‘My form of Zionism’: Jerusalem nonprofit helps new olim build businesses in Israel

"How does one make a small fortune in Israel?” goes the familiar Israeli joke. “Come to Israel with a large one.”

Michael Horesh, a senior mentor for new immigrant business owners at MATI Jerusalem, a nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs and small-business owners establish and expand businesses in the city, says that he integrates that quip into the webinars that he teaches.

“I have it on the screen,” he shares, “and then I say to people, ‘That’s why you’re here. I don’t want you to be part of that joke.’”

MATI Jerusalem was founded by former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek and Jerusalem businessman Uri Scharf in 1991, and provides specialized business support services to individuals and small businesses, focusing on underserved populations, including new immigrants, women entrepreneurs, haredi business owners, and residents of east Jerusalem.

It also operates programs for entrepreneurs whose businesses have been affected by their miluim (reserve) army service. The organization works in partnership with the Jerusalem Municipality, the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, the Jewish Agency, the Jerusalem Foundation, and other donor organizations.

The organization’s professionals provide tailored support to the communities they serve, based on their own expertise.

Horesh, who acts as a business mentor to new immigrants, was born in London and made aliyah in 1982. He served in the IDF as a junior officer and worked in the public and private sectors before deciding to become a consultant. Unfortunately, he struggled to establish himself in the field. With a wry smile, he says, “I registered my own business. If there’s a book on how to do things wrong, I did it. I went around in circles.”

Horesh finally concluded that what he wanted to do most was become a business mentor, and he recalls the moment he decided it was his calling. “I want to be helping people create a new business in Israel. That is my form of Zionism. I know it sounds rather quaint, but it really is. My raison d’être is to help build up and strengthen the ecosystem in Israel.

“One thing led to another, and ever since, I’ve been working in business mentoring and very much enjoying it.”

The word “mentor” derives from the character by the same name in The Odyssey. Mentor was a friend of Odysseus, who appointed him in charge of his household and his son when he went to fight in the Trojan War. The name has come to mean a trusted guide and adviser.

Horesh explains that the purpose of a mentor is to prompt the student to think, be curious, and ask questions. “The core of my work is questioning. I can ask people the questions that either they’ve forgotten to ask or, more importantly, they don’t want to ask.”

He began mentoring with MATI in 2010, and over the years has helped new immigrants set up hundreds of businesses.

New olim who have been living in Israel for up to 10 years are entitled to five hours of business mentoring at no charge from MATI. If they end up setting up a business, they are eligible to receive an additional 15 hours of mentoring at no cost. MATI also provides business webinars and assistance in applying for business loans.

The organization has some 40 advisers who assist new immigrants in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.

When he first meets with a new immigrant, Horesh discusses their background and qualifications, and the business potential of their concept. “We’re trying to match the need, the want, the financials, the market.”

Many olim who operate new businesses, he says, are very creative, but they lack financial and time management skills.

He cites one example of a company he worked with that experienced major sales growth but sensed that something was wrong. After taking the webinar course taught by Horesh and a colleague, the head of the company realized that they had not been paying VAT because their accountant had not informed them of this responsibility.

The company is now dealing with this issue by repaying the Tax Authority. “The business is still doing well, but the company has some debts to pay, and we’re trying to work out how to fit that into the cash flow.”

One of the most significant parts of mentoring, says Horesh, is understanding that asking for help is not a sign of weakness. “We try and teach people that it is a strength to ask for help; it’s not a weakness. You don’t have to do everything on your own, as many of us are taught. We see that time and again. People start their business without our help, just as I started my business without any help, thinking it would all go well.”

Other issues that olim experience include what he terms “impostor syndrome,” when they think they are not capable of success, even though they are actually highly competent. Other new immigrants suffer from an inability to commit, because they are afraid of failing.

Horesh and other mentors at MATI help them set up their businesses and ensure that they have set realistic financial targets.

“The point is to take them on a journey of setting up the business and then making sure the business gets set up, and they make their clientele. It’s making sure that the business moves towards stability,” he says.

Meira Herman, who made aliyah from New Rochelle, New York, in 2018, has been directed toward business stability by MATI through the various careers she has undertaken.

Herman began her life in Israel in Sherut Leumi (National Service), then started university. After the coronavirus put an end to her college career, she studied Hebrew at Ulpan Etzion. She then began working as an aliyah consultant, helping people locate resources and find the information they needed.

Meira began working with MATI and received general business training. The war put a stop to that career, and she pivoted to concentrate on two unlikely careers tied to her own interests – art and dog-sitting.

Herman, a self-taught artist, began her art business in the summer of 2023. She creates abstract art on canvas and prints from her work.

She has a variety of tools in her home office, including a laser cutter, a heat press, and a sublimation printer.

