LIFE: GET TO KNOW YONI
What was your dream job when you were a child?
I was always told I should be a lawyer because I loved arguing so much. I can’t say that I have gotten over that tendency…
What’s the best career advice you’ve been given?
Look for a job doing something you are good at, something the world needs, and something you can earn money doing.
Which advice would you give early-stage founders?
I took a dance class in college to fulfil an Arts requirement. I remember asking the instructor what to do if I forget the steps in mid-dance. Her answer was: “Fake it! Fake it like you’ve never faked it before.” I pass that advice on to a lot of young entrepreneurs because sometimes you screw up and still need to look like you never missed a step.
What book are you currently reading?
I just started reading Steven Pinker’s The Language Instinct. I have always had an interest in languages — my mother is an Egyptologist who studies hieroglyphs, which is probably where that comes from. But in the last few years, the study of language has moved from being an almost esoteric topic in the Humanities to a major focus for many companies in the AI/NLP space
What was most surprising about working at APX?
I had heard a lot about the mythical German working environment, and have found something totally different. Part of it could be the diversity of the team itself, but I think it’s our MDs who encourage us to always speak up and question everything. The culture of challenging each other makes it feel more like what I’ve encountered at Israeli startups than what I expected at a German company.
