Twin -sister triathletes successfully converted in startup millions

During their last year in which the work for doctoral students in physiology was completed, the twin sisters Michal Mor and Merav Mor began to take part in Ironman Triathlon races. The demand for top fitness led her to the knowledge of how important it is to understand the personal metabolism, and the lack of data that was collected via devices that are accessible to consumers.

The first prototype was created by Health Tech Startup Lumen. Initially, the sisters had no plans to make a business out of it. In the earliest days of the hand-held devices, which measures the metabolic data points in a single breath in less than a minute, the test subjects were near home.

“We brought it to dinner with our family on Fridays and we would ask our sister: 'Can you come here for a second? Just get on and breathe in the device,” Merav recently recalled in an interview with the CNBC Spotlight series by Julia Boorstin from CNBC.

Both were appointed to the list of 2025 CNBC Changemakers.

The Mor sisters realized that they had something much bigger in their hands when she tried the device, and the results were the eye openings.

A great initial success on the Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo gave the sisters the pressure to see an even greater business option that has previously collected 77 million US dollars from investors.

It was not a lifelong plan for twins, triathletes, physiology doctors or startup founders, but Lumen has now collected over 65 million breaths of more than 350,000 people. The Morav sisters have learned a lot about perseverance, conflicts and leadership on the way.

Prepare to ensure that pain is always part of the successful trip

The Mor sisters say that it helped them learn athletes on their trip as an entrepreneur, even if things are difficult.

“You have to be able to wake up at 4 a.m., even if it is difficult, even if it is cold, you have to do it,” said Michal. “You can enjoy the pain, it is part of the trip.”

From tireless work on the development of a sensor for three years to credibility in the scientific world, they say that resilience is as important as any factor for success. There was a million data measurements for metabolic activity in front of lumens. Now there are 75 million, said Michal.

Being persistent was a property that the sisters had not mastered in their failure failure at the beginning. When they were rejected from their original dream of visiting the medical faculty, they did not know their next step. Michal says she wanted to give up, but her mother helped them push her to find a new way.

“She opened our eyes for different things that we also passionately have passionately,” added Merav. “And she was right. We fully fell in love with research.”

Finally they were accepted into a medical faculty, “but we said, 'No, no, it's too little, too late,” Merav recalled.

Conflict is inevitable, but never let yourself be sleeped on it

As close as the twins are, their relationship is not immune to conflicts. If you do not agree, say that the key is to ensure that the argument remains healthy and the discussion is solution -oriented.

Among the habits, her mother was the commandment that they never sleep with unresolved problems.

“It's like a snowball, and if you don't solve it, it is very difficult to close the gap,” said Michal.

She also forced the sisters to oppose themselves, dig into their heels. Even at a young age, when Michal and Merav would fight, her mother urged her to understand the other's perspective.

“” Why does she feel that she feels like this? Why did she react like that? “”, Her mother recalls. “Sometimes she still does that.”

Lean into strengths, know your own weaknesses

Michal says that both sisters pursue the same goal, even referred to them in the relationship as “egoless”, but they differ in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

She describes your relationship as “Yin and Yang”.

Both sisters have a background in cardiology from their doctoral thesis, but in the first phases of building lumen, Merav concentrated on the molecular mechanism behind the irregular heart rhythm, and Michal focused more on the clinical aspect of the irregular heart rhythm. Now Merav is leading her research and Michal leads product development.

The structure of trust with each other is the basis on which you build and the creation of a comfortable space for challenges, including the inevitable disagreements, but still know that you are bound by persecution of the same goals. And this “psychological security”, as they called it, is an aspect of the work relationship that they strived for for their corporate culture and their employees.

Work is part of life and not the other way around – i.e. no late meet

The Mor sisters believe that a company can only be successful if its employees work as a unit for a common goal. It is crucial to have a high priority for the work-life balance.

“The fact that we are mothers also enables other women in the company,” said Merav.

As part of your approach, in order to achieve a proper work-life equilibrium, essential meetings do not take place after certain working hours, so that employees return home and have more time to relax with their families.

“If you have time with your family, it fills them,” said Michal.

Your success as sisters, the lessons you have learned from your mother, and these initial lumen devices tests at the family dining table, today inform your approach for leadership and Lumens mission.

“Friends may come and go, things can come and go, but at some point the nuclear family, you should really hug that,” said Merav. “You have a bad day? Breathe in deep, you can repair it.”

Take a look at the full Changemakers to learn more about the history and lumen of the Morav Sisters.