Gio from Rio: On Leaving Modeling for Marketing, LGBTQ Life in Israel, and Having Tri-Lingual Kids

In this episode of Yalla, Let's Go!, Erica and Abbey sit down with Giovahnna "Gio" Ziegler - Brazilian olah, marketing leader in Israel's high-tech ecosystem, former contestant on Brazil's Next Top Model, best-selling author, and mother of two. Gio shares her journey from Rio de Janeiro to Tel Aviv, why Aliyah was a philosophical certainty more than a logical decision, how she built a successful career in Israeli tech without speaking Hebrew, and what it's like to raise trilingual kids in a Yemeni-Brazilian household. She opens up about the LGBTQ community in Israel vs. Brazil, why she'll never go back, and why Israelis' refusal to apologize in the supermarket is actually genius. The conversation continues with: Growing up in a famous artistic family in Brazil - and rejecting it Being the first openly gay contestant on Brazil's Next Top Model Building a marketing career in Israeli tech from scratch Starting (and quickly shutting down) her own agency Raising kids in three languages in Tel Aviv The LGBTQ community in Israel: openness, acceptance, and belonging Why she feels Israeli - not Brazilian This is a bold, funny, and deeply personal conversation about reinvention, belonging, and the life you build when you bet on yourself. Subscribe for more conversations with people who live, work, build, and stay in Israel. #GioZiegler #Israel #Aliyah #BrazilianOlah #IsraeliTech #LGBTQ #LifeInIsrael #YallaLetsGo #TelAviv #Marketing #JewishIdentity #NextTopModel KEY TOPICS  0:00 - Intro 0:49 - Meet Gio: From Rio to Tel Aviv 2:17 - Life Story in One Minute: Hippie Roots, Corporate Career, and Two Boys 2:44 - Why She Made Aliyah: A Philosophical Decision 3:53 - Not Another Boring Marketeer? Actually, Kind Of 5:20 - New York Times, South Africa, and Getting to Israel 6:57 - Growing Up in a Famous Artistic Family — And Rebelling 8:27 - Did Moving to Israel Mean a Career Setback? 8:55 - How She Cracked the Israeli Tech Market 10:13 - Starting Her Own Agency (And Why She's Shutting It Down) 11:19 - Brazil's Next Top Model: The Tyra Banks Contract, the NDA, and the Gay Twist 13:52 - From a House of Models to Her Wife Hofit 14:01 - Marrying Into a Yemeni Israeli Household 15:35 - IVF in Israel: What's Free, What's Not, and the Danish Donor 17:16 - The LGBTQ Community in Israel vs. Brazil 19:43 - Raising Trilingual Kids: Hebrew, Portuguese, and English 21:16 - Would She Ever Go Back to Brazil? Absolutely Not. 21:37 - What's Hard About Living in Israel (Lines. Just Lines.) 22:07 - Why She Loves Israelis: Unapologetic, Good-Hearted, and Consistent 23:18 - Advice for Anyone Considering Aliyah: Just Do It 24:07 - Rapid Fire: Israeli Salad, Kafkafim & the Haredi Kid RESOURCES Follow Gio on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovahnna/  Subscribe to Yalla, Let’s Go here: https://www.aleph.vc/yalla-lets-go  Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc  Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@yallaletsgopodcast  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yallaletsgopodcast/  Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yallaletsgopodcast  Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://x.com/aleph ‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ ‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ CREDITS Hosts: Erica Marom, Abbey Onn  Executive Producer: Sarah Bard Producer: Sofi Levak, Dalit Merenfeld, Myron Shneider Video and Editing: Nadav Elovic, Yotam Kushnir Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar  Content and Editorial: Jackie Goldberg Design: Nimrod Sapir