Huddle Up: Zalik Leads Local Mentor Exchange

Headlining Atlanta’s second annual Huddle networking event was fintech entrepreneur/ philanthropist David Zalik who captured the audience by detailing his journey from a precocious childhood through a roller coaster ride of businesses to arrive as the main event speaker in his own new building, The Dupree, in Sandy Springs.

On Sept.17, Zalik was interviewed in conversation with mentor and mega banking tech entrepreneur Michael Karlin.

Rabbi Yossi New welcomed the group by explaining that this upcoming shabbat was “Chai Elul,” which magnifies both the birthdays of the Bael Shem Tov and Rabbi Schneur Zalman and their contributions to the Hassidic mission and equating “love of G-d” to “love of fellow man,” which translates appropriately into the power of networking.

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Karlin, who is credited with innovating online banking by age 30, relayed his long relationship with Greensky founder Zalik, who painted a vivid picture of growing up in Alabama, entering Auburn University as a young teen, and being an outsider because of his Jewish identity.

Alina Feingold, expert in facial DNA, and Aurora Schwartz, who runs Jewish women’s retreats, came to huddle.

Zalik’s mother, Raya, told the AJT in the pre-function exchange, that she knew her son would be “something special” and told him so at a young age. About growing up in a small Southern town, he said, “I don’t know if it was fear of being beaten up, but lack of tolerance there informed my identity. My father fought in the Yom Kippur War, and I knew that appeasing bullies does not work.”

As a child, Zalik had a high score on the Duke TIP early SAT program, and soon learned the value of a dollar — he had to work to buy a car to go on dates. At 22, he sold his first company for $1.5 million. But not so fast, through decades of starts and stops, Zalik paid bills with credit cards at oppressive interest rates.

Zalik came to Atlanta in 1996 during the Olympics. Wife, Helen (married 2004), a Duke law school graduate, served as an anchor of encouragement, and is credited for convincing him to turn down a lucrative offer to “make even more money,” when it was time for him to retire, serve the Jewish people and work with her in philanthropy. A jocular Zalik said, “Can you imagine getting the message back to a non-Jew at Goldman Sachs, ‘Zalik is rejecting our offer to go ‘serve the Jewish people?'”

Backing up, the Greensky “highs and lows” could be a book in itself. At one point, David realized he could actually pay his bills (most excitedly Jewish Day School tuition), and said, “In 2018, I made $16 million, then paid $8 million of it in taxes. It took 15 years. I was not an overnight success. Various buyout offers tanked and eventually the right one came through.

Michael Karlin, Raya Zalik (mother), and David Zalik networked before the formal program.

Zalik’s bottom line and true vision was his dedication to creating value for customers and constituents. He said, “I, myself, do not have a college degree. Pay attention to who is smart vs. wise. Smart people have both good and bad answers … curiosity and humility are what counts. We cared about the outcome, not the process.”

The foundation Helen started in 2018 is about giving back: 80 percent to the Jewish world and 20 percent to the local community like children’s healthcare.

“Jewish education and experiences are expensive. Education is our future,” summarized David.

After the interview, the 120 participants went into a larger room with separate huddle tables with various leaders heading topics like “How to Get a Business off the Ground” with Mookie Deitsch, CEO Bonnie and Pop; “Climbing the Corporate Ladder” with Mitchell Kopelman, GP Aprio; “The Secret to Hiring Great Talent” with Eric Adelman, business coach; “Performance Marketing with Steve Storch, COO Network; “Sales to Grow Your Company” with Adam Dorfman, DMC Atlanta,; and “How to Position Yourself to Land the Next Job” with Jonathan Graber, talent acquisition, Gynger.

Community leader Adrian Grant (second from left) is flanked by Eric Adelman, Jonathan Graber, and Steve Storch.

The Huddle event committee included Noach Pawliger, Naftali Zakon, Julie Sack, Adam Kaye, Eric Adelman, and Shmuly Wolff.  The event producer, who sponsors Huddles around the U.S., is Rabbi Yehoshua Werde, out of Crown Heights, N.Y. On Nov. 18, the Huddle will be in Broward County, Fla., with Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Houston following.