Growth. Start Up. Baby steps

1M ARR. Papaya. First Child. SAFE. Breastfeeding. A Round . milk duct.. Diapers. POC. Haemorrhoids. Investors deck. GROWTH. MRR . GROWTH. GROWTH.

April 2016. Here we go..

My story began on April 2016 when Papaya Global was incorporated. After 10 years as an entrepreneur, I was given the opportunity to bring together my passion for technology and my experience in global workforce. While I did not know what would come, I knew it was the start of an exciting adventure.

Backed by a great group of angel investors, and $1.2M as a seed investment, We were ready to hit the road

April 2017. 36 Weeks Pregnant

In April of 2017 Papaya Global completed its first year of operation. In addition to having our first paying customers onboard our new platform, we were making tremendous headway in the growing HRTech scene. The kicker? I was 36 weeks pregnant and officially grounded from taking any flights until I give birth.

Amidst the craziness of launching a startup, I suddenly realized that things were only going to get even more hectic once the new baby was here.

The fear of the unknown made me prepare myself and the company like a military operation, making sure everyone and everything was ready — specifically taking special care to ensure that the clients wouldn’t be impacted and everything would stay on track.

And what is “on track”’ in a startup? Simply put — it’s growth, growth and more growth (much like my stomach at the time). I was focused on seeking bigger clients, developing a better product, and integrating more features to solve more problems

I struggled finding a way to make the next hat I was going to wear — mother — fit with my existing hats of CEO, sales, support, and make sure they all ran as smoothly as possible.

Looking back, this was one of the most important times for me as a CEO and for Papaya as a company. This was a critical step for us as we were building the company, defining the different positions we would need, and, most importantly, set the groundwork for how the company works today.

I sincerely believe every entrepreneur must define this phase and ensure the company is not only relaying on their own shoulders but can also operate as an individual entity of its own.

May 2017. Delivery in More Than One Way.

I gave birth to Ellie on the last Friday of April. Anyone who scheduled a meeting, demo or even a call with me during the entire month of April knew they were on standby and should confirm a day before that the meeting was actually going to take place

The day before finally going into labor, like every other day, was a long and strenuous one filled with meetings, calls an problems. I arrived home at 11PM that night and in hindsight, Ellie must have realized that the weekend was her only chance to arrive and force me to stop this crazy work race.

Her birth was probably (definitely) the longest time in my life where I was disconnected from my emails, my phone and the outside world. After she was born and taken to be checked up, I remember being overwhelmed with the euphoria and excitement and wondering “how will I do it all now — be a mother to my daughter and to my company.” I immediately wondered how will I be able to do all the things I did before. When will I manage to finish the investor deck I was working on? Will my clients get the attention the demand and deserve? What will happen?

The first two weeks after giving birth were mostly without control. As someone who is used to managing her days to the last second, running from task to task and doing at least 20 things in parallel, my days suddenly changed and had a new schedule — or rather lack thereof. I quickly realized that days would start with big plans and end with a lousy output of a few measly tasks in the few hours I could get Ellie to sleep anywhere other than on my hands.

I decided that not having hands wasn’t going to stop me — I still had feet that could take me to meetings and the ability to dictate while others type. And that’s exactly what I did. Our next investment deck was dictated while breastfeeding and we quickly realized that was the new normal. This new normal is how we got through demos, calls and meetings those first few weeks (and why I dubbed Ellie ”My startup baby.”)

June 2017. 8 Hours in London

“Hi, I’d love to meet and see how I can assist — when are you planning to come to the states?”

This was an email that arrived a on June 2017, month and a half after Ellie’s birth from someone very high-up the industry which I’ve been trying to meet with for almost a year. An incredible email to wake up to — at the most impossible time I could imagine.

I decided to see if there was a chance to meet in Europe, not mentioning the fact that I recently gave birth, figuring it was simply not relevant to the conversation.

A week and a half later I found myself booking a last-minute night flight to London because when someone tells you they have only a few days in London and you want to meet them, that’s what you do. One meeting — eight hours total in London. That was all I needed.

The quickie trip to London just 6 weeks post-partum emphasized to me the difference between male and female entrepreneurs and the increased difficulties women face in this world. Not only the emotional aspect of leaving a tiny baby that is used to seeing and being with you 24/7, but also the physical pain of being post-partum; the body is still healing from hemorrhoids, stitches, engorged breast and more. A man would not have to wonder how or where he would be able to pump between meetings and flights and where he would store the milk (at the hotel’s bar, if You want to know…) , and how he would make sure that milk makes its way back home because not bringing it back was simply not an option

Ultimately, the meeting in London was successful and was a very important milestone for Papaya. The logistics, the flight — everything about it was complicated and exhausting, but ultimately, everything was possible.

September 2017. Chasing Goals Overseas

My trip to London showed me that quickie trips to Europe were possible, and I soon packed in several more trips like that — some even including baby Ellie on board with me. I quickly got used to bringing my daughter with me when I had no other arrangement for her and even remember a particularly smelly investor meeting where there was a not so elegant diaper change on top of the table of one of Israel’s most respected VCs (there’s nothing quite like putting shit on the table in a VC meeting — literally. And Thank You @Ronen Nir for being so supportive).

Finally, the moment I had been dreading arrived. I could no longer get away with only quick meetings in Europe and needed to fly transatlantic to attend a conference in Dallas.

This last September, my partner joined me on the transatlantic journey and we prepared for a five-day whirlwind adventure that would take us from Israel to Dallas, San Francisco and back to Israel.

We were ready to run this operation … until we found out that despite being promised a bassinet, we were going to spend the entire 15 hour flight with Ellie on our hands (a special thank you to United Airlines for that surprise). I said goodbye to the few hours of sleep we planned on getting before the conference and took off.

While being in the States, days and nights were completely reversed. I worked during the day and Ellie started her night sleep at around noon each day, making nights a special level of fun for us. Despite this, the conference was incredible and we received great feedback about Papaya’s platform , made valuable new clients and were on an adrenaline rush. So, who needs sleep when you have lots of leads?

The five days flew by. We folded ourselves and our suitcases and were ready to head on home with one valuable lesson — I am, to the outside world, an entrepreneur. Not a mother, not a woman who just gave birth; an innovator with a goal and a mission — and I was going to get them at any possible cost.

March 2018 . The Future of Papaya is Clearer than Ever

Almost two years have passed since we launched Papaya (almost one year since I gave birth) and I am proud to see that the company keeps on growing. My first milestone of a million-dollar sales cycle is behind us, as is every other difficult first we encountered until now. Each new milestone brings more to overcome and the MRR doesn’t rest for a moment.

We continually encounter growth and the challenges that come with it. Each investment round, feature or stumbling block along the way brings challenges of their own along with white nights and immeasurable excitement. Did I already mention sleep is really overrated?

I am proud to say that we recently added new investors and closed an additional round of $1.4 million, This assures us that not only are we doing something right, but we are on the right track to keep succeeding in the future.

As for me? I try to keep up with the things that keep me sane like open ocean swimming. I know that these moments by myself among the waves will provide hours of focus and concentration for the rest of the day. It is still challenging finding the time to do these things, but I know, like everything else, that it is possible.

This past month Papaya onboarded some of our biggest clients yet, and my standard work day has gone back to 20 hours with more things running in parallel than I can count, keeping some special hours along mornings and some of the evening to watch my baby grow . The difference is that now I know that I can handle it all, and if needed more.

Papaya and Ellie continue to grow quickly almost in parallel to one another, and no one was surprised when the third word my startup baby said was “Papaya”.