Ronen Menipaz

Ronen Menipaz (born October 23, 1981) is an Israeli investor, entrepreneur, tech advisor, and founder of numerous business ventures in the entertainment, adtech, and fintech space. His sense of creativity and passion has helped him produce more than a dozen successful companies. He is perhaps best known for his involvement with Meme Global, Somoto, the Real Life Superpowers podcast, and MCM celebrity agency.
As of May 2017, he’s the CEO and founder of M51, a private equity company located in Tel Aviv, Israel. 
==Early life and education==
Menipaz was born in Calgary, Canada, the son of Ehud and Esther Menipaz. His family has origins both in Europe and in Israel, going nine generations back. During his childhood, Menipaz moved a lot with his family, living both in Ottawa and Toronto. In 1996, he moved to Israel with his family, but did not blend in the education system, getting thrown out of several high schools before dropping out. He managed to finish his education externally, later acquiring two degrees: Engineering & Business Administration and Political Science. 
His great grandfather, Eliyahu Harpak, was one of the biggest entrepreneurs in Israel, founding the company Osem (one of the first globally successful companies originating from Israel).
==Business career==
At the age of 16, Menipaz got his first job, selling Kirby vacuum cleaners door to door.
A year later, he founded a production company called LIMBO TI and rented a chicken coop in a kibbutz north of Ra'anana, which later became the first mega club in Israel outside Tel Aviv.
Menipaz was one of the first Israeli entrepreneurs to incorporate online marketing strategies into his ventures, most notably clubs and restaurants. He was also known as one of the top creative strategists in the country, working for a variety of politicians, organizations, and businesses.
During his career, Menipaz has been involved with over 100 startups in Israel, 30 of which he founded or co-founded. Two of those startups went public, while five were sold and four more are currently privately profitable companies. 
Today, his main occupation is M51 Entrepreneur Labs, a private equity company based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company acts as a hub for entrepreneurs and businesses to fulfill their potential, with the help of the resources and funding provided by M51. According to Menipaz, one of his goals with this venture is to help and empower Israeli entrepreneurs. 
==Personal life==
He is married to Moran Menipaz. The couple has two sons: Hero and Don.
Menipaz lists Richard Branson as his idol and role model because of Branson’s way of never fearing getting into new fields and challenging himself, even when he doesn’t know a lot about the industries he wishes to get involved in.. 
Menipaz also credits Rami Sade, a specialist in political and public campaigning, as well as Menipaz’s former employer. According to Menipaz, Sade is the second-most influential person in his entrepreneurial career. Sade taught Menipaz how to become a reverse engineer strategist, something Menipaz would later label as an incredibly important ability for him and the reason why he is a successful entrepreneur today. 
Menipaz joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 2000 and served the mandatory two years and eight months. 
==Philanthropy==
Menipaz is a founding member of the Na Laga’at, a non-profit arts and cultural center for the deaf, blind and deaf-blind individuals. He served six years as marketing director, in charge of implementing an innovative model of integrating people with disabilities in society through various projects, such as the BlackOut Dark Restaurant, Na Laga’at Theater, and more. 
Menipaz is also a founding member of MILI - a non-profit organization that brings together mentors who donate their time and expertise to help Israeli businesses cope with the constraints of COVID-19. As of December 2020, the organization has managed to raise close to ₪4 million to help entrepreneurs and businesses affected by COVID-19.
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* Ronen Menipaz on LinkedIn
* M51
* Ronen Menipaz’s Website (in Hebrew)
* Ronen Menipaz on Twitter
* Real Life Superpowers Podcast
* Ronen Menipaz crunchbase profile
Category:1981 births
Category:Israeli investors
Category:Israeli entrepreneurs
Category:Israeli businesspeople
Category:Israeli inventions