Fay Goldstein, Co-Founder & CEO of Bardin, on Talking Her Way Into the IDF at 27, Raising Money from the Gaza Border, and Becoming Israeli on Purpose

In this episode of Yalla, Let's Go!, Erica and Abbey sit down with Fay Goldstein — co-founder and CEO of Bardin, and an olah from the United States — for a candid conversation about talking her way into the IDF at 28, building a startup during wartime, and what it really means to become Israeli. Fay grew up in a Chabad family that moved constantly across the US before settling in Florida, and first connected to Israel through religious seminary and the Tel Aviv beach and party scene she snuck out to see. She made aliyah at 27, then convinced the IDF's head of recruitment to let her draft at 28 — a decade older than her fellow soldiers — after being told she was “a liability.” After her service, she left politics for tech, working in a startup and in VC before founding Bardin, a company she built while serving reserve duty and guiding tech missions through southern Israel in the wake of October 7th. Also in the episode: - Growing up in a nomadic Chabad family and finding Zionism before religion - Talking her way into the IDF at 28 with a handwritten exemption override - Raising angel investment from the Gaza border while on reserve duty - How guiding tech missions after October 7th led to her first investors - Leaving VC and startups behind to become a founder herself - Rejecting the “lost olah” identity and choosing to become fully Israeli - Building chosen family and community as an immigrant without family in Israel - Aliyah advice: learn Hebrew and seek out community beyond other olim This is a conversation about grit, identity, and what it means to build both a life and a company in Israel, on your own terms. Subscribe for more conversations with people who live, work, build, and stay in Israel. #FayGoldstein #Bardin #Israel #Aliyah #IDF #TechInIsrael #StartupIsrael #October7 #OlahChadasha #JewishIdentity #YallaLetsGo #LifeInIsrael #WomenFounders #MakingAliyah #IsraeliTech **KEY TOPICS**  0:00 - Intro 0:55 - Meet Fay Goldstein: Bardin Co-Founder and CEO 2:42 - Life Story in 60 Seconds: 27 Houses and a Chabad Upbringing 4:01 - Why She Made Aliyah: Zionism Before Religion 6:32 - Talking Her Way Into the IDF at Age 28 8:24 - “You're a Liability”: The Exemption Letter From Yossi Matzliach 8:55 - Building Bardin: An AI Startup Born From ChatGPT 9:18 - Raising Money From the Gaza Border During Reserve Duty 11:42 - How Reserve Duty Led to Her First Angel Investors 12:10 - Leaving VC and Startups to Become a Founder 13:11 - Building Chosen Family and Community as an Olah 15:08 - Rejecting the “Lost Olah” Identity 18:25 - Aliyah Advice: Learn Hebrew and Find Real Community 20:30 - Rapid Fire: Chicken Kebabs, “Em,” and the Golan **RESOURCES** Follow Fay on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faygoldstein/  Subscribe to Yalla, Let’s Go here: https://www.aleph.vc/yalla-lets-go  Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc  Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter:http://aleph.vchttps://newsletter.aleph.vc/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@yallaletsgopodcast  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yallaletsgopodcast/  Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yallaletsgopodcast  Follow Aleph on Twitter:https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberghttps://x.com/aleph ‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ ‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ **CREDITS** Hosts: Erica Marom, Abbey Onn  Executive Producer: Sarah Bard Producer: Sofi Levak, Dalit Merenfeld, Myron Shneider Video and Editing: Nadav Elovic Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar  Content and Editorial: Jackie Goldberg Design: Nimrod Sapir