundraising. Nina splits her time between Tel Aviv and New York. In this interview, she shares about the humble beginnings of LionRun, Hillel Fuld's role, and her thoughts on making a successful career in Israel. Now onto the show! —Andrew

Where I grew up:

Illinois.

Something that most people don’t know about me:

I ran a marathon last year in California.

I started a company called LionRun.

A lot of people complain that salaries are lower in Israel than America. What do you say to them?

I know salary is a touchy subject when it comes to Aliyah. There’s a huge negative stigma around it. It seems daunting to come to Israel only to get your salary cut in half. But people overlook a key point: you can get opportunities in Israel in a way you can’t in America because it’s much easier to get in front of the right people. America has more of a hierarchy. In Israel, that’s not a thing. You can call someone and a phone call later, you’ll have a meeting set. People are more willing to help because of the community feel here. It’s really great, and in many ways the opposite of America. 

One of the best examples of this is how you reached out to Hillel Fuld. Can you talk about how you did it and started a relationship with him?

I was still a college student at the University of Illinois. I knew I wanted to be in Israel, but I had the same hesitancy and worries a lot of other people have:

If I come to Israel right after graduation, it might curb my potential or success from a monetary perspective. Or, there aren't the same opportunities in Israel…I should stay and work at a big consulting firm in the US. 

So I reached out to Hillel for advice. I used to always listen to his podcasts and read his stuff. I just sent a LinkedIn message or an email or something. And he actually responded. I initially had no plan or objective. 

We got on a phone call. I told him: Hey, this is where I'm at in my thought process. I know I want to be in Israel. And he said, Let's meet when you get to Israel. So when I came, we met, and I told him about the work I was doing on the side, making investment decks for startups looking to fundraise. He ended up blasting out a post on LinkedIn (see here). And that's what catalyzed my starting LionRun. He encouraged me.  

It’s a great example of the accessibility of great people in Israel. That’s just not something that happens in the US. 

Any other cool Hillel stories?

I've never really told anyone this story. When I came to Israel, a year after I first spoke to him on the phone, I was walking with a friend in Sarona Market and thought I saw him, but we had never met in person. It was my first day in Israel, summertime, I was here doing an internship and I barely knew what he looked like

 And I was like, I'm gonna go say hi. I went up to him and said, Are you Hillel?

Yes. 

We spoke on the phone like almost a year ago, when I was a freshman. 

Yeah, I remember you. Let's get coffee tomorrow. 

The rest is history.

As you said, a lot of people have that fear of coming to Israel early on because it'll curb their earning potential. It's very common that people want to get their two years in consulting or banking in the States and then come here.

There's not as much structure to the professional world here. There's not as much pressure to go down a certain path, which can give someone the freedom and flexibility to think for themselves and not just follow the fish. So I think that allows someone to think outside the box and do what they actually want to do. 

This was one of the realizations that I had -  the most successful positions in Israel vs elsewhere are not the same. The sought after positions in the US are something like a Director at an investment bank.

Here, the coolest and most successful people are the CEOs of the unicorn startups. 

The opportunity landscape here is just different.. And that's what I learned. The path to success here, for me, was not going to work at a firm like Deloitte. Because the perception of working there in Israel is not at all what it is in the US.

Who are some of your role models here?

Within Israel, Hillel, is obviously one. He’s played a huge role not only in my business philosophy, but essentially catalyzing me to be able to do what I do. Just putting the thought in my brain of like, Just do it. Just go and do it. 

There have also been so many people at pivotal points in my career who took me under their wing and invested in my potential, which is what allowed me to get to the next level. It’s so important to always have mentors to turn to. Whether in university, TAMID, New York City or elsewhere, even clients, I am so grateful for attribute my growth personally and professionally to these people.

Where do you stand on the spectrum of Zionist ideology. Can you speak to your views on that?

I always knew I wanted to end up in Israel and add value to the country and be successful here. Not just for myself, but also to show the people back in America that its possible. There are people I know that associate me with Israel. What motivated me was wanting to bridge the Israeli ecosystem with the US. 

Naturally I believe that this is where we belong. Israel this is our homeland. 

What are the first 3 things an Oleh/Olah should do at 22 years-old when they arrive in Israel from a working standpoint?

Just reach out to people. Meet people. When I came to Israel, I already knew who the big players were.

Even before I arrived, before I started LionRun—when I wasn’t known in the ecosystem at all, I would just go on LinkedIn and reach out to people. I met so many people by doing this.

And it laid the groundwork. So when I finally arrived, I felt like I was already plugged in. 

And remember that we move around a lot in this industry - whether by chance or by choice. We are swimming in a relatively little pond.