Faces Of The Startup Nation: Q&A With Web Analyst And Blogger Orli Yakuel

Meet Orli Yakuel, the 42-year-old co-founder of Go2web20 and an avid tech blogger who loves to promote her startups Scoutness and iPad4kids. Orli is also an expert in product development, consulting companies in UI/UX (user interface/user experience) as well as social marketing strategy. When she’s not blogging or searching the web for new and exciting services, Orli spends her time helping companies build their marketing strategy and use social media tools. She is fascinated by today’s user behavior and loves seeing the web through users’ perspective. Orli currently works with several companies that are focused on mobile, among them: Toluna, Clear Sky Apps, and ZinkerZ. She also loves pets.

What were your first steps into the business world? I think the first step was when I started to read tech blogs, at that time it was everything related to web 2.0. The second step was to actually start my own blog. I really liked the blogosphere scene, better than today. It was more magical. Blogs got more attention than today and people actually had time to read.

Who is the one person, past or present, you’d love to have dinner with? My grandfather. He past away 9 years ago, and I think he would be extremely proud to see where my life has taken me.   

Tel Aviv or New York? Tel Aviv for innovation, New York for shopping.

If you were a selfie, what would you look like?

What are your favorite weekend activities? Gardening,  baking, and yes, working..  when you freelance, you get to choose when to work. The weekends are great for all the things you wanted to work on during the week and couldn’t make the time for.

What is your homepage? I have a few. www.go2web20.net ,www.scoutness.com and www.ipad4kids.com

What’s your hidden talent? I actually know how to paint, and I’m a superhero aunt. Yes, it’s true. My nephews & nieces are my best friends and I can spend great deal of time with all of them together or separately. The reason why I started iPad4kids was because I got inspired and fascinated by my nephews’ user behavior on the iPad.

What is the best place you’ve traveled to? I’ve been in a lot of great places, but I really liked my recent visit at H-Farm Italy, probably the most wonderful accelerator in the world.

Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Trek.

What are you totally addicted to? Halva (a sweet sesame paste)

Halva, a sweet sesame dessert

If you weren’t an entrepreneur, what would you be? I didn’t plan to be in the high tech business but it showed me that one can be whatever they want if they only work hard enough. Right now, I am so perfectly happy with what I do. I love my work and hoping to be able to do it for a long, long time.

What’s the best advice you ever got from your parents?  It’s not advice, but a way of life: Generosity.

Falafel or Shawarma? Shawarma in laffa (a flat bread) with everything in it.  I’m serious!

What’s your favorite Hebrew word? Sababa (Arabic for cool or O.K.). It’s not quite Hebrew I guess, but if I have to teach someone one word, this is it. You can simply answer anything with Sababa.

What or who is your biggest inspiration? People are my biggest inspiration. Mostly those who build something – a company, an idea, a product – that changes peoples’ lives. I consider myself lucky to be able to meet so many startups and the brilliant people behind them.

NoCamels “Faces of the Startup Nation” features the leading entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and visionaries to give you an exclusive peak into the movers and shakers of Israel’s innovation scene. If you want to suggest a “Face”,  write us in the comments below!