MEET DIKLA TREVES

Board Member Spotlight

Meet Dikla Treves, a powerhouse leader who joined the board of The Honey Pot in collaboration with to the Women On Boards Project. In this spotlight, Dikla shares her journey to board service, the values that drive her, and the powerful impact of supporting entrepreneurs during critical stages. Get inspired by her insights on perseverance, leadership, and making a difference in the world of innovation.

What are your top 3 career highlights?

One of the best moments of my career was when I had the opportunity to present and demo an innovative English language learning app to Jeff Bezos and his executive team. It was also one of the most stressful moments—I had to audition several times, and I brought three different phones with me, worried that the app, which was in its alpha stage, might crash during the demo. This app was a product I created from the ground up with my team, which I also built from scratch at Amazon. The demo was the culmination of a lot of hard work and overcoming some strongly held, ill-conceived industry dogmas.
Another highlight of my career was creating a new online medical practice to serve women in menopause after realizing that OBGYNs don’t receive adequate education on the topic in school and lack the right incentives to address this issue. We launched a basic website and tested customer acquisition costs (CAC) via Facebook ads. The numbers were off the charts in terms of click-through rates (CTRs) and conversions, which made it clear that we had struck a chord with women going through perimenopause and menopause—often without realizing it—who had a dire need for solutions that were previously lacking.
The third highlight I'll share is co-founding Planet 9 Studio and hiring an amazing team. Mental health—or as our customers prefer, 'neurodiversity'—is another industry that is pervasively broken in many ways. Many children and their parents who face challenges go unrecognized, unheard, and unsupported. Reaching these children through their stigma-averse parents was no small feat, but we didn’t let that stand in our way.

What is your favorite part of being a board member?

My favorite part of being a board member is

getting to be a small part of the magnificent engine that brings innovations to life.

Being a part-time contributor (which is inherent to board roles) allows you to have a unique perspective on the creation process and participate in key decision points along the way. And if you’re lucky enough to be on the board of a truly great company, as I was, the experience and learning that come from observing these talented people in action are truly enlightening.

What has been your greatest learning moment as a board member?

My greatest learning is that while it's well-known that there are different—and sometimes conflicting—interests in the boardroom, reaching a productive solution that satisfies both the investors and the company leaders is no easy feat. It takes time, skill, and patience to thoughtfully arrive at that 'happy place,' and this is where board members have a real opportunity to make a difference.

When did you become interested in joining a board and what inspired you to pursue it?

I didn’t proactively pursue board roles and wasn’t sure if the impact would be satisfying enough for me. That changed when Cassie called and suggested I meet Beatrix Dixon, the CEO and co-founder of THP. Bea made such a strong impression that accepting the role became more about working with her and supporting her vision than simply pursuing a board position.

My broader aspiration for board service stems from a deep appreciation for entrepreneurs, who are society’s innovation engine. Despite the passion, hard work, and good intentions that go into turning innovative ideas into reality, over 90% of startups fail—a statistic that hasn’t changed much over the years. The challenge for many early-stage startups is that no one person has the expertise across all business domains needed to successfully launch and grow a business, yet most can’t afford to hire experienced talent. This is especially true for earlier-stage startups, which are more prone to mistakes but least able to afford the right talent.

Board service is important to me because it allows me to support entrepreneurs during these critical stages while also learning from them by observing their work.

What book has had the biggest impact on you?

One of my favorite books is

Educated by Tara Westover.

It’s a captivating real-life story about a girl (the author) who survived physical and verbal abuse by her family throughout her childhood. Her parents didn’t believe in education, but despite that and the constant hardship she endured, Tara taught herself what she needed to know to go to college. What left a particularly strong impression on me was the level of perseverance and tenacity she showed when she had every reason to give up. I admire what she achieved, and it's a model for many others—how to never stop fighting, persevere through tough times, and believe in oneself.

What is a quote you live by?

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” —Beverly Sills

“When you’re going through hell, keep going.” —Winston Churchill

One of the key values I live by and try to instill in my children is diligence and hard work. Finding the minimalist approach to getting something done will only take you so far. Achieving great things is not about being innately the smartest or most talented—traits possessed by a select few. It’s about the effort you put in and keep putting in, even when it gets really hard (as it often does). This is what truly matters in life when it comes to achieving success and happiness.