Faces Of The Startup Nation: Q&A With Ayelet Noff Of Blonde 2.0

Ayelet Noff is the founder of Blonde 2.0, an award-winning public relations firm founded in 2006. She grew up in New York City, receiving a BA in Politics from Brandeis University and a MBA from Tel Aviv University. Blonde 2.0 is located right at the heart of the Startup Nation and specializes in marketing and publicizing technology companies. The company has 25 employees from all over the world and helps companies and platforms like HP, Applied Materials, Yo, Viber, Mobli, EverythingMe, and Applause, receive coverage in major publications, engage with consumers and influencers, and create a constant buzz on the Web.

Be This Guy. Courtesy

Who is your biggest inspiration? People who dare to act and think different inspire me. Why? Too often most of us just accept the norm without questioning it. Those who dare to be different inspire. People like Steve Jobs who achieved what other people said was impossible, Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger, or August Landmesser who refused to perform a Sieg Heil and raise his hand in a Nazi crowd.
What were your first steps into the business world? I started out in advertising in the late 90’s at TBWA in NYC. After that, I was involved in various marketing positions in different startups, moving on to ICQ where I served as Marketing and Promotions Manager. Of course all of that led to 2006, when I started Blonde 2.0 as a “one woman show” teaching companies how to utilize social media tools in order to create brand awareness.

Everyone really liked what I taught them but didn’t have anyone in-house who could implement. So I took on an employee, and another employee, and another employee. The rest is history. Today we are one of the top digital marketing companies in the world.

Who is the one person, past or present, you’d love to have dinner with?  Matt Mullenweg, Founder and CEO of Automattic. Matt is an amazing entrepreneur who started his own company when he was only 18. His blogging platform, WordPress, has the biggest market share of all blogging services out there.  Not many people know this, but other than Automattic, Matt also founded Audrey Capital, a fund which invests in tens of companies. Quite a few of of those companies have exited.  He donates much of his time and $ to charity causes, and is an overall very modest and inspirational human being.
In the past I’d say Sir Winston Churchill – the wittiest prime minister I ever did see :-)

Blonde Selfie. Courtesy

If you were a selfie, what would you look like?Star Wars or Star Trek? Definitely Star Wars. I have a Star Wars themed office and a puppy named Jedi. The Force is strong in my life.

What are you totally addicted to? My work, travel, good music, and fine cuisine. In general – the idea of seizing the day, Carpe Diem.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? Opening my own company. When you put yourself on the line like that, with no one to back you up but yourself, it’s an incredible test of your abilities and self-confidence. It takes incredible will and the ability to overcome the fear of failure that can prevent people from pursuing their dreams.

Bar Refaeli or Gal Gadot? Definitely Gal. She’s a good friend and Wonder Woman for crying out loud.

If you weren’t an entrepreneur, what would you be? A veterinarian. Let me spend my days helping animals and I’m happy.

Tel Aviv or New York? That’s a tough one for me since I’ve lived most of my childhood in NY and most of my adulthood in Israel. I think my personality is a combination of both cities and I have a sentimental spot in my heart for both.

What’s the best advice you ever received from your parents? Always be independent – never depend on anyone but yourself.

What’s your favorite Hebrew word? Sababa. If you only get to know one word in Hebrew, it’s this one. It means so many different things – cool, great, sweet, wonderful.

Falafel or Shawarma? Chinese. What can I say, I’m Jewish and I grew up in New York.

What are your favorite weekend activities? Traveling around the country, experimenting with different cuisines, watching good films, writing an article about a topic I feel passionate about.

Who was your first celebrity crush? Michael J. Fox. I fell in love with him in “Back to the Future”.

MJ Fox via Universal

What’s your homepage? https://www.blonde20.com/, Duh!

What’s your hidden talent? Amazing capacity to remember phone numbers. I still remember my friends’ numbers from when I was living in NYC.

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!

Photos: courtesy/ Universal