Power Women: Ayelet Noff Of SlicedBrand On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman

An Interview With Ming Zhao

Stay focused on your purpose — PR can be frustrating, but I’m always mindful that my goal is ultimately to make a difference in companies’ lives and to help them grow and create a brand name for themselves. I am in a position to either make a new, innovative technology the “talk of the town” or the “fail of the century.” The annoying things that might happen on a day-to-day basis are negligible compared to the bigger vision of all it is that I do. Maintain focus.

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ayelet Noff.

Ayelet Noff, Founder and CEO of SlicedBrand, one of the world’s leading global tech PR agencies, has been in the PR/marketing space for the last 20 years and has successfully led the PR activities of over a thousand technology companies in various fields, including AI, blockchain, health tech, cybersecurity, fintech, and many more. In 2020, she was chosen as one of the top 36 PR pros in the tech industry by Business Insider, and she has been recognized as a top PR expert by Forbes, Inc., and others. She’s also a regular contributor at publications such as TechCrunch, Nasdaq, Forbes, The Next Web, VentureBeat, and Mashable, and was also the host of ‘Startups Around the World’ on the i24 News Channel.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

When I was nine years old, I moved from Israel to the US. In Israel, you don’t really learn English until the fourth grade, which I hadn’t started yet, so I didn’t know the language at all. The first sentence I learned how to say was “I don’t speak English.” I was basically dropped into the water and it was either sink or swim. Survive, or don’t. It took me about a month to get to the point where my English was relatively good. That experience really taught me how to adapt well to change.

Fast forward to when I started my first company. Web 2.0 was just emerging and I was a part of the first wave of early adopters. And in more recent years, we’ve been amongst the truly early adopters in the blockchain/crypto scene. A lot of my openness to these new, transformational technologies has to do with that childhood experience — not being afraid of change. I am fearless when it comes to being dropped into a new environment. I’m not threatened by new mindsets and new ways of thinking. On the contrary, I find new ideas tremendously exciting and believe that change is the only way to evolve forward and become a better version of yourself.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

In 2006, I was introduced to the world of social media. Back then, social media platforms were still in their infancy. I fell in love with the concept and quickly understood the potential for businesses to use these networks in order to get their messages across to the masses. I recognized that this type of marketing could be a highly cost efficient tool, especially for startups that are short on resources. I started educating companies about why they should be on these social platforms. At first, folks looked at me like I was crazy. However, startup entrepreneurs in particular quickly started to realize I was right.

Around 2008 or so, I was also working as a journalist for TechCrunch, Forbes, The Next Web, Mashable, VentureBeat, and other tech publications. Because I had relationships with the reporters at these big tech publications, startup friends would come to me and ask “Could you help me get an article in TechCrunch?” or “Can you get someone at Mashable to write about me?” I saw that it wasn’t enough for these startups to rely only on social media and to shout their messages on their own channels. They needed to obtain the credibility that comes from being covered by top journalists in order to really be trusted and truly grow. I realized how vital it is for startups to get “earned media,” meaning coverage from a third party that offers a neutral view and can’t be bought.

I was living in Israel at this point, and I saw so much amazing technology there. However, because those startups didn’t have the same access to reporters or investors as the startups in Silicon Valley, nor did the Israeli businesses really know how to market themselves, they rarely succeeded. Because I came from the US and had those relationships with top influencers already in place, plus knew how to market products globally, I wanted to help these companies. I felt that I could be their diplomat to the world. That’s how I started.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Since I started working with startups in 2000, every year, things just get more and more interesting. The same way that I witnessed the emergence of Web 2.0, which got me excited and drove me into the industry, I now see the emergence of Web 3.0, where blockchain and crypto projects and digital transparency will play a pivotal role.

