Gali Bloch Liran - Founder & CEO @ The Human Founder

Welcome to another Founder Wisdom podcast. We have Gali Bloch-Liran with us today. She's founder and CEO of The Human Founder. She's a trusted advisor to startup co-founders. She's also like a VC executive coach, angel investor, an author, a speaker, podcast host, bunch of things in Israel. So Gali, welcome to the podcast. Tell us a bit more about yourself and what you've been up to.

Thank you. It's great to be here and good morning back there in Mexico. So what would you like me to talk about from all the various things we can discuss together?

Yeah, I guess yourself, right? Like, what's your background? How did you land it there? How is that your ikigai?

Yeah, so I'll do it in, in short. My professional academic background is in life psychology and business psychology, and This is my professional background, but all around the years, after like 15 years switching careers every 2 years from being a lawyer to marketing to leadership, I was always looking, you know, for meaning and what is this thing that I want to be when I'll grow up. And changed many careers, verticals, relocations, etc. Somewhere at mid-30s, I started to work with— actually earlier, a bit earlier, started to work with startups. Uh, mainly in Israel but not just. And then I was like a CMO for a very big hub that worked with startup VC and multinationals. And as a CMO, I was in charge of helping them convey their messages, you know, give their story to the world. But what I found out there when they opened up with me really closely is actually about all their anxieties and relationship, uh, and a problem in relationships and crisis that they have and how they manage, on the one hand, the high performance, peak performance, and on the other hand, the emotional roller coaster. How do they balance and create more harmony around what happens at home and what happens at work? Because it's all connected. And that's where it also met me personally in my own life journey. And somewhere in the middle of my 30s, approximately 10 years ago, I felt that everything is connected. The being both a lawyer and learning, studying psychology, that understanding business but understanding the mentality of actually those who do business, that's how everything is connected. And 10 years ago, I actually founded The Human Founder Consulting and Media. And what I do is, on the one hand, I work with many founders early stage until pre-post IPOs and leaderships on strengthening their relationships, their decision-making. How do they actually make the right decisions. Is there a right decision? How do they perceive success, etc.? Uh, working with many entrepreneurship programs all around the world and VCs about the diligence of teams, because the team is the most important thing, uh, in the startup, also today in the AI world. Uh, and I wrote a book about it, how to, uh, um, uh, uh, The Human Founder: How to Build a Startup and Thrive. It will be out in English, uh, towards 2027. It's currently in Hebrew. Uh, and I have the podcast that runs from psychology and mental performance and decision-making to longevity, everything through the aspect and through the lens of entrepreneurship and how actually the business, the human founder, actually can choose which path to go and how to walk this path in more mindful and holistic way. So this is like in short.

Interesting. And when you were a lawyer, right, like when you were a careerist, did you feel that something wasn't right? Like, and was it freeing to start your own businesses?

So I was an intern, uh, in the biggest law firm in Israel. And, uh, also there, what I, uh, uh, did there was also with a lot of like, uh, mental aspects in it. I actually took care of all the wealthiest people and all their personal issues, you know, uh, offshore companies and how they— the estates and the, uh, how they actually give the money later on, the succession, etc. So it's all a lot of psychology inside it. I just felt that I don't want to be a lawyer, that, um, uh, I need really much to work with people and help, uh, impact the way, um, they think, the way they are designed, and the, the, the big visions that they have. And that lawyer isn't really who I am. I mean, I can do it, but it won't be my zone of genius, right? It can be my zone of excellence, but it won't be my zone of genius. And through that, like, after making a lot of changes, I think that from each career period, I took something that back then I didn't completely understand what it is actually, the story, how it navigates me, what will be the future. As a younger woman, I was very much into the question, what will I be when I'll grow up, right? We have this question in mind. And only several years after and many life experiences, the stars, the stars started like, uh, to get together. All I started to see all the dots connected and leading me to where I am, both personally and professionally. And about that, I want to say that sometimes we think maybe we take the wrong career or that we're not in the right direction, but I don't see it that way. I see that everything— the way I see it is it's all a journey of growth, and that from each phase that we are in, we have something to learn and observe. And this is actually the skill that we need the most always, but especially today in this reality, to grow our resourcefulness, our ability to cope with whatever comes. And sometimes along the years, when your consciousness is wider and higher, you start to see how everything is connected together. And then you mentioned ikigai. You actually see how your passion, how your talents, how your skills, and what you can make money from, everything comes together. And this is the thing that you actually want to do and to be in life.