She has sold her work at numerous fairs throughout the country, benefiting from Horesh’s advice, who urged her to create everyday items that people would purchase, such as sukkah decorations. Herman also created thousands of necklaces for wives of soldiers serving in the IDF.

Once the war started, her art sales dropped because most fairs were put on hold.

When finances were tight, Herman, who owns a dog, began a dog-walking business, which then turned into a successful part-time dog daycare business. On the day we spoke, Herman had three dogs in her home that she was watching, and five were scheduled to stay overnight.

Herman attributes much of her success to Horesh’s advice. “He will say what’s blocking you from doing something, and that could be anything from managing the finances to having difficulties with importing things. He is involved in every aspect of the business. He’s also the guy who will give you a swift kick to get you going.

“I find myself in a place where I’m financially stable for the first time in my life, and I would definitely not have been here if it hadn’t been for MATI.

“The course taught me how to use social media and build a website. Because I had the experience with MATI with my first business, I have been able to really build up a business that’s going to be with me for life.

“Other than ulpan, MATI is the best aliyah benefit, because it comes down to ‘give a man a fish, eat for a day; teach a man to fish, eat for life.’”

Dr. Tyron Waters, a chiropractor from Johannesburg, has also benefited from the practical business advice he received from MATI.

Waters, who made aliyah in November 2015, decided to spend a year studying at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem before resuming his career.

During his time at Aish, Waters would occasionally treat fellow yeshiva students for a nominal fee, using his portable table. In January 2017, he left his yeshiva studies and began ulpan. A fellow chiropractor recommended that Waters contact MATI to help him organize his business.

Waters met with Horesh and received business coaching lessons from Horesh. He was thinking of working for the health funds but was having difficulty finding the right person to speak with.

“Michael really helped me to structure how I should start doing things, how I should get going,” says Waters.

Horesh taught him to begin marketing and advertising himself, to get the word out to potential clients.

“I know about chiropractic, but I don’t know as much [about] being a business owner, and especially here in Israel, not understanding the culture and how things work. It is very different and much more like a free-for-all.

“He really helped me and pushed me to do things, which would have taken me a lot longer to get going.”

Horesh had contacts in the health industry and helped him create a logo and business card and develop a website.

Waters learned from MATI about a business loan that was available to small businesses. He used the loan to purchase his first chiropractic table, and it was eventually converted into a grant.

Today, Waters’s chiropractic business is located on Emek Refaim Street in Jerusalem.

He adds that the marketing advice he received from Horesh and MATI enabled him to educate Israelis about the work that he does. “Most Israelis don’t know what a chiropractor is, or they’ve heard of them and thought they were dangerous. They don’t have much understanding of who and what a chiropractor is or does.”

Matthew Kenny, a South Florida native who made aliyah through Nefesh B’Nefesh four years ago, is now helping to popularize a sport even less familiar to Israelis than chiropractic: flag football.

A noncontact version of American football, flag football replaces tackling with pulling a flag from an opponent’s belt to end the play. While traditional football fields 11 players per side, flag football is played with five.

In 2028, flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, with competitions for both men and women.

Kenny is a dedicated member of Israel’s national flag football team and created a business centered on developing an Israeli flag football team for the Olympics, based around bringing overseas players on aliyah.

“The business idea was to partner up with Taglit and Onward Birthright to bring Jews from the Diaspora to join a training camp and practice alongside the Israel National Flag Football Teams.”

Eighteen players came from the United States and the UK to practice and try out for the team. Some are playing on the men’s national team, and some will likely be playing for the women’s national team next year, says Kenny.

“The focus is to find talented athletes who can help the national teams qualify and win gold in the 2028 Olympics,” he says. “Part of that process would be making aliyah for those who are talented enough. Two of our participants did make aliyah, and they’re going to be playing with the team in two weeks at our Olympic qualifier.”

Kenny received assistance from Horesh and MATI to enable the program to go forward.

“We brought 18 athletes over to Israel. There were expenses to be able to provide the experience for them, all the marketing that goes into it, expanding the network of athletes and getting people over here for other experiences, potentially getting people over to the United States and doing a cultural exchange as well for Israeli athletes going into America, and American or Jewish athletes in the Diaspora coming over to Israel.”

After receiving information from Nefesh B’Nefesh about MATI, Kenny contacted the organization. He reports that Horesh helped with significant issues that he might have overlooked, such as insurance, timelines, scheduling and budgeting, social media marketing, and general support.

"What things should olim keep in mind when setting up a business in Israel?" concludes Horesh. “First, learn Hebrew. Second, remember that there are no limits to what you can achieve. Third, be flexible. And fourth, remember that Israelis want to work with you, as much as new immigrants do.”