Get into the minds of breakthrough business leaders and entrepreneurs to explore their unique stories and ideas for the future. From devastating pitfalls to life-changing aha moments, hosts and serial entrepreneurs themselves Pete Sena and David Salinas push interviews past the surface for an in-depth, insightful glimpse at the future of business and brands. Take your seat at the table to hear guests recount their failures, re-live their midnight planning sessions, share their hopes & passions, and explain what’s next for their business, industry, and the world. Subscribe now and join us in becoming Forward Obsessed, and be sure to watch all the full video episodes on Youtube.
All content for Forward Obsessed is the property of Pete Sena and David Salinas and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Get into the minds of breakthrough business leaders and entrepreneurs to explore their unique stories and ideas for the future. From devastating pitfalls to life-changing aha moments, hosts and serial entrepreneurs themselves Pete Sena and David Salinas push interviews past the surface for an in-depth, insightful glimpse at the future of business and brands. Take your seat at the table to hear guests recount their failures, re-live their midnight planning sessions, share their hopes & passions, and explain what’s next for their business, industry, and the world. Subscribe now and join us in becoming Forward Obsessed, and be sure to watch all the full video episodes on Youtube.
From Pioneering Facial Recognition to Apple Acquisition With Adi Eckhouse Barzilai
Forward Obsessed
1 hour 33 minutes 52 seconds
1 year ago
From Pioneering Facial Recognition to Apple Acquisition With Adi Eckhouse Barzilai
Adi Eckhouse Barzilai is the Co-Founder and CEO of RealFace, a facial recognition software company that was acquired by Apple Inc. She was previously in brand management at Procter & Gamble. As founder of RealFace, Adi helped pioneer mobile facial recognition capabilities that later became integral to Apple’s FaceID unlock feature. RealFace provided the core IP and engineering talent behind making robust facial authentication seamless for iPhone users worldwide. After multiple pivots and surviving high-stakes fundraising stresses familiar to most early-stage founders, Adi successfully negotiated an acquisition deal with Apple.
Throughout a wide-ranging interview, Adi shares hard-won lessons from her entrepreneurial journey in the high-risk world of consumer tech startups. For young founders, she strongly advocates getting hands-on experience learning computer science to better grasp future opportunities. Adi also believes time working at a top corporation exposes priceless insights on how elite marketing, product development, and operational scale-up works behind the scenes.
Episode Outline
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:02:00) Adi's background and early entrepreneurial influences
(00:06:00) Studying computer science and working at Procter & Gamble
(00:10:00) Getting an MBA from Columbia Business School
(00:14:00) The importance of branding for startups
(00:17:00) Adi's thoughts on MBAs and issues of antisemitism on campus
(00:20:00) The hostage crisis in Gaza
(00:23:00) Defining what a brand is
(00:26:00) Why investing in brand matters for startups
(00:30:00) Pivoting RealFace from a consumer app to facial recognition
(00:35:00) The challenges of being a startup founder/CEO
(00:40:00) Having the entrepreneurial "bug" and the importance of co-founders
(00:45:00) Differentiating between tech and product companies
(00:48:00) The niche strategy behind RealFace's technology
(00:55:00) Connecting with Apple and maintaining secrecy
(01:00:00) Negotiating the acquisition deal with Apple
(01:05:00) The emotional rollercoaster of the startup journey
(01:10:00) Adi's feeling when the Apple acquisition closed
(01:15:00) Trying to launch a nonprofit after the exit
(01:20:00) Why Adi is passionate about education and empowering girls
Episode Links
Procter & Gamble (former employer): https://us.pg.com/
RealFace (Co-Founder and CEO): https://www.timesofisrael.com/apple-buys-israels-facial-recognition-firm-realface-report/
Adi’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adi-eckhouse-barzilai-8000928/
Support & ConnectForward Obsessed Website: www.forwardobsessed.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwardobsessed/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forwardobsessedLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/forward-obsessed/
Forward Obsessed
Get into the minds of breakthrough business leaders and entrepreneurs to explore their unique stories and ideas for the future. From devastating pitfalls to life-changing aha moments, hosts and serial entrepreneurs themselves Pete Sena and David Salinas push interviews past the surface for an in-depth, insightful glimpse at the future of business and brands. Take your seat at the table to hear guests recount their failures, re-live their midnight planning sessions, share their hopes & passions, and explain what’s next for their business, industry, and the world. Subscribe now and join us in becoming Forward Obsessed, and be sure to watch all the full video episodes on Youtube.