And why startups, right? Like, why not coach corporations?

It's a great question. So 2 things I'll say about it. Since I was a very young girl, I was a dancer, and I was like very— with very strong discipline and very high performer by myself, like being a dancer, very good student, very active. Like, so this is part of my character and also part of my DNA. This is like the one angle. But the other angle that it's connected to it, I think throughout my whole career, all the managers and leaders that I had, like all the positions that I took in my first 15 years of career, my boss, bosses, they were like extremely smart, peak performers, strong. I learned from them so much, and sometimes it was also very difficult. And I think it was always in me, uh, to work with those that are like at the forefront of what happens, you know, at the edge of everything. So it's very important for me to work with people that will challenge me. This is how I build and what I need. And also through technology I feel that I'm always up to date. You know, this is the thing that changes the most. And another angle is that in order to work with the top performers and the people that are the founders, you know, you know, founders, they're very sharp. They think they know everything. They are very wise. Their pace, like their velocity is so quick, et cetera. They also need someone very special that can handle them, that can hold them, that will not be like too overwhelmed from their pace or from what's going on. And I think that I have a really good match. And From that, I want to say that it doesn't matter what your business is. If you're a VC, if you do go-to-market, if you're a designer, it doesn't matter. If you're a teacher, yoga teacher, you should know your audience, right? A startup, we speak about ICP, the ideal customer profile. Like, we really need to know to whom we're selling the product or marketing it. So same for me. I feel that I really know, uh, my clients, my target clients, and that my characteristics, uh, are really, really in a good fit. The word that I always used to like in, in our business is fit, because fit, it's not right or wrong, right? There's no right or wrong almost in nothing in life. It's absolutely everything, it's like on a spectrum. So once you have a very, very good fit with your target audience, you will have more satisfaction there, and you will feel that you can bring yourself in an authentic way VCs, they're a very different personality.

Like, is it 1 VC for 9 founders that you get as clients? And how does the coaching differ from the normal startup founder?

So, uh, first of all, no, I don't work just with 1 VC. I'm agnostic, okay? I can work with several VCs and several founders. I think that this is also what gives me the very wide perspective because like there is a variety of startup founders. I always say that VCs are also founders, you know, investors in a VC are also founders. Sometimes if the— when the VC is small or like the check is relatively small at the beginning, so they are in their seed round. But as the VC grow and, and, and the, uh, what they, uh, the assets that they manage are, are bigger, like $500 million $1 billion, etc. So it's, let's call it Series C of a startup, right, if we compare. So investors are in many ways like startup founders because their business is just their VC. But on the other hand, it's different because they manage the money and they don't hold— they hold the pressure, but it's a different kind of pressure from what the startup founders have. I think that working with many with different personalities, with different approaches, with different pace, also in different verticals, allow me to have a very big, very wide perspective to see different kinds and different requirements of investors and VCs. And again, there's no right or wrong. There's a fit. A startup founder, when he chooses from whom to take money, it should be a wise decision, not just to take the money, but to understand who's the person on the other side, because this person is going usually to be part of your board. And once they're part of your board, they're part of your company and the decision-making. And we should really put it into consideration from whom we take money, because the money, sometimes it's the easy part. Later on, navigating this whole journey and the decision-making with an investor that don't see eye to eye with you, or that they don't have the same values like you, Or even furthermore, sometimes in the board you have several different investors from different VCs and they don't get along together. And that's like really, really bad for the company. So managing the whole relationship with the investors is also crucial part of your success.

And the VCs you coach, what kind of problem do they come to you with? Like we both, you and I, target founders and VCs. VCs are a bit, I don't know, they're probably not the best coaching clients. Most of them like hide their cards like if it was a poker game, right? They already think they're the kings and queens of the world, unlike founders, which yes, have our high ego, but like we'll take feedback and we'll move fast, right? And most importantly, I feel most VCs don't have it in them anymore. If they would have it in them, they would found companies, wouldn't invest in a bunch of startups. They don't have that flame, that strong ambition. which is hard to play with. Uh, what do you have to say about that?

