by Rachelle Amar, NBN 2014

Growing up in New Jersey, I wanted life to send me on the adventures it thankfully has. I wanted to see the world. I went from the Garden State where I grew up, to New York City for university, to the hidden spaces of Melbourne for a year abroad, to the bright lights of Hong Kong for work, to the international crossways that are Panama City for another job, until, finally – finally – coming home to Israel, where my heart is and will always be.

As a young New Jersey girl, I was always aware of and attached to my culture. My family was Zionist.  Slowly but surely, my father’s family began to migrate to Israel from Europe. Although immigration is not always easy, the best part of life is the fun curveballs it throws at you. Becoming Israeli was one of those curveballs, possibly the best I’ve experienced so far.

Leaving Newark Airport knowing I had officially incorporated my company fifteen days prior, added to the excitement of moving to Israel. I wasn’t just coming to start anew, I was coming to start a new career and a new business in the Startup mecca of the world.

The staff at Nefesh B’Nefesh Go South not only welcomed me to Beer Sheva when I moved there, they immediately took an active interest in getting to know me and helping to facilitate my personal and business needs. “First things first, Rachelle,” they said to me, “learn the language.”  Five months at ulpan Altshul not only helped me learn more Hebrew than I’d ever known, but it introduced me to the diverse capital of the south, that I now called home.

Two weeks after starting ulpan, I felt confident enough in my Hebrew-speaking abilities and confidently chose to express myself at my cousin-in-law’s Shabbat family dinner. The family said to me in English: “Rachelle, how’s your Hebrew coming along and do you like living in Beer Sheva?”, and I responded with a big smile, “Tov meod!”  I continued, “Haanasim b’Beer Sheva tovim! Taavir li et hasalat, bevakasha?” I kept the smile plastered on my face, but couldn’t understand why everyone’s jaws were suddenly dropped. (For those who may not understand, I wanted to say, the people in Beer Sheva are very good, can you please pass the salad? Accidentally, I said, the rapists are very good in Beer Sheva….oops, lesson learned!)

To say there were moments of cultural, lingual and environmental shock would be an understatement, but the comradery amongst new residents like myself has made assimilating much less overwhelming. In my ulpan alone, the class was filled with Americans, Russians, Peruvians, Cubans, Romanians and Indians. It was the same cultural mix I’d been exposed to in the States, and I loved it.

Everyone in my ulpan was new to Beer Sheva and Israel. Curious about how and where to find the things that would make us all feel more at home, I only felt more compelled to work on my mobile application, iMustHavit, and find everyone the “it” products and services they were searching for.  There’s an excitement in exploring new products when you’re in a new country, but nothing beats the feeling of finding familiar products in an unfamiliar territory.

In Fall 2014, iMustHavit will launch our beta version, providing a social and multilingual product and service navigation app. We connect users with the products and services around them that aren’t easily found otherwise. The app is not just limited to consumer products and services, but also will inform the user about other services, such as civil, government and human rights, which can be quite unnavigable due to language barriers. iMustHavit offers focused features that strengthens the existing local comradery amongst newcomers and visitors.

Marking my first entrepreneurship, this isn’t just a new beginning for me, this is the beginning for me, not only as an entrepreneur but as a new Israeli. Here we are now, a year has passed by full of so many gains. From building the business, expanding and hiring a multi-cultural mix of staff, seeing my concept grow from an idea, to where I am now, only a few weeks from beta launch. It’s been a crazy rollercoaster ride, but I’ve loved every minute of it!