Snyker Spotlight: Proud of the home I found at Snyk

I was born in Tel Aviv. Today, Tel Aviv is one of the most open-minded cities for the LGBTQIA+ community that I know. You can be yourself there, holding hands with your partner everywhere you want. Even better, Tel Aviv doesn’t really have any “gay areas”, as the entire city is gay-friendly (not the first thing you think about for a country in the Middle East!). Tel Aviv accepts you as who you are, no matter if you are straight, gay, lesbian, or trans. The freedom to be who you are is one of the basics of life for Tel Aviv-ers.

Maybe one reason for this openness is that we have a large high tech industry in Tel Aviv — almost all of my friends are also working in the tech industry. I guess the fact that these companies are global and share the same values with the rest of the western world helped that a lot.

Too hot for a shirt at Tel Aviv Pride (35°C / 95°F).

But things were not always this way for me. When I began my career as a graphic designer some years ago (avoiding details so I won’t sound too old ? ), I worked in a small startup company. Back then, I felt that my company was not open-minded about issues of gender and sexual identity, so I hid my nature from my boss and co-workers. I felt I could not be open with who I was, so I kept my personal life to myself. It’s not like I felt that I could lose my job if I was open about myself, but I felt they would judge me about it. Every time we talked about gays in Tel Aviv, I got comments that it’s not natural and that they didn’t really understand it. A part of me thought, maybe I could speak with them and change their mind. But even though I thought maybe they already knew about me, I didn’t feel strong enough to do it. I just wanted it to be natural for them — a non-issue. Like it should be.

While I worked there, I met my partner who is British, and the 5-hour flight was our long distance relationship. We did long distance for some time before he moved to Tel Aviv in 2012. Surprisingly, getting him a visa as my partner was easier than talking with my boss about who I was. We lived together in Tel Aviv for three years, before he moved back to London to finish his degree.

When I decided to leave my old company, I thought to myself that I want to be in a company where they believe in what they are doing and that they are doing something good that will mean something. And then I found Snyk.

At that time (2017), Snyk was a 20-person startup with an office in Tel Aviv and an office in London. I still remember the relief I felt when I could be open in the interviews.  There was no issue from Snyk about who I am, it was clear to me right from the start that Snyk is a very open-minded environment, and that people here (Snykers) accept whoever you are. In my first or second interview, I felt comfortable enough to talk about my partner, our long distance situation, and how we met. It’s not common in Israel to be in a relationship with non-Israeli and to have a long-distance relationship, and we had a nice chat about it.

During my first three years at Snyk, I could work from the London office as much as I wanted, and Snyk was very supportive of me splitting my time between the two offices. They encouraged me to be in the London office and the co-workers in the London office were very warm and welcoming. Seeing how the London office was also so friendly and open was something that made it so much more comfortable in this new environment. This gave me the option to spend more time with my partner, and I’m grateful for that. The level of acceptance that Snyk gave me was something I will never forget.

During Covid, I decided that I was done with long distance and I decided to relocate to London permanently. Because I knew how open Snyk is, I knew I could ask for anything, and if it was possible, Snyk would help me. So I asked my manager if Snyk could help me get a visa to the UK, they helped me straight away. A few months later I found myself beginning a new chapter in London, working full time from the London office — well, more working from home, of course — but hopefully that will finish soon!

When I finished my degree in graphic design, the last thing I thought was that I would be living in London and working for a high tech company in London. And I never thought I would be writing a blog post about my story for that high tech company! I feel lucky to have found a home at Snyk, and I’m glad they appreciate me for who I am!

At Snyk, we want you to be your wonderful, authentic self. Join us!