Well, I don't like to speak in exclamation marks, you know. I like to speak more with question marks. And I think that like startup founders, that there are many, many types, so does with VCs and with investors. But generally speaking, the VC purpose is to make money and ROI to their LPs, right? Uh, so that for sure sometimes won't be in the same, uh, trajectory. It should be, but not always it will be in the same trajectory as the startups and the different decisions. I think that the major things that VCs need support in for their startups is, first of all, uh, to create this alignment, to help, uh, create this alignment between the founder or the founder team and, uh, uh, uh, the VC itself. But also when they see— because sometimes they come with a lot of experience, especially with younger founders And experiences a lot. So sometimes when they see dynamics or relationships between, let's say, 2 or 3 co-founders together that have a very bad, very good potential to go sideways, to go in a bad way, then they need an involvement and then they need someone who's more objective in order to be there. Or for example, I'm sure you saw it in the past as well. Sometimes we have a team of 3 and one is the CEO, but there's a problem with him or with her and it's not the right fit. And sometimes it was he or she was very good in the first year, but maybe later on we need to change it after we are coming out from the 0 to 1 phase. So also when we need to have transitions in the organs, in the positions within the startup, this is also a very challenging part that if it's made with a lot of empathy, holding, communication in the right way, it can be much more bearable and to bring both the company and the ROI to the right direction.

And most of your clients are Israeli, right?

Not just, I mean, the majority are Israeli related, as we can really say proudly, We have amazing startup founders here in Israel for many, many reasons. Not for a reason it's called the Startup Nation and later on the Scale-Up Nation. The mentality, the resilience, the gravity that they have, the mental abilities that they have from different reasons, whether it is from the army or how we live here or like a lot of ego, but also a lot of chutzpah, all those kind of things together create very, very special set of psychological traits and, and, and skills. But later on, they are spread all around the world. A huge— the huge market, you know, also for Israeli startups is the United States, also Latin America, the East, and Asia, and Europe, of course. So, um, one of the nicest things that we see is that there is this, uh, thing of second and third time founders. Actually, next week In 10 days, I'm holding a very big event here with 6 serial founders. Like, it's the 3rd time they're building after exit, after millions of millions of millions of dollars. And this is exactly the angle to understand what's in them and to see their evolvement and to see their growth and what changes. And the change can come in a way that they will go to a 2nd or 3rd startup in the same vertical, or to switch from cyber, for example, to sport, or even Leave the startup world in the traditional way and to go to social impact, to social entrepreneurship, or even to go write books, etc. So so this phenomenon of building second, third times—it's amazing. And I think in this aspect, they also paid forward a lot to all the countries that they are located in because many of the Israeli founders once they you know where is the fund, they have the first establishment, they later on go to the destination market. Sorry, many of the times it's to the USA, and then they stay there and they build there. And I have startups in London, in Australia, in Philippines, in all the United States, East, West Coast, Europe, of course. So it's really interesting. And it's also interesting to observe the different mentalities and the different pace of speaking, of acting. Like, for example, many of the Israeli founders, so, you know, you say something, it happens. That's it. Like a minute after, everything changes quickly. So quickly. They pivot. Tomorrow it's already new. Sometimes when you work with different cultures, for example, the pace is different. They need to make the decision. They need to take the time. So this is also something I really like because I'm also a very quick person and I like this So it's nice.

So in terms of differences, right? Like should they act faster? I guess not sure why I'm saying this, but maybe they would be easier to work with the Israeli founders. There tends to be a better quality of founder there because of the war, because of the resilience, because of the grit. But also, I'm guessing as clients you must talk about. some personal and sensitive topics for them right now, like if they lost a close one, right? Like, do you feel this is part of your coaching as well when you work with Israeli founders?

