Interview with Tamar Schapira, Founder and CEO at SenseIT

Women are still underrepresented in entrepreneurship and business. It has long been 麦肯锡 ’s aspiration to support the advancement of and at large. In this series of short interviews, we feature conversations with outstanding cohort members from McKinsey’s Circle of Women Founders () inaugural program, which was launched in January 2022. This program offers high-potential female founders from early-stage startups a tailored mentorship and capability building program, based on three pillars:?leadership coaching, professional development, and networking. We hope you will?find these conversations as inspiring as we did.?

This conversation is with? Tamar Schapira , Founder and CEO of? SenseIT , an automated testing platform that simulates a user with disability.

Gila: What’s your story? How did you become an entrepreneur/founder??

Tamar: I came to Israel when I was 19 with a dream of serving in the Israeli army. I studied government and international relations at the The Hebrew University of Jerusalem for one year and then decided to join the IDF. I served between 2005 – 2007 and I felt my work had real impact.

It was a feeling I wanted to carry with me throughout my career. The question was, how. Since completing my service, I dreamed of continuing to work in a space where I can create social impact and be a change maker. Coupled with this, I was also keen on having a career. I decided to become an ambassador for Israel. So I got a Master’s degree in Crisis Resolution and Negotiation.

And after 3 years, I realized government wasn't for me. I am an out-of-the-box thinker, a builder, a do-er. I wanted to think BIG, to create, and to implement new ideas to impact society. I wanted to make a difference both in the private and public sectors. That's how my entrepreneurial career began.?

I believe in creating for-profit businesses that also impact society for the better. You don’t have to manage a non-profit to “do good”. Profitable businesses can also work towards social good.

Since 2010, I have co-owned an accessibility consulting firm, where we test and evaluate digital products for clients. We believe it is possible to do good while running a successful business simultaneously, leading us to establish a "Social Impact" business model . I believe in creating for-profit businesses that also impact society for the better. You don’t have to manage a non-profit to “do good”. Profitable businesses can also work towards social good.

In 2017, a close family friend became quadriplegic after a car accident. He could no longer use most digital products. It changed my perspective and reinforced my desire to enable and improve . It became the core motivation behind SenseIT, a test automation product that emulates people with disabilities' behavior, identifying accessibility barriers in digital products from the development phase.

My vision is for SenseIT to become an essential and seamlessly integrated component in the development cycle of all digital products. The go-to platform for development teams to thoroughly test accessibility before product release.

Gila: Where do you see accessibility and disability inclusion moving in the next ten years?

Developing digital assets that are accessible from the beginning will be the norm and not the exception.

Tamar: We are slowly progressing towards an inclusive world where people with disabilities can be independent and participate in society with minimal barriers. I am optimistic about where we will be ten years from now.

I believe we will no longer be discussing digital accessibility in ten years. Rather, developing digital assets that are accessible from the beginning will be the norm and not the exception.

I believe the physical accessibility space will see new technological advances that will allow for true inclusion.

Gila: How have AI advancements affected your and the receptiveness to innovation?

Tamar: In my view, AI and generative AI hold immense potential for digital accessibility. AI can automatically detect and correct accessibility barriers, which is immense. This can start as early as the design stages of building a product whereby AI could detect problematic designs for people with disabilities.

AI is still in its infancy and biased towards people without disabilities; training AI models to recognize the needs and requirements of disabled people will require time.

Gila: What has been your experience with being a woman in entrepreneurship? Why do you think it is important to have more women starting companies?

Tamar: There are many “stigmas” as well as both spoken and unspoken challenges faced by women when navigating the tech ecosystem. But I don't let my identity as a woman CEO and founder dictate how I lead or pursue my path. I focus on my vision and lead my team to success, even if it means forging a unique path beyond conventional expectations.

Encouraging more women to participate in the tech ecosystem and start their own companies is crucial. By doing so, we become the catalyst for the change we wish to see. Statistics will shift, the number of successful women CEOs will increase, and the rules of the game will evolve. Driving change is the objective, but active participation is essential to actualizing that change.

Gila: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you were starting out as an innovator and entrepreneur? Do you have specific advice for women?

My advice, inspired by Nike, is simple: "Just do it." Fear can hold you back or propel you toward growth. The choice is yours.

Tamar: I understand the rules of the game much better now but it has been a journey. I've learned that innovation and market penetration require patience. My approach to measuring progress has also evolved since I started. Above all, the crucial lesson of "focusing" on "the one thing" is something I wish I had implemented from the beginning.

My advice, inspired by Nike, is simple: "Just do it." Fear can hold you back or propel you toward growth. The choice is yours. I urge you to learn and grow from your fears and failures and keep moving forward.

Follow this link to learn more about Tamar Schapira and? SenseIT