In 2005, at 22, I left my studies in Israel to learn Spanish. I ended up in a two-dollar bunk bed in Buenos Aires. I brought in so many guests that the owner let me stay for free. That was the first time I saw that getting people excited about a place had value.
At 24 I went to the US one Christmas to sell hair straighteners in shopping malls. The first week was a nightmare. In the second week I broke a sales record, and the company sent me around the US to show others how I sold. I also spoke Spanish with Hispanic shoppers, which helped. I came home with real savings for the first time.
I opened a hostel in Palermo. The build went badly, and my parents and a man from the local Jewish community helped me finish it. My parents swore they would never help me with a business again, and they never did. From then on I was on my own. The hostel made money and led to Mini Hostels, a booking business for hostels across Latin America. I sold the hostel in 2007 and Mini Hostels in 2012.
Not everything worked. Only two of my businesses failed badly. One was a business I started later on. The other was Yoko Village.
In 2016 I moved to the US and started PassRight, an immigration company. I wanted it to make money. Then I started to care about the people we helped. That is where I found impact. It did not make me immune to exhaustion. In 2019 I burned out and went to Santa Teresa for a few months. Then COVID came, and I stayed.
I brought useful skills with me. I knew how to sell. I also brought a habit from Silicon Valley, "fake it till you make it." That habit would cost me…