Yes, I'll say, I say several things about it. I think that this is also my main thesis and what I write about and in my podcast. So to have the right go-to-market strategies or the right business models, That's pretty much the same to all startup founders that go to a specific market in a specific vertical and need to explore it. But I think what really makes— and it's not easy, but it's more standardized, like, to understand, to see case studies, to learn from each other. I think that what makes the difference, uh, for good founders is actually the mental will. I'll say something in a second in my book that will be published later on in 2027 in English. Actually, draw this model of 2 wheels, like someone who rides a bicycle needs 2 wheels unless they're in the circus. So we have the business wheel and the mental wheel. So the business wheel is the go-to-market and the team and the funding, et cetera. But the mental wheel is exactly the things that you've discussed— the why, the resilience, the growth mindset, the relationship, all of those things that only if they are synchronized in a very, very good and coherent way, the startup can— the 2 wheels can move together. So I think that in order to be in the right place with a mental wheel, we should definitely learn to work both with our strength and skills and, let's say, the good things, but also both with our traumas and with our difficulties and with our challenges, because this is what builds us later on in the future. Sometimes Sometimes in the first moment it's difficult because, you know, we always have to go through the pain in order to get to the second side of it. But once we learn how to work with it, how to learn to process our traumas and, and bring them into— make it strength out of it, this is where the difference is made. And to your question, yeah, unfortunately everything we're going through in Israel, especially in the last 3 years. But it's not just in the last 3 years, it's for many years that way. It has a crucial connection to our resilience, to our mental resilience, to how our character is being built, and to the mindset. And one of the amazing things that happened here in the last few years, that a lot of sort of founders that were in reserves, you know, in the army, from there they built many new technologies. It's amazing. They didn't sleep at night. They weren't in their offices. They left the families at home, but they were building. And also from that, after all, there are many, many technologies to do. So, uh, living politics aside, I think that, um, this mentality is unique, is amazing. It's what I all— you know, what is resilience? Resilience, if you— we do like this, it's difficult to see now. We're always falling, everyone are falling, right? But the resilience is the ability to bounce back. How quickly do we bounce back? and stand on our feet mentally and see how we take the next step. So I think this is amazing. And I think generally saying even wider, that this mindset of entrepreneurial mindset is something that everyone should have, not just startup founders. If you build a business in design, in photographing, as a chef, a teacher, because the adaptability, the flexibility, the agility, the ability to change ourselves, and work with this chaotic life that we are all experiencing now, whether it is because of geopolitical issues or AI or interest rates or everything that happens. How do we cope with it? So in that sense, I feel that the entrepreneurial mindset and the resilience and the ability to commit to something bigger than yourself and to go for it and work with all the adversities you have on the way is something really, really meaningful and useful.

Yeah, I agree with that. Uh, what's next for you? What are your goals for this year?

Wow. So, um, as I mentioned, I'm finishing now the editorial part of my book in English. It was a bestseller in Hebrew, and now I'm preparing to bring it to the global market. Maybe we'll schedule something in Mexico later on in 2027. Uh, so the book, The Human Founder, and I started a new Uh, series in my podcast, The Human Founder, the Longevity Series. So currently I'm working with a lot of founders in the longevity arena. I'm personally very interested in it, and I also think that this is something that again connects everything like consciousness, body, mind, technology, entrepreneurship, everything together. Um, and more investments in amazing founders. Um, and I think that's it. And, and to have enough time to ground, to be with the people I love, to learn all the time, to breathe, in order to have the clarity to process everything that we're experiencing it, and to understand, or try to understand at least, how we, we take all this, uh, sometimes noise but sometimes also very interesting things and make something out of them in a way that will be calibrated with who I am, my energy, and the people I want to work with.

Your day today, I saw it on Instagram partly. You go out paddle surfing, you do lots of sport, you're super fit, right? Like, what does your day in your life look like?

Well, first of all, every day in my life looks different, and I love it. I don't like that everything is the same, but every day has Several components that I won't miss. It's sports, either paddle sports or strength or boxing or yoga or pickleball, or sometimes two, three different things in a day. Eat healthy, like I'm keeping my healthy nutrition. And on top of that, this is like the basic. This is the most important thing, right? Because we need to nurture this machine in a good way. I always read 3 books in parallel in different areas of entrepreneurship, growth mindset, longevity. Working with at least 2, 3, 4, 5 founders a day depends on the complexity and in the stages. Having given lectures, recording my podcast series, due diligence to different startups that I want to invest in or to bring investors into. I also a professor in the most amazing university in Israel, Reichman University. So I have there my, uh, 20 students every year in the Zell Entrepreneurship Program as well. So working with them, and at least one friend a week, and at least one date with each of my boys a week. So, and my mom and my husband. So that's pretty much a hectic life, but I'm very good at time management and energy management. Uh, so, um, yeah, it's a lot, but, uh, I'm doing it and I love it.

I love it too. Where can people find out more about you, Gali?

So it's at galiblochliran.com. G-A-L-I-B-L-O-C-H-L-I-R-A-N.com. Everything is there. The podcast, the book, the workshops, the lectures, like everything that is going on. And or on my LinkedIn at galiblochliran.com. Yeah, I'm on the social media, so it's easy to find.

That's Gali and Charles for another