I’m an Australian lawyer who made aliyah just before October 7, had my third baby here, then quit my NGO job during the war with Iran to launch a babywear brand,” says Miriam Agranat, the 33-year-old daughter of an Israeli-born mother and Australian father.
She had long harbored the dream of making aliyah, having been raised in a strongly Zionist home, attending a Zionist school, and participating in the Bnei Akiva youth movement in Sydney. In high school, she and several 10th-grade girls spent a school term in Israel. “The trip had such a profound impact on me that adjusting back to life in Australia wasn’t easy,” she says.
Until the time was right, she earned a law degree at Macquarie University and landed a job at a large corporate law firm. She married her high school sweetheart, Ori, in 2016. When their first baby came along six years ago, she shifted into venture capital and found it much more fulfilling than corporate law. Still, not all the pieces were exactly in place.
“Life in Australia is beautiful and comfortable, but it was missing something,” she says. “My husband and I talked about wanting more for our children. So we decided to make the move to Israel once we had a three-year-old and a less-than-one-year-old.”
On a pilot trip, they visited various communities and chose Modi’in because of its central location, not knowing where they’d be working. “It has turned out to be the best thing. It’s quite Anglo, with a mix of Americans, British, Australians, and South Africans, and we’ve been welcomed with open arms.”
One of her two younger sisters had made aliyah a few years before, and her parents followed a year later, also settling in Modi’in. “We’re all on a high here. I’m so thankful we are here, especially with what’s happening in Australia now,” Agranat says.
She recounts that when she tells people that they arrived in August 2023, “everyone says, ‘Oh my gosh, what bad timing!’ But it was one of the best decisions we ever made. We’ve created such incredible friends here; we’re in such a special community that became like family, and we landed very special jobs.”
Agranat discovers outlet for long-felt entrepreneurial desire
Her husband works for an energy company. She got a job in January 2024 as donor relations manager for Orr Shalom, a national organization for children and youth at risk. She loved her work there, but a year ago, after giving birth to her third child, she discovered an outlet for a long-felt entrepreneurial desire.
“I’d always had an itch to start my own business. When we made aliyah, it wasn’t the right time. The war started, and I was a new immigrant and didn’t know anything about anything here. So I opted to do something meaningful,” she explains.
“Then, when I was on maternity leave, I didn’t find baby clothing here that I liked, and I felt that I needed to bring the standard I know from Australia. The itch to start my own business came back full force.”
She spent time during her maternity leave developing the idea and researching the basics of how to turn it into a business for the Israeli market. She chose the name Tiftaf (Hebrew for “droplets”) “because it’s catchy, playful, associated with Israeli childhood, and filled with Israeli soul.”
Agranat built Tiftaf as a one-woman operation, teaching herself every part of the process from scratch: design, textile patterns, manufacturing, importing, marketing, filling orders, and brand-building. Her father, a serial e-commerce entrepreneur, supported her with the technical side of the business.
The first product is an infant onesie made of a stretchy blend of organic cotton and bamboo. It features a two-way zipper for easy diaper changing, fold-over feet that become socks, and fold-over sleeves that become protective mittens. These premium features blend Australian standards with Israeli creativity.
“I’m releasing the onesies in very limited drops and collaborating with Israeli local artists. They’re doing extremely bold, colorful prints,” Agranat says.
“For the next drop that’s currently live, I commissioned a Tel Aviv artist I met in Nahalat Binyamin. She painted two beautiful designs – a Tel Aviv landscape and a playground. Once that sells out, it will not come back, so it’s essentially a collectible,” she notes. “Tiftaf clothing is functional, beautiful, authentic, and unique.”
Despite launching the business during the war with Iran and the website in mid-May amid continuing geopolitical uncertainty, Agranat found the response “exceptional and mind-blowing. Within the first five minutes of going live, I had 40 people at checkout. After a week, I’d sold half my stock and realized I’m really filling in a gap.”
Social media influencers with tens of thousands of followers discovered the brand organically, including one who reached out after seeing Tiftaf shared in a local WhatsApp group and offered to help.
“Others began following before I had even approached them, and later chose to share the product as well. I felt truly supported by a community who genuinely wanted to back a small, female-led business.”
The challenges of starting a new business amid a war
Much as Agranat enjoys realizing her entrepreneurial ambitions, it hasn’t been simple in these extraordinary times.
“Shipping the first drop in wartime was very touch-and-go. I paid a huge amount for air shipping and was on the phone with FedEx and customs officials every day. I was lucky that it came through in time.
“The morning after the drop arrived, I had a photographer come to do a photo shoot, then we promoted it and went live. It was a fast and very stressful process. But it had a great response.”
Agranat says she believes that part of building a life in Israel is noticing where things can be better and feeling responsible enough to help improve them. She noted that she has taken to heart the phrase, “If not me, then who?” echoed in the words and diaries of fallen Israeli soldiers, including Capt. Daniel Perez.
“For me, it is not about focusing on what is different or difficult here,” she says. “It is about asking what I can contribute. If not me, then who? That idea really permeates me. We all have a responsibility, in whatever small way we can, to help build the country we want to live in.”
Miriam Di Veroli Agranat, 33
From Sydney to Modi’in, 2023
