Who: Yaakov Zar, founder and CEO of Lev, one of the nation’s fastest-growing commercial mortgage brokerages.
What: New York–based Lev helps commercial real estate owners and investors get the best financing for their properties by supercharging the industry’s leading capital markets advisors with machine learning and artificial intelligence tools. They automate workflows online and gather hundreds of millions of data points into machine-learning software to ensure financing accuracy. They just raised $30 million from top investors, giving the company a $130 million valuation.
Prior to starting Lev, Yaakov was a co-founder and chief of strategy at Dispatch, a workforce management platform for enterprise home service businesses, where he led product and sales to large accounts nationwide. In 2018, Vista Equity Partners acquired Dispatch.
Where: Yaakov grew up in Great Neck, New York, graduated from Boston University in 2012 with a focus in entrepreneurship, and lives with his wife and daughter in New York’s Lower East Side.
Why: There’s always exciting news in the venture capital world, with all kinds of start-ups raising tons of money to bring their dreams to reality. But when I read the news about Lev’s newest investment, my interest was especially piqued. It wasn’t just because they raised $30 million from top investors, or that they’re valued at a whopping $130 million just two years from inception; rather, it was the fact that the founder and CEO was a frum-looking guy with a beard… I had to learn more! I then reached out to a friend who had invested in Lev, and when he had the greatest things to say about Yaakov, I knew this would be a great Mishpacha interview!
It turns out that Yaakov and his wife Dassi serve as shluchim at Chabad House Bowery, and they’re actively involved with college campus kiruv at NYU and nearby universities. (How do they have time for that?) And as I learned more about him and his story, I was absolutely blown away by his emunah, humility, and positive outlook on the world. (I was actually brought to tears during the interview!) Meet Yaakov Zar.
What opportunities or personalities played a role in your career?
There are a few important personalities who play or have played significant roles in my career.
My business partner, Avi, has shown me what it takes to be a focused, dedicated, and hardworking businessperson while maintaining a truly Torah lifestyle. He taught me the importance of a stellar reputation and always doing the right thing, which has paid infinite dividends so far in my career.
Chassidus in general, the Lubavitcher Rebbe specifically, and his many shluchim, have served as a guiding light in everything I do. Most questions in day-to-day life can be answered through the guidance of Torah — we just need to know where to look. When I am in doubt about something relating to business strategy, management, or many other topics, I always look to chassidus to draw parallels from the unique and ultimate source of truth into everyday actions and decisions. I can’t say yet that I am operating in a way that is completely aligned with the Rebbe’s guidance, but I try to get closer each and every day. Also, the dedication, grit, focus, and humility of shluchim worldwide, and specifically Rabbi Shmuel Posner in Boston, who is my mashpia, provides an unparalleled inspiration to act that way in everything that I do, business-related or otherwise.
