Libra CEO admits: "Investors were told they were better off with scratch cards"

The insurance industry and capital market in Israel have been considered for decades a conservative, male-dominated, and almost impenetrable arena for new initiatives. However, Eti Elishakov, an accountant by training with a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting from the Academic College of Management, proved that vision, daring, and determination can shatter even the highest glass ceilings. Today, she is recognized as one of the most influential and prominent women in the Israeli business sector, having founded "Libra Insurance Company" from scratch, serving as its CEO and controlling shareholder, and bringing with her a digital and consumer breakthrough that changed the rules of the game.

Work ethic and a passion for success have accompanied Elishakov since childhood, regardless of the scale of the challenges she faced. "The day I decided to create Libra, most of the fears were financial, and financial doesn't scare me. I started working at age 12, I went to work at a kiosk under the house and received six shekels, the owner was satisfied with me, and since then I have been working, no matter in what field, I had ambitions," she recalls.

This determination later led her to build an impressive career in the financial world, although work in the insurance industry was not planned from the start and was accompanied by complex coping with gender stigmas. "I came to work in insurance, I didn't plan it, it's a very male world, I tried to get accepted into an insurance company and wasn't accepted because I'm a woman," she says about the beginning of her path in the industry.

After building her professional status and reaching the position of CFO and then CEO of "Hachshara Insurance Company", Elishakov made a brave decision that took her into the world of entrepreneurship and investment. "When I was CFO, I took the first step of entrepreneurship: I mortgaged my house for an additional loan and bought shares of the company, here I accumulated real capital beyond my salary," she explains.

In 2017, when her appointment as CEO of the insurance company "Ayalon" was canceled at the last moment, she decided it was time to embark on a completely independent path. She risked her family assets and decided to establish a new insurance company from scratch — a step that was met with raised eyebrows and skepticism from various factors in the market, who told her straight to her face not to do it.

The capital raising stage for the new company turned out to be a particularly complex challenge, accompanied by barriers and skepticism. "It was hard for me to raise funds, I told myself they are impressed, they are interested, and a day or two later I get a 'no'. They received calls from the insurance world telling them: don't invest, you're better off with 'Hishgad' (scratch cards)," she recalls on the program "Money of Their Own" on Kan 11.

Beyond the objections from within the conservative industry, Elishakov felt that her gender added a hurdle to the financial process: "The very fact that I am a woman interfered more in raising my investors." But despite the doubts and pressures, in 2017 "Libra" was born, bringing with it an innovative digital model to the general insurance industry (mainly car and apartment insurance), based on personal pricing and a precedent-setting method of profit sharing with policyholders through a dedicated digital currency ("Libras").

The moment of the public launch became a turning point. "My fear was not being able to implement the brand and not taking off," she recalls. "We launched during the Ninja semi-final and there was an advertisement and everyone was listening and applauding and making policies and thousands of people entered. The next day the call center exploded, and on the first day they made policies for the fourth year I had planned."

The huge public response proved that the market was thirsty for innovation, transparency, and fair pricing. Under her management, the company grew rapidly and was successfully listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, which made Elishakov one of the richest, most prominent, and influential women in the capital market.

Today, Elishakov is recognized as a trailblazer, frequently appearing at leading economic conferences such as those of "Globes" and "TheMarker". She shares with the public and the business community deep insights on data-based risk management, accurate personal pricing, and market trends, ranging from collecting data on car colors to analyzing car theft trends. For her, success and the capital accumulated along the way are not the final destination, but the means to leave a mark. As she summarizes precisely: "It's not the wealth or saying that it exists, it's the honor and status that not many have, it's the ability to influence. Money is fine, but it's not because not everyone can do it."