logo

Meet the Founder

SenseIt is the first automatic functional testing tool for web accessibility on the market so websites are compliant, functional and usable for everyone.
9 people
120k from Techstars
September 30

5 min read

"When you want to do something but keep thinking of the barriers along the way - just do it."

Every week we send the same list of questions to a different founder from companies of all sizes. Each week we get new answers, insights, perspectives, and tips on how we all can shine a bit brighter.

Tamar Schapira

CEO & Co-Founder at SenseIt

Tamar lives and works with her husband Nadav, the Co-Founder & CPO of SenseIT, with their 4 kids.

Meet the Founder

SenseIt is the first automatic functional testing tool for web accessibility on the market so websites are compliant, functional and usable for everyone.
9 people
120k from Techstars

1. What is a daily habit you love doing?

I love cooking, it’s a true hobby of mine. Other than that I have a few more daily habits – I start every morning with a green shake, and I also run at night, about 3 or 4 times a week.

2. What piece of advice would you give yourself when you started? What advice would you ignore?

The advice I would give myself is to break through my comfort zone and get out of my shell. Everything that was uncomfortable for me was something I had to do in order to grow. For example, I didn’t feel comfortable making cold calls to people. But that’s how you go far – by meeting people and getting yourself out there. 

Leaving my kids behind for a work trip was one of the most uncomfortable things I had to do, and it ended up getting me so far. I learned about myself and about my clients, and I did it in a timely fashion – just enough time to meet people, but not too much time away from the family. 

The advice I would ignore is that you have to do things “when the time is right”. When it came to having kids, for example, people asked a lot of questions around me: ‘Is the job right? Do you have enough of an income? Do you have a house?’… Time is not necessarily the right measurement of when to do things. The same for when opening up a business – there is no right or wrong time for that.

3. What piece of content (book/podcast/Ted Talk) is your favorite or has influenced your life?

A Ted Talk by Simon Sinek always helps me go back to the question ‘Why I do what I do’ as an individual, a leader, and a manager

I also love Sharyl Sandberg’s book ‘Lean In’. I read it when I first started the company and it gave me a lot of perspective. It also goes back to getting out of your comfort zone – as women we have to break our own barriers.

Lean In By Sheryl Sandberg

4. What is the most valuable investment (time, money or energy etc.) that you’ve ever made?

My kids. I learn so much about myself, about patience, and about leadership from raising them. Investing in my kids is also about active listening. My ears have to be wide open to hear what they’re saying and teaching me. We have four kids and they’re the best investment we’ve ever made. 

Tamar with her family.

5. Is there a quote, mantra or message you live your life by and that you resonate with? It can be someone else's as well.

“Just do it”. When you have a lot to do and don’t know where to start, when you fear doing something, or when you want to do something but keep thinking of the barriers along the way – just do it.

Sensit is run by my husband and me. My husband started it, and a few months later I identified the opportunity and joined to make this idea into a reality. Sometimes i can’t really explain how we manage to co-run the company and maintain a family life, but then i go back to this mantra and understand that this is simply my mindset. When you want something so badly, nothing else matters.


*See Israel Krush, CEO & Founder of Hyro.ai answering the same thing and who instilled this mentality in him. 

6. What helps you stay motivated on good and hard days?

On hard days I go for a run and that helps me get back my motivation. There is something about the adrenaline and moving my body that reconnects my mind, body and soul. 

On good days, there’s this constant list in my head of what’s happening in my life that is good, and it motivates me to do more. When I go back and ask myself why I do what I do, what I bring to the world, and where I want to go, it reminds me why I’m actually in this. Jumpy music keeps me motivated too, on hard and good days.

7. What are you passionate about other than managing your own company? 

I’m passionate about motherhood and about being an active mom and everything that comes with it. I call myself a mom-preneur. (*Note – Tamar is doing this whole interview holding her cute child, so she really embodies this word.) 

Another thing I’m passionate about is being mentored and mentoring. I really think that way we can succeed while helping others succeed as well. Techstars has a mantra that says “Give first” and I really resonate with that. I think it’s a great way of helping society grow, and it also connects to being a mom. 

8. What have you recently thrown away or released from your life that made a positive impact and why?

During the first country lockdown, I just started throwing away stuff. I went through all my binders and drawers, cleared away many things I didn’t need, and made way for new energy. I also plan on doing it again in this coming lockdown.

9. Share a failure you have experienced and what you learned from it.

I failed in my last business, about four years ago. I didn’t budget correctly and I spent more than what I had on PR & marketing. It was a huge failure. I learned from it that you can get through anything – at the time I thought I was doomed and that I wouldn’t be able to pick myself back up. I really learned my own limits. And, of course, I learned how to budget.

10. If you could have anyone in the world answer these questions who would it be and why?

I would love to hear what Steve Jobs would say. Even though he wasn’t very loved by his staff, I’m intrigued by the way he did things. It would be nice to hear what my husband would have to say as well. 

More Founders Column Answers

לירן חיימוביץ
עברית

4 דקות קריאה

אוגוסט 2022
עברית
4 דקות קריאה
אוגוסט 2022

המשימה היא לבנות מוצר שמייצר ערך משמעותי ללקוחות שלה. בסופו של יום, חברות קמות ונופלות בדיוק על שאלת הערך ללקוחות

עמית בן דב
עברית

3 דקות קריאה

פברואר 2022
עברית
3 דקות קריאה
פברואר 2022

לא הייתה אסטרטגיית מכירות. אני בעצמי עניתי לטלפון וניסיתי את מזלי.

iconתשאלו אותנו הכל