This interview is with Talia Mashiach, CEO, Founder and Product Architect, Eved.
For readers meeting you for the first time, how do you describe what you do and the mission behind Eved?
I’m the Founder and CEO of Eved, the only enterprise-level global accounts payable and payments platform purpose-built for the events, media, and entertainment industries—the creative industries where speed, accuracy, and compliance all have to work together.
We help Fortune 500 companies and their creative divisions, from global event teams to film and production finance, pay their suppliers quickly and accurately while meeting the compliance, tax, and audit requirements of their larger organizations.
Eved automates the entire process, from supplier onboarding and tax verification to approvals, payments, and reporting, in one secure, connected system. The result is faster payments, fewer errors, and complete transparency for everyone involved.
Our mission is to give creative industries the ability to pay their suppliers with speed, flexibility, and accuracy while staying compliant and secure within enterprise standards.
That’s what drives me: building technology that helps creative industries operate with clarity and confidence so they can focus on what they do best—creating incredible experiences.
Looking back, what key moments most shaped your path from your first venture to leading Eved today?
There have been a few defining moments that really shaped who I am as a leader and entrepreneur.
The first was realizing very early that I wanted to build my career around the life I wanted, not the other way around. Family has always been at the center of my life, but I’ve also always had this deep passion for business — for building, problem-solving, and constantly growing.
Even in high school, I was running little businesses. I didn’t know it at the time, but what I was really doing was learning how to see opportunities, to look at a problem, and imagine a better way to solve it. That curiosity has guided every step of my career.
Another key moment was taking the leap from self-funded entrepreneur to venture-backed CEO. One of my earlier ventures grew to over $10 million in revenue without outside investment, but I knew I wanted to challenge myself to build something bigger, something that could transform how an entire industry operates. That’s what led me to start Eved.
Becoming a venture-backed founder was like enrolling in the most intense business bootcamp imaginable. It taught me how to raise capital, work with a board, and lead through complexity. It wasn’t easy — it stretched me in every way — but it made me a stronger, more disciplined operating CEO.
There were definitely moments when things didn’t go as planned, but those moments built my resilience. Each setback taught me how to get back up smarter and stronger.
The last key moment wasn’t a single event; it’s ongoing. It’s been watching my kids now build their own businesses through our family office, taking the lessons I learned and applying them in their own way. That’s the full circle for me, knowing that what shaped me is now shaping them.
At its core, my journey has been about believing that when you fall, you get back up, and that the lessons learned along the way are what make you the leader you were meant to become.
From your Inspired to Lead conversations, what is one practice you’ve seen top women leaders use that others can adopt?
The biggest thing I’ve learned from my Inspired to Lead conversations is that the most successful women all share a deep sense of grit and a kind of inner freedom that comes from not letting other people’s opinions define them.
Anything worth building, whether it’s a business, a family, or a life that feels meaningful, takes a tremendous amount of effort. There’s no shortcut around that. Every woman I’ve spoken with has faced real challenges, but the ones who continue to grow are the ones who don’t give up and who stay anchored in what truly matters to them.
A theme that comes up again and again is how important it is to stop living according to other people’s expectations. You can’t spend your life worrying about what others think, whether that’s colleagues, investors, or even friends. The women who’ve really unlocked their full potential have learned to quiet those external voices and listen to their own.
That kind of confidence doesn’t mean you never have doubt; it means you move forward anyway, with conviction in your purpose.
One of the most powerful ways to get there is to surround yourself with people who believe in you, who see your potential even on the days you don’t see it yourself, and who allow you to show up as your authentic self.
That’s something I think every woman can do: build a circle that strengthens you, not one that shapes you into someone else’s version of success.
Turning to capital, what fundraising approach has worked best for you as a woman founder in enterprise tech?
What I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, is that the most important thing when raising capital is to stay completely authentic to who you are and how you lead.
As women founders, especially in enterprise tech and fintech, where over 90% of investment decisions are still made by men, it can be tempting to adjust your tone or your message to fit what you think investors want to hear. But that approach almost always leads to the wrong match.
