An Interview With Penny Bauder
Listen to the customer, let the market lead. In the beginning of this journey, I really wanted to prove to everyone that what I wanted to say was what the market demanded. It took me time to understand that the customers should lead, the investors should lead. Just following the money makes this a lot easier. And the progress is expedited.
As part of my series about young people who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nadav Regev.
Nadav Regev, is the 29-year old founder and CEO of Cicada, the new sockwear brand that is reimagining dress socks with eye-catching designs and creative messages that call attention to global and social issues. From a young age, Regev always made a point of speaking up when he felt something going on around him was wrong. As he got older, he looked for ways to get others talking, too. That’s when Cicada was born.
Your style choices say a lot about the kind of person you are, and that story should be as rich and complex and unique and attention-grabbing as it can be. He loved the idea of fashion “statement pieces,” and wanted to make sure Cicada’s socks made statements worth making.
Today, the Israeli-born founder has created a whimsical lifestyle brand that breaks the mold and pushes for social change with its unique and eye-catching “conversational socks.”
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I grew up in a small, agricultural village in northern Israel, of about 1000 people. I grew up knowing everyone, including all of the dogs by their names. My grandpa went to elementary school with most of my friends’ grandparents. It was a very unique experience.
At the age of 10, we moved to Palo Alto, as the company that my father worked for acquired a company after the dot com bubble burst. It was a mind-blowing experience for me as a kid and shaped a lot of who I am today. We lived there for 3 years, then moved to Bethesda, MD, to then move back to the same small village in Israel when I was 15. I graduated and joined the military when I was 18, and was released as a Captain.
Is there a particular book or organization that made a significant impact on you growing up? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The book that affected me the most by far is Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I read it for the first time when I was 12, then again in High school. Although I was shown a fascinating world as a kid and saw how hard my father worked, I knew that I wanted to take the rich dad’s approach. I even went to a lecture that was given by the author in Tel Aviv when I was in high school, which I remember to this day. I was probably the youngest one in the conference.
How do you define “Making A Difference”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
I think that we all have a role, and our job and purpose is to positively influence and affect our surroundings. There is a lot of room for making a difference in business, and I love hearing and reading about other businesses that try to make this globe a better place.
Ok, super. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. You are currently leading an organization that aims to make a social impact. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
At Cicada, we simply talk about causes that we are passionate about with fashion. We find topics that we are passionate about and believe are worth addressing, and we find a unique way of telling a story with our designs and messages. In addition to raising awareness, we work towards the causes we talk about by donating a part of our revenue to that design’s cause.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
It started by bringing some socks with patterns to my friends as gifts. I saw how happy they were with the present, but I also realized that we spoke that whole evening about the pineapples, avocados and hamburgers that were on the socks. I said to myself, hey, this is actually a platform to talk about things. Maybe we can learn from our competitors and the market, but bring awareness with really inspiring designs to causes we want to discuss! So we started working, designing, making the packaging, setting up the warehouse, and building a brand!
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur–it’s always been a part of who I am. After I finished grad school, I asked myself, “When would be the right time to start my own thing?” And my father told me, “You are never ready. Just start! Do instead of plan.” I owe a lot of my being in business to my dad.
Many young people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
I knew I needed to manufacture socks (now I would have started with understanding marketing and demand, but back then, I started from what I thought was the beginning).
I needed to send PDF docs with the designs, so I hired a designer. After the design was ready, I needed a website, so I hired a developer. Every time I faced a challenge, I had to find a solution for it. You never really know when to start, so you just have to start.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
We really screwed up with Facebook ads prior to the elections. We had some names for socks such as “Covid-19 socks”, “Global Warming,” and so on. Facebook thought of us as either a political party, or a company that is trying to sell PPE equipment and eventually blocked us. It took us a long time to try to figure it out, but we eventually did.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
There are so many, it’s hard to choose one! The important thing is to keep going. Mistakes are just lessons. I can count more than 100 things I would have done differently–big things, small things–it’s all part of the process.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Yes, I have a few, and they are super valuable. It would have been impossible to do it without them. My biggest mentor is my father, but I have other mentors as well. Every time I feel stuck, or unsure along the way, or even if I have a few good options and need to prioritise, I turn to one of my mentors.
Also, I try to surround myself with a lot of friends I can rely on for emotional support. Not only like-minded entrepreneurs, although a lot of my friends are in their own ventures, but people I can talk to about my dilemas, my thoughts, my successes and my failures.
Without saying specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
There are a few nonprofits we work with, and I am very close to one of the nonprofits’ CEOs. We work on pushing towards awareness around our shared values.
From a business perspective, my father has helped me a lot, from investing together, to everything.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
We are raising awareness on different issues, a lot of which we feel are not addressed enough. We are helping by giving tools and valuable information to our customers, along with our products. There are many things such as Global Warming for example, that we can help by raising awareness and donating to planting trees, but governments need to be there and ask themselves if we, as countries, are doing enough from a legislative stand.
Fantastic. Here is the main question of the interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each).
- Start with understanding demand, then work backwards to create value. First sell then manufacture!
(I did it the other way! but we learn from everything.)
- When you don’t know the way, keep going. It happens all the time, and it is stressful. The unknown isn’t always stressful, but that is this kind of life. And, it’s exciting and the inner process is amazing.
- Listen to the customer, let the market lead. In the beginning of this journey, I really wanted to prove to everyone that what I wanted to say was what the market demanded. It took me time to understand that the customers should lead, the investors should lead. Just following the money makes this a lot easier. And the progress is expedited.
- Always remain positive!
Nothing more to add, but it’s absolutely necessary.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
There is always room for more, and not enough people are doing it. Go ahead, do it. If you need help, reach out. I would love to help.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Young Change Makers: Why and How Nadav Regev of Cicada Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.