Kfir Gavrieli is the proud and passionate CEO of Tieks. Kfir talks about making your employees heroes. Kfir also
discusses how he started his company with $50 and gained market share by
creating custom shoes for celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Jessica
Parker. Kfir has taken an idea that began in his dorm room at UCLA into a
global footwear company that now employs over 500 people across two continents
and five countries! Kfir also shares a personal story of being an immigran
from Israel who came to the United States with only $50.
Kfir says that immigrants come to this country with a solid work ethic and an
understanding of the American dream and what it means to be successful. He says
that immigrants are risk-takers, and they tend to work very long hours. Kfir Gavrieli talked about how he worked at Disneyland while attending UCLA. He was
an assistant manager in the Little Mermaid section of Fantasyland. He would
start working at 6 am during summer break and wouldn’t get home until 11 pm!
Kfir wanted to be successful, so he took on several jobs, did whatever it took
to provide for his family, but he also knew how important it was to give back
by helping others in need.
Kfir talks about how Tieks started when he saw a gap in the shoe market that
existing brands were not filling or satisfying their customers’ needs. No
product had everything Kfir felt every woman should have in a shoe – be
comfortable, stylish, and easily wearable from the boardroom to the ballroom.
Tieks are now very popular with women across 35 countries!
Kfir says that if you want to start a business, always learn and never settle
into a comfort zone. He also talks about having an idea or innovative concept
then testing it out but not putting your heart and soul into ensuring it
succeeds because a failed experiment is still a failure. Kfir says if you don’t
put 100% into something, often it doesn’t work. It’s essential to make sure
that whatever project or company you’re working on, believe in it as much as
possible!
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More about Gavrieli on https://www.crunchbase.com/person/kfir-gavrieli