Early in my journey, I tried that, speaking their language instead of my own. And even when it worked in the short term, it didn’t create the kind of partnership that sets a company up to thrive long-term. What I’ve realized is that if an investor isn’t excited to back you for exactly who you are—your values, your leadership style, your vision—then you don’t want them at your table.
Yes, you might get the check. You might even get the valuation. But you’ll end up with partners who don’t share your values, who question your instincts, and who make it harder to build the company you actually want to lead.
The investors you want are the ones who believe in your mission, respect your leadership, and support the way you choose to build, both the company and the life around it.
For me, finding that kind of alignment changed everything. It turned capital from a transaction into a relationship, one built on mutual trust, respect, and shared purpose.
So my best fundraising advice is this: raise on your terms, with your voice. Because if you can’t be yourself when the money comes in, you’ll never be happy with how it’s spent.
On culture, what is one recurring ritual or process you run that consistently strengthens the team?
At Eved, our culture is built around one guiding principle: Never apologize for living a life, but don’t make excuses for not delivering results.
We believe people do their best work when they’re trusted as adults, when they have the freedom to live full, meaningful lives, and the accountability to deliver exceptional outcomes.
We hire self-starters who lead with integrity, passion, and ownership. We operate as partners, not as parents and children. Everyone at Eved is responsible for driving results, supporting one another, and holding themselves to a high standard of performance and respect.
Our culture is transparent. We share company goals, performance metrics, and expectations openly because we trust that our team is here for the right reasons—to build something meaningful together.
We have one standing rule: no drama and no politics. We believe in mature, direct, and respectful communication. Problems get solved through honest conversation, not through noise or hidden agendas.
At Eved, we lead with trust and measure by results. We believe people do their best work when they’re supported to live fully, contribute boldly, and collaborate without ego. No drama. No politics. Just a shared commitment to excellence and impact.
Staying with team building, how do you interview to surface passion, grit, integrity, leadership, and ownership?
At Eved, we’re very intentional about hiring because the people you bring in shape everything about your company’s culture and performance. Experience is important, of course, but we’re not only looking for what someone has done; we’re looking for who they are.
We want people who have the skills and experience to succeed, but also the passion, grit, integrity, leadership, and ownership that define how they’ll show up when things get hard.
The best way to surface those qualities is by asking for real examples, not hypothetical answers. So we ask questions that get people talking about how they’ve handled challenges in the past because that’s where true character shows.
We’ll say things like:
- “Tell us about a time you faced a major challenge — what happened, and how did you respond?”
- “Describe a time a colleague wasn’t happy with you — how did you handle it?”
- “What’s the toughest situation you’ve had with a client, and what did you learn from it?”
We also ask about feedback. Questions like:
- “What have your past managers told you that you needed to work on?”
- “Why do you think that’s important?”
Those moments of reflection reveal a lot about self-awareness, humility, and accountability.
To me, interviews should feel like conversations, not tests. We’re listening for stories that show resilience, honesty, and growth. Because at Eved, we hire people who not only have experience but who take ownership, stay curious, and push themselves and the company forward.
On product and AI, how do you stay hands-on as CEO without becoming a bottleneck?
For me, it really comes down to structure, clarity, and trust. My role is to set the direction, to make sure everyone knows where we’re going and why, and then empower the team to move quickly and confidently toward that vision.
I stay very close to our product roadmap, especially around major strategic decisions. I join the monthly product reviews where we set priorities, align on direction, and ensure the big moves are right. However, when it comes to the weekly technical or execution meetings, those belong to the team. They know exactly what outcomes we’re driving toward, and I trust them to own the details.
My job isn’t to make every decision; it’s to ensure the right decisions are being made. That means being there when the team gets stuck. I always tell my leaders: “Bring me your biggest problems.” That’s how I see my role as CEO—helping the team solve the challenges that stand in the way of progress.
