Startup Journeys: Challenges and Reflections

When Ariel Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Navan, first set out to modernize corporate travel, he wasn’t an industry insider.

What he did bring was a relentless focus on fundamentals, constantly asking, “Is it a good business?”, an instinct that arose from his family’s financial struggles, working in cafés, and participating in virtual business competitions in Israel.

And that is exactly what led him to build a travel tech giant.

In this episode, we also get into:

• why building a startup while raising kids gave Ariel motivation to do better.

• the supply chain problem in the travel industry.

• will AI replace travel agents in the near future?

• how Navan’s chatbot helps reduce customers’ travel expenses.

ABOUT US:

We’re proudly sponsored by Brex—a brand I co-founded, now supporting over 30,000 businesses like Anthropic, DoorDash, and Scale AI, helping them make every dollar count.

I’m grateful for their continued support as I bring you all conversations with some of the most exceptional founders of our generation. For more information, click here.

Connect with us here:

1. Ariel Cohen
2. Brex
3. Henrique Dubugras

This episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/