"Throughout my career, I was often the only woman in the room"

Dina Pasca-Raz, partner and head of the technology department at KPMG, led a panel discussion titled "Next Gen Impact: Women Entrepreneurs Reshaping the Future" at Calcalist and Bank Leumi’s Mind the Tech New York conference.

Lital Leshem, a founding partner at the Protego VC fund—which specializes in investments in defense-tech companies that recently completed raising its first fund—shared her background. "I served as an officer in the IDF for seven years, followed by another four and a half years in intelligence, before transitioning into the world of entrepreneurship. In 2014, I founded Carbyne, a company that develops emergency services management and upgrade systems. Carbyne has raised $150 million and employs 200 people. Later, I moved to New York to work at Mobileye after it was acquired by Intel, and from there, I joined an investment fund specializing in defense-tech. In 2023, I returned to Israel, and after October 7, my life, like everyone else's, changed. I was called up for reserve duty, and there, my partner Lee Moser and I recognized an opportunity in the defense sector. We raised $200 million for our new fund, Protego."

Sanaz Yashar, co-founder of the cyber startup Zafran, shared her journey: "Over the last two years, I have been working to change the cybersecurity market. We think like attackers, not like defenders. I grew up in Tehran and spent my early years evading the Iranian police before immigrating to Israel. Later, I served for a long time in intelligence. At 15, a shift begins for girls—the realization that they can be whatever they want. Fortunately, I met the right people at the right time, which allowed me to survive and become the woman I am today."

Jessica Beck, co-founder and CEO of Alfred, reflected on how her entrepreneurial journey began: "It started when I was three years old, when my brother was born with Down syndrome. I grew up trying to create a better world for him, and that experience shaped every aspect of my life, including my approach to entrepreneurship. I worked as a consultant at McKinsey for four years, but I realized it wasn’t the right fit for me. That’s when I conceived the idea for Alfred, a startup that helps manage the everyday needs of apartment and house tenants. The goal is for homes to take care of people, rather than people constantly having to take care of their homes. We even won the TechCrunch startup competition in 2016."

Why is it harder for women to embark on an entrepreneurial journey? People say they often need a dramatic event to develop the determination to succeed.

Lital Leshem: "My motivation came from being repeatedly told that my idea for a defense-tech fund was impossible—that the defense industry is a bureaucratic and government-dominated sector, and that new companies couldn’t emerge alongside established giants like Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries. But the nature of warfare has changed, and so has the battlefield. That’s why so many companies are being founded to address these new realities."

Sanaz, you also work in defense-tech in a way.

Sanaz Yashar: "Yes, and I agree that women often need a defining moment—a 'scar'—to push them into entrepreneurship. My scar was experiencing a devastating cyberattack on a hospital while I was still an employee. I remember a doctor standing over an unconscious patient, shouting that he didn’t know the patient’s blood type because all the computer systems had been hacked and shut down. That incident changed everything for me, and I knew I had to take action—so I founded Zafran."

Jessica Beck: "I feel the same way. I started my company out of love, but over time, that love turned into frustration—why is everything so difficult for people with disabilities? Why is managing a home, dealing with rental bureaucracy, and handling daily tasks so complicated? When you have a purpose like that, even when you feel like giving up ten times, you push forward because you know the mission is worth it."

Women are still a minority in entrepreneurship. In almost every room we enter, we often find ourselves alone. How do you deal with that?

Lital Leshem: "Throughout my career, I was often the only woman in the room, but I never saw it as a disadvantage. In fact, I found it empowering. I want to be judged on my results, not my gender. I’ve never felt that I was treated differently because I’m a woman."

Sanaz Yashar: "I have felt it. A few years ago, I realized it more than ever when I attended a meeting with a client alongside a much taller male colleague. Even though I was the one presenting, and I was his boss, everyone kept looking at him, waiting for him to speak. That’s why women in business have to work even harder to command the attention and respect we deserve."

Jessica Beck: "I didn’t want my gender to be a factor, but over time, I saw that in certain industries, particularly in fundraising, it is. When I was raising capital, investors would tell me, 'Oh, this is a women’s startup.' And I would respond, 'No, this is a real estate startup.'"

You can watch the full discussion in the video above.