Episode 06 - Roei Deutch (Jolt)

Published: Oct. 21, 2018, 12:27 p.m.

In this episode we speak with Roei Deutch, Co-founder and CEO of Jolt, a startup that’s a school for employees craving to learn and grow in the new employment world. Jolt has campuses in Tel Aviv and soon in London - following a new 7.5 million USD round of investment that was made public a few days after our interview. Studying in Jolt is done via a “gym membership for learning” model whereby people can take as many classes as they want. The school attempts to break the traditional paradigms of higher education. Breaking paradigms is evident in everything Roei is involved in. When Roei has a vision he paves his own path - inventing self tailored methodologies that will get him and his teams to where they want to be. Pushing forward originally in a world of what he likes to call “made up jobs”. He started his career early, at the age of 14 he founded his first company, which he sold a year later. He has been listed in the prestigious Forbes under 30, founded several successful companies and has already published 3 books. Roei believes that people connect through vulnerability, so he makes sure to present his real self rather than his ״best״ self. In this episode he genuinely took us inside his world, setting forth his unique innovative way of thinking that is an inseparable part of his impressive track record of success. He is always asking himself reflective, non compromising questions, and then deciding on his short and long term actions based on the answers to those questions. For example, before starting Jolt he took time to ask himself what type of CEO he wants to be. This type of action structuring is something everyone can apply in their daily doing. Among other things we spoke about his ideology of extreme transparency in leadership. We asked him if he’s not afraid employees will walk away if you’re transparent with them when things get rough, his answer was: “People respect what they helped build. When someone has been part of the journey when it was rough and when it was good - when shit hits the fan, they’re actually more committed and more accountable. People are good - they don’t walk away from danger if they feel they were part of creating that danger”. We also discuss: - how he structured his company culture based on core traits all people on board have to posses and how to uncover such traits when recruiting - all about his invented employment model of 2 year “chapterships” - how his greatest fears drive him - how he comes up with ideas - his approach towards fundraising - the “airport test” - ..much much more We hope you enjoy your listen