Gili Fleekop, aka Gili From Philly, on Making Aliyah Against Her Mom's Wishes, Raising $400K for Soldiers After October 7, and Why She Never Negotiates

In this episode of Yalla, Let’s Go!, Erica and Abbey sit down with Gili Fleekop — known online as Gili from Philly — co-founder of TikTok marketing agency Pink Chili, former social media lead at ironSource, and founder of Unit 107, the volunteer-run supply initiative that raised close to $400,000 for Israeli soldiers after October 7th.

Gili shares her journey from the Philadelphia suburbs — raised by an Israeli mother and an American father — to building a life in Israel after a year of service with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. She opens up about landing her breakthrough role at ironSource after more than 50 rejections, teaching herself social media from scratch, and turning her personal TikTok following into a fully-inbound marketing agency with her co-founder Noam. She also talks about mobilizing hundreds of volunteers to support reservists after October 7th, marrying her husband Gavriel at the Great Synagogue of Rome, and why she sometimes considers a move back to the US over her fears about the state of Israeli AI and tech.

The conversation continues with:

• Growing up in “mini Israel”: Philadelphia’s tight-knit Israeli-American community

• Getting rejected by ironSource, then talking her way back in

• Teaching herself social media and building a following of over 50,000 on TikTok

• Co-founding Pink Chili, a fully-inbound TikTok agency for tech companies

• Founding Unit 107 and mobilizing 400 volunteers to support reservists

• Marrying Gavriel at the Great Synagogue of Rome

• Her concerns about Israel’s position in the global AI race

• Aliyah advice: be fearless and never take no for an answer

This is a candid, high-energy conversation about hustle, faith, and finding your niche by betting on yourself.

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KEY TOPICS 

0:00 - Intro

1:34 - Pulse Check: Abbey's Overwhelming, Wonderful Israeli Summer

2:18 - Mazal Tov! Planning a Rome Wedding From Tel Aviv

3:32 - Gili's Life Story: Philosophy, the Joint, and Finding Her Path

4:48 - Growing Up in an Israeli-American Home in the Philly Suburbs

6:30 - Fake It Till You Make It: Her Path to ironSource

9:09 - Learning Instagram and TikTok From Scratch, Overnight

9:54 - Giving Herself a “PhD” in Social Media

10:57 - When ironSource TikToks Became a Recruiting Machine

11:02 - Quitting Together: Launching Pink Chili With Co-Founder Noam

12:53 - Building a TikTok Agency as an American-Israeli Founding Duo

14:07 - Going Viral and Staying Authentic on TikTok

14:59 - The Law of Attraction: Filling a Room of 200 to Land Clients

16:44 - Is TikTok as Lucrative in Israel as in the US?

17:37 - October 7th From America: Founding Unit 107

19:54 - Marrying a Reservist and Why Supporting Soldiers Is Her Mission

21:11 - Philly as “Mini Israel”: Chef Mike, Zahav, and the Soom Sisters

22:52 - Would She Leave Israel? Her Fears About Israeli AI

24:33 - Aliyah Advice: Be Fearless and Never Take No for an Answer

25:30 - What She Loves Most About Life in Israel

26:57 - At 80, Looking Back: The Business Only Israel Could Give Her

27:27 - Rapid Fire: Bamba, Tachles & the Ambassador in Ulpan

RESOURCES

Follow Gili on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilifleekop/ 

Subscribe to Yalla, Let’s Go here: https://www.aleph.vc/yalla-lets-go 

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

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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