During their last year of completing the work for the doctoral titles in Physiology, the Twin Sisters Michal Mor and Merav Mor began to compete in Ironman Triathlon races. The maximum aptitude demand led them to perform the importance of understanding personal metabolism and the lack of data that are collected through accessible devices for consumers.
This is how the first prototype of its Lumen Health Technology company was created. Initially, the sisters had no plans to turn it into a business. In the early days of the iteration of portable device, which measures metabolic data points in a single breathing, in less than a minute, the test subjects were close to home.
“We used to take him to dinner on Fridays with our family, and we asked our sister: 'Can you come here for a sec? Just sit and breathe on the device'”, Merav recalled in a recent interview with Julia Bortstin of CNBC for the CNBC ChangeMakers Stopcht series.
Both were named in the 2025 list of CNBC Changemakers.
The Mor sisters realized that they had something much bigger in their hands when they made their father, who has diabetes, prove the device and the results were revealing.
A great initial success on the Crowdfunding Indiegogo platform gave the sisters the impulse they needed to