I’m more excited than ever before about the projects we’ve been involved with, helping these companies succeed and helping them bring on change in the world. It’s rewarding to work with companies like IOTA, where they’re really making a difference in people’s lives. They have a project in South Africa that will enable small traders in Kenya to export their goods quickly and painlessly by removing a mountain of paperwork. Right now, the average Kenyan exporter has to fill out 90+ documents for each individual shipment. Many of them get lost, so cargo gets stuck at different stations along its route because of missing paperwork. IOTA’s project will enable fully digital shipment data entry and transfer.

With my PR agency, SlicedBrand, we’re working with these types of projects to really bring on huge changes in the world, including helping the environment as well as independent artists, and more. In the future, I foresee not only huge economic changes, but cultural ones, as well. I see that the banking and currency systems are undergoing a transformation, along with the way that we create contracts between each other. Everything will be digital and transparent because in today’s age we need that layer of trust. It’s really exciting for us to be part of this wave of change.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Passionate — I work pretty much 24/7. You have to be passionate about what you do if you want to be successful. When you’re passionate about something, it’s easy to be successful. It doesn’t feel like work, it feels like you’re doing something you really care about.

Relentless — I don’t give up easily. If I want something, I’ll do everything I can to get it, whether it’s a client or a story. If I’m pitching a news announcement for a startup and five journalists have said no, I will continue until I get a yes.

Resilience — I certainly learned this when I was nine, and I moved to the US without knowing the language or culture. I adapt quickly and am open to evolving my processes. If you stay stuck in your ways, you can’t progress forward, and you get left behind.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

Stereotypes are everywhere about strong women: on TV, in movies, in advertising. Women in movies tend to either be superheroes or damsels in distress. Strong women are portrayed as bitches and they’re often pitted against each other. Or else they’re depicted as being very masculine. These stereotypes carry over into the way people assume strong women are in real life. It’s just an unhealthy view of women in general.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

When I was starting out in the Web 2.0 space, there was another woman who was doing similar things, and people would always confuse the two of us, even though we look nothing alike. I think it goes back to this notion that strong women are a rarity — people assumed it had to be the same person.

But even worse, whenever there would be an article that mentioned the two of us, it would always pit me against her, turning it into some big rivalry. These articles would create an uncomfortable atmosphere between us. It turned us against one another. However, I’m happy to say that now we’re friends.

At the end of the day, women should be more supportive of each other. Female founders and leaders should be supportive of other females and not immediately see them as rivals. Society must stop generating these false narratives.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

A woman should never feel the need to silence herself or censor herself just because some people might be uneasy around a woman who is ready to speak her mind. That said, it’s also a stereotype to assume that powerful women are necessarily stern and somber alongside being highly-driven. I know quite a lot of strong women who are also gentle and multi-faceted. People keep trying to put powerful women in narrowly-defined boxes, and we have to keep breaking out of those boxes.

If a powerful woman does feel that people are uneasy around her, she should just continue to be herself and let her many other aspects shine. Above all, women don’t need to be apologetic. If someone feels uncomfortable, that’s their problem. Anyone who takes the time and gets to know me also gets to see my different facets.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

Society needs to change the way powerful women are portrayed in the media, first and foremost. Any woman can be a powerful woman, not just superheroes or celebrities, or C-suite types. A powerful woman feels a strong sense of self and her own beliefs. She can work in any job sector, she can be a stay-at-home Mom, she can live in a luxury apartment in the inner city or a split-level in the suburbs, or anything in between. And this needs to be seen on TV, in films, and in advertising.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

I’m heavily involved in the tech sector, and this industry, like many others, is unfortunately still dominated by men. Without naming names, I will say that I have found myself more than once in situations where the conversation included a sexist joke. I would always call them out on it.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Questions about family life. If a woman leader has a child, people will ask “Oh, how do you juggle being a CEO and being a mom?” But do they ever ask a man that question? No! And if you’re a woman, it’s always assumed that you either have kids, or you want to have kids one day. This just doesn’t enter into the conversation when people talk to male leaders.

