‘It all feels like a nightmare.’ This mom and former Israeli tank commander is leading her tech startup from a war zone

New York (CNN) — Maayan Cohen was on a flight from Tel Aviv to Las Vegas when she learned through a text that a terror attack was unfolding in Israel.

After delivering a speech at a tech conference in Vegas, the Israeli-American CEO of health company Hello Heart hopped on a flight back to Tel Aviv the next day to be with her 5-year-old son and employees.

Cohen, a former tank commander in the Israeli Army, had no doubt she should immediately return to Tel Aviv.

“It wasn’t even a question,” Cohen, who was born and raised in Israel, told CNN. “If Jews are not protected in Israel, Jews won’t be protected anywhere.”

Based in Silicon Valley, Hello Heart is a digital health company that lets users monitor and manage their heart health by detecting their blood pressure and heart rate and by providing recommendations.

Before the terror attacks, Cohen had been splitting her time between California and Israel. Now she is leading Hello Heart from Tel Aviv, where the company employs about 80 people.

“It all feels like a nightmare. This is like the worst nightmare in the world and it keeps attacking you because Hamas terrorists videoed everything and put it on social media. It’s everywhere,” said Cohen, who co-founded Hello Heart in 2013. “This is not some far-away land that this happened in. This is our community.”

‘Truly scared’

Cohen and her family have been living in a bomb shelter at their home since the October 7 terror attack by Hamas. The scariest part of her day is commuting to the office, which also has a bomb shelter.

“This is the first time Israelis are truly scared. It’s the first time in my life I’m carrying a kitchen knife and pepper spray in my bag,” Cohen said. “We don’t know what’s coming next. I’ve never been scared like this as a civilian.”

Hello Heart has raised $138 million from venture capital firms and other investors and says its clients include CVS, Delta Air Lines and other Fortune 500 firms.

Leading a venture-backed startup in this crazy economy is never easy. Pulling that off in the middle of a war is another matter altogether.

“Our team is horrified. They go to funerals all the time. Everyone is scared and shocked,” Cohen said.

Israeli and Palestinian employees

Hello Heart’s employees are diverse. Many of them are Israelis who were impacted by the terror attack, including one pregnant woman who locked herself inside a shelter at a kibbutz near Gaza with her two kids for 30 hours to evade the Hamas attackers. (A kibbutz is a type of self-sustaining community in Israel.)

“When she got out, she realized most of her neighbors were slaughtered or kidnapped,” Cohen said.

Other Hello Heart employees are Palestinians, including some who have family in Gaza.

Cohen said she has tried to navigate this situation by acknowledging all human suffering, leading with empathy and fact checking everything she says to her team.

“My heart goes out to all people hurt by Hamas – Israelis and Palestinians,” she said. “It’s complex, but that’s leadership today. You can’t be a business leader if you aren’t making a statement. Otherwise your silence is deafening and you’re agreeing with whatever extreme statements your employees are making.”

Safe but not okay

Approximately 10% of Hello Heart’s Tel Aviv team were called to the military reserve, including software engineers and project managers.

The company opened an aid center in the Tel Aviv office to provide supplies to reservists as well as families whose homes were abandoned during the Hamas terror attacks.

After the terror attack, Hello Heart consulted a trauma expert to help address the mental health stress.

“We’re all safe, but we’re not okay. This is not anxiety. It is true fear,” Cohen said.

The Hello Heart CEO has found the best strategy for coping is to stop looking at the horrific pictures and videos on social media and to stay busy running her company and aid center.

“I told our board we’re going to win the war against Hamas,” Cohen said. “We’re going to keep our team safe. And we’re going to continue to kick ass as a business.”

The-CNN-Wire
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