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October 10, 2008
Israelis doing business here
Two recent immigrants are finding both happiness and success.
DEENA LEVENSTEIN
Whether Vancouver is the polar opposite of Israel or not, both Yaron Bazaz and Evan (Avi) Orion love it here.
Orion, 27, co-owner of Flowerz, a flower shop in Kitsilano, never felt at home in Israel. Bazaz, 36, president and chief executive officer of Western Headquarters, feels that Vancouver is "a wonderful place and, more important, it's very friendly, very tolerant and people feel at home here easily. We feel at home."
In 2004, Bazaz came here with his wife, Suzanna, and their then-only child, Ya'ara, for a temporary stay. They returned to Israel in order for Bazaz to do his master's of business administration and apply for immigration. Then they permanently moved to Vancouver with Ya'ara and their new son, Yarden.
Ya'ara, 7, is in Grade 2 at Vancouver Talmud Torah, while Yarden, 3, is in gan yeladim (preschool) at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
Bazaz said that their culture and language don't necessarily feel more important to them now that they are no longer in Israel, but "the ability to preserve the culture and the language [has] became less obvious." Bazaz said that maintaining the Hebrew language is a daily struggle.
Orion, who opened Flowerz with Mordi Mizrachi just over a year ago, felt that growing up in a "traditional" home was "a problem" for him. His family keeping Shabbat and his father going to shul seemed old fashioned to him. As for Hebrew, he only speaks it with Mizrachi, 36, his personal and business partner. They have almost no connection to the Jewish or Israeli community in Vancouver and Orion said that's pretty much how he thought it would be. Yet, during a visit at Flowerz, Israeli music could be heard throughout the eclectic mix of music playing on the stereo.
Flowerz is a store full of ambience. The word shefa (multitudes) comes to mind as you step in. The walls are painted green and white and unique arrangements of flowers and other plants are running along the walls and along the middle of the store. Across from the store entrance, Orion is standing behind a counter, working quickly and smoothly on table arrangements he's preparing for a wedding taking place that weekend. As customers, acquaintances and friends walk in and out of the store, it is apparent that he loves talking to people.
"I love working with people. I always have. It's fun. People are fun," said Orion, who practically grew up in his parents' flower shop in Haifa.
From the age of 12, flowers were his life. After he graduated from high school, he studied a couple of different things before he realized that floral design was what he really loved. At that point, he started running his parents' business and, meanwhile, took floral design courses in Petach Tikvah.
"Pretty much everything that has to do with the business, I love," said Orion. "That is why I can work 16, 17 hours a day and I couldn't care less and I could actually stay here for another few hours."
The only thing he can think of that he doesn't enjoy is the paperwork. "But who does?" he asked.
Mizrachi helps mostly behind the scenes. "He does a lot of the set-ups, a lot of the deliveries, he does a lot of everything, pretty much," explained Orion.
They have one employee and another one planning to begin shortly.
Bazaz founded Western Headquarters in 2006. It is a corporate financing company.
"I aim to match technology companies with private investors, venture capital funds and, for more mature companies, to match them with private equities firms," explained Bazaz.
Now he is launching his own technology startup – in the social networks area. Crowd Fanatic, as it's called, is a "a social network that places the community in the centre and emphasizes the connection of the individual with his/her favorite groups in an emotional, meaningful and competitive environment," he said. Bazaz is currently looking for financing for this new project.
Bazaz explained that being an entrepreneur in a new country isn't the brave step. It's moving there with your whole family. Then, there is getting used to the culture. Like, for example, how Canadians might say, "Yes," or, "Maybe," but in fact they mean, "No." He also said he needs to make sure never to use the Israeli "hard and short mentality" here: "People get really hurt," he said.
At the same time, Bazaz believes that if people try to change themselves too much, they "become artificial and wouldn't be able to create a real, genuine interaction."
Bazaz tries to encourage other Israelis to "jump into the cold water." He urges entrepreneurs not to look at venture capital like some cold and distant world. "There are people here dealing with us, with good will," he said, adding that, if someone thinks they might have a good idea, they should run with it.
Right now within Western Headquarters, Bazaz's focus is on finding funding for Israeli, local and some American companies. He feels very good about helping the Israeli economy. "Investing in Israel is not just about the money," he said. "It's more than that. It's knowing that you are assisting Israel, creating more jobs in Israel. It's a great feeling to know it's not just business."
Both Bazaz and Orion plan to stay in Vancouver. Bazaz said that, if someone were to sign a document stating that the weather this past summer would replicate itself every year, he promised to never even consider moving elsewhere.
Orion misses his family and friends in Israel but, like Bazaz, is happy. "People are so nice here. It almost makes you feel like back home," said Orion.
One difference, however, is that Orion finds a lack of creativity in Canada compared to Israel. While he needed to learn how the flowers here differ from those in Israel, now that he has gotten used to that, he feels it's time for the people here to get more used to his unconventional style.
Considering how busy Flowerz currently is, after being open just over a year, Vancouverites seem to be biting the bait. For example, a customer came in and watched as Orion put together an arrangement that included a pink pineapple from Costa Rica, red velvety flowers grown locally and big green leaves. The customer said she only buys at Flowerz, as she gets bored with the symmetry she sees in other flower stores' arrangements.
Both Bazaz and Orion have big plans for the future. "We're just starting to gear up," said Orion. "The next five years for us are going to be really exciting. We'll make sure everyone knows who we are."
To find out more about these businesses, check out their websites at www.westernhq.com and flower-z.com.
Deena Levenstein is a freelance writer from Toronto, Jerusalem and now Vancouver. You can read her blog at www.deenascreations.wordpress.com.
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