The media treats female leaders differently than their male counterparts, as well. Look at any media story about a female world leader and it will likely include a mention of the type of clothing she was wearing on that particular occasion or her hairstyle. Of course, you’ll never see a media story on a male world leader mention the color of the suit he wore to a meeting or whether he changed the part of his hair from the left to the right.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I’ve always done what I love to do. I’ve been in the tech PR space since 2000. There’s that saying, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” That’s how I feel about everything I’ve done up to this point.

If you need a purpose to wake up to in the morning, you choose the path that helps you achieve that purpose. For some women, it’s their kids; for some, it’s their sport. For me, my purpose was always my work with startups. That’s my passion — bringing change to the world by helping startups that are bringing about fundamental improvements to how we live our lives and how we treat the world around us. That’s been the number one thing for me. I fit everything else around that.

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

I wouldn’t say there was a tipping point, but when I founded SlicedBrand in 2020, I made a conscious choice that we would only work with companies we truly believed in and people we enjoy working with. Otherwise, what’s the point? Public relations is a stressful business as is, so you may as well do it with folks you enjoy being with and believe in. Honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I thrive on the stress.

That being said, I do find it absolutely necessary to dedicate an hour each morning to myself where I exercise and do yoga, which helps me to de-stress. I also enjoy hiking and taking long nature walks with my dog during the weekends. I find that continuously being active and keeping my body fit is an essential part to keeping my mind fit as well.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

I believe that as you grow older, you gain more confidence in who you are. These days, I find that I want to look good for myself, not for anyone else, and if I feel good about the way I look, then I’m happy. I care less and less about what others may think of my looks, the way that I cared in my 20s or 30s. Even though I exercise daily as I mentioned before, I put less and less emphasis on materialistic appearance. The pandemic drove this home further for me and made me understand what a waste it is to spend 30 minutes worrying about what you’re going to wear.

In my opinion, it’s important to look presentable, but I don’t put any special emphasis on getting my hair done, or putting on makeup. I’d rather spend that time learning something new or being with my team.

How is this similar or different for men?

In most cases, men can go about looking however they want to look. Zuckerberg can show up to a meeting in flip-flops and a hoodie and nobody says anything. On the contrary, they might think it’s really cool. But if a woman showed up to a meeting like that, you can bet the press would be all over it.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

Stay focused on your purpose — PR can be frustrating, but I’m always mindful that my goal is ultimately to make a difference in companies’ lives and to help them grow and create a brand name for themselves. I am in a position to either make a new, innovative technology the “talk of the town” or the “fail of the century.” The annoying things that might happen on a day-to-day basis are negligible compared to the bigger vision of all it is that I do. Maintain focus.

Take care of your mental and emotional well-being — Every day, I wake up early and do one hour of exercise and yoga. It really makes my whole day so much better. I used to think that working 24/7 was a good thing, but actually it’s the worst thing you can do. You burn out quickly and are of no good use to anyone. On airplanes, when they are giving the safety instructions, they always say to put on your own oxygen mask first. This is true everywhere in life. You can’t effectively take care of others if you don’t first make sure that you are mentally and physically well yourself.

Surround yourself with talented and positive people — This is really the only way to ensure your ability to flourish. One cannot do everything. Therefore, it’s imperative to have folks you can trust around you, who you can delegate some of the workload to. For example, it’s impossible for me to handle everything on my own for my agency, from the administrative tasks to pitching and writing content. It’s crucial for me to have great people who can be there to assist, and together we accomplish great things.

Stop caring all the time about what others think — Lots of people don’t pursue their true passions because they’re afraid of what others might think. Or they feel like they have to dress a certain way and spend all their time worrying about their appearance. By not concerning myself with what others think, I’ve freed up my mental and emotional capacity to really pursue what excites me and makes me happy.

Develop a supportive network around you — Just as I rely on talented and positive people to support my business, I also rely on a supportive network in my personal life. Find people who make you laugh, people who listen and support you, people who keep you from taking yourself too seriously or can help you put things in perspective.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

If I could have a private breakfast or lunch with anyone, it would be Greta Thunberg, who is a fearless female role model. She’s unafraid to speak her mind and her truth, no matter who the audience is.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.