Ayal and Asaf, dads and founders of one of the most innovative baby products to hit the market in years, the nanobébé, discuss their journey as Dadpreneurs.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you, and what do you?

•         We are Ayal Lanternari & Asaf Kehat, dads, longtime childhood friends, biomedical engineers, surfers and the co- founders of the award winning infant feeding line nanobébé.

How many kids do you have and how old?

•         Ayal Lanternari: I have 3 kids a 7 year old son,  a 4 year old son, and a baby girl who just turned 1.
•         Asaf Kehat: I also have 3 kids. Twin boys who are 3 and my daughter is a 1 ½

You are one of the brave souls that choose the route of entrepreneur and dad. Surely there are easier routes to go professionally. Why did you choose this one?

•         Ayal: While there seems to be endless challenges when building your own business there are also so many rewards. Bringing a project to life and seeing the impact it has on end users is a reward so great it makes all the challenges along the way seem trivial. Having the support of family, friends and a great team to work with makes the bad times better and the good times great. We identified a large gap in the infant feeding industry within which we had a real opportunity to impact the health and wellbeing of babies while making life a bit easier for new parents. Additionally, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a company with your childhood best friend.

What are some of your tips and tricks for making sure you have time to spend with the kids?

•         Asaf: As entrepreneur there are many late nights and overtime hours so the best tip is when you are with the kids you give them 100% of your attention …..really be with them…without any distractions. The best way to ensure having ample time with your family as an entrepreneur is to plan ahead as much as possible. Often times urgent issues do arise out of nowhere, but we both make a conscious effort to schedule several “family days” and/or trips throughout the year. Carving out time in your calendar over the course of the year for your family is the best way to guarantee quality family time without any distractions.

Have you ever had to turn something down for work to be present as a dad?

•         Both: Yes, we prioritize family.

Conversely, have you ever had to tell family to hold off on something so you could work?

•         Both: Yes, unfortunately, but we are both lucky to have amazing, understanding and extremely supportive families behind us.

What’s the best part of being a dad and an entrepreneur?

•         Asaf: Teaching the kids that working hard pays off and dreams can come true if you’re willing to put the work in.

What’s the hardest part of being a dad and an entrepreneur?

•         Ayal: Building a business is full of ups and downs and the day to day is often times quite stressful. The most difficult part of being both an entrepreneur and a father is having to constantly remind yourself that when you are home with your kids you need to switch off and be present in order to give them the attention they deserve since children don’t understand work stress.

Advice for entrepreneurs thinking about having kids – should they go ahead now, wait till later, or when is the best time?

•         Ayal: A start-up is equivalent to another baby that needs an almost equal amount of attention and care to build and scale properly. So if you are an entrepreneur considering starting a family or having another child we would recommend sitting down with your family and discussing the reality of your day to day as an entrepreneur.  

Tell me more about your company, how are things going, and do you have anything exciting coming up?

•         We are truly honored by the great feedback we have been receiving from, new parents, retail chains, the baby and infant industry , and the press.  We have won many industry awards since our February launch and were recently featured by CNN, named the Smartest bottle ever made by Business Insider and selected as one of the top innovations of 2018  by Time Magazine (where we are featured on the cover). We are very excited by the events of the our launch year and look forward to all that is ahead, as we have many new products in the pipeline!

Ayal Lanternari, Co-Founder of nanobébé

Ayal Lanternari is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of nanobébé, an award-winning innovative infant feeding line. Its flagship baby bottle is the first to be designed to protect the nutritional value of breastmilk. From nanobébé’s conception, Ayal has been at the helm of the research and development stages of the product line through its fundraising and go to market plan. Receiving significant media coverage as the best bottle for breastfed babies (the bump), a bottle with secret superpowers (Babycenter) and the Smartest Bottle ever Made (Business Insider), the company has grown rapidly across U.S. and global retail chains. Through his personnel management, Ayal has put together a team of dedicated staff members working to bring his company’s vision to life.

Prior to his time at nanobébé, Ayal managed BVG an engineering-based project management firm focused on the design and build of infrastructure projects in the private sector. There he led and controlled site investigations that accounted for all health, safety, weather and sustainability concerns. His management and collaboration skills with professional contractors ensured projects ran smoothly and structures were completed within budget and on time. Ayal began his career at Novocure™ (NASDAQ: NVCR) a company dedicated to the development of tumor treating fields therapy (NovoTTF™ Therapy), in the battle against cancer. Ayal was involved with early stage implementation of direct tumor fighting experiments and product-testing procedures. He made certain that hygiene and health statutory regulation requirements for optimal lab environments were met and maintained detailed records of observations, lab protocols, and significant changes in physiology. He is a graduate of the esteemed Technion Institute of Technology.  Ayal and his wife Anna, together with their 3 children, reside in Charleston, SC.

Asaf Kehat

is the Co-Founder and CEO of nanobébé, an award-winning innovative infant feeding line. It’s flagship baby bottle is the first to be designed to protect the nutritional value of breastmilk. From nanobébé’s conception, Asaf has been at the helm of the research and development stages of nanobébé’s product line. He has been instrumental in the company’s fundraising rounds and management of global exportation. Nanobébé has received significant media coverage as the Smartest Bottle Ever Made (Business Insider) the best bottle for breastfed babies (the bump), and a bottle with secret superpowers (Babycenter). The company has grown rapidly under Asaf’s lead across U.S. and global retail chains, e-commerce sites, and independent retailers. Prior to his time at nanobébé, Asaf served as the Clinical and Sales Manager of Mazor Robotics (NASDAQ: MZOR, recently sold to Medtronic for $1.64 billion), a cutting edge medical device manufacturer of a robotic guidance system for spinal surgery. Asaf was one of the first 10 employees of the company. During his tenure at Mazor, Asaf managed a team of 35 engineers and sales associates in the various stages of product design, clinical trials, and implementation of the Mazor robotics technology within medical facilities spanning 30 countries worldwide. He was often called upon to represent the company, at the highest level, for meetings with national and international government officials, the FDA, and expert surgeons within public and private medical facilities globally. He is a graduate of the esteemed Technion Institute of Technology. Asaf and his wife Maureen are parents to 3 children.