Once the strategy is set, whether it’s around product direction or how we’re building out AI, it becomes all about execution. The team drives it forward, and I stay available for the moments when alignment, escalation, or perspective is needed.
It’s a rhythm built on trust and accountability. I’m deeply hands-on in setting vision and solving roadblocks, but I give my team full ownership to get us there. That’s how I stay engaged as a CEO without slowing innovation down.
Zooming into your customers, what is your first step for translating complex studio and enterprise structures into product workflows?
We actually approach that in two ways: how we engage new prospects and how we design products internally.
On the client side, one of the most valuable steps in our sales process is something we call the Workflow Workshop. It’s a working session we offer—at no charge—for qualified prospects. These are typically large enterprise or studio organizations with multiple teams involved in payments: finance, procurement, and event or production operations.
We bring all those stakeholders together and map their entire process: every step, every approval, every system touchpoint. Most of the time, they’re shocked to see how complex and inefficient their current workflow is. That’s when we show them how Eved can simplify and automate that process—reducing cycle times, cutting costs, preventing fraud, and increasing security and visibility.
It’s not a sales pitch; it’s a collaborative discovery. But it’s also a qualifying moment. If they’re willing to invest that time, we know they’re serious. What comes out of that session becomes the foundation of our proposal, with measurable ROI tied directly to their current pain points.
On the product side, our approach follows a similar philosophy: we don’t just digitize existing processes; we reimagine them. A common mistake in workflow software is to simply recreate a manual process inside a digital system. We start instead with the outcome—what’s the goal, what’s specific to this industry, and what’s the fastest, most automated, and secure way to achieve it.
That’s why being purpose-built for our industries matters so much. We deeply understand how events, media, and entertainment operate, and we design around those real-world workflows, not the other way around.
Closing on leadership presence, what is one way you build authority and influence in rooms where you may be the only woman?
For many women in leadership, myself included, it’s not uncommon to be the only woman in the room. For a long time, that was almost every board meeting, every investor pitch, and every partnership discussion I was in.
What I’ve learned is that people perceive you the way you perceive yourself. How you see yourself shapes the confidence, tone, and energy you bring into the room, and that’s what others respond to.
Early on, I realized that I had to walk into every room already believing I had every right to be there, not because of gender, but because of experience, results, and what I bring to the table. If I carried myself as a peer, that’s how I was treated.
That doesn’t mean it’s always easy. There have been plenty of moments when I could feel the subtle “boys’ club” dynamic, rarely intentional, but still very real. When that happens, I’ve learned not to internalize it or let it shake my confidence. Instead, I focus on what I can control: how I show up, the value I contribute, and the tone I set.
Authority isn’t something someone gives you; it’s something you project through belief and consistency. When you truly believe in your own credibility, your words, your body language, and your leadership presence align, and people feel that.
So the way I build influence isn’t by trying to prove I belong. It’s by knowing I belong and then delivering value, clarity, and results that make that belief undeniable.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
What I’d add is that I think we often talk about leadership and entrepreneurship as if they’re destinations, as if you reach a point one day and finally “arrive.” But I’ve learned that it’s really a lifelong process of learning, growing, and getting back up.
There’s no straight path. There are moments of excitement, moments of doubt, and a lot of in-between. What matters most is staying connected to why you’re doing it—the purpose that drives you. For me, that’s always been about solving real problems, building something that matters, and creating opportunities for others to grow along the way.
I’ve also learned that the people you choose to build with are everything. Success isn’t just about having a great product; it’s about having great people who care, who show up every day with integrity, and who make the work meaningful. My greatest privilege is working alongside a team that I respect, trust, and genuinely enjoy.
For anyone building something—whether it’s a company, a career, or a life—I’d just say: you don’t need to do it the way anyone else has before. Build it your way. Lead your way. Don’t be afraid to live a full life while doing it.
That’s what I’ve tried to do at Eved: build a company that reflects my values, my purpose, and the kind of culture I believe in. And I’m proud of what we’ve built—not just the platform, but the people and the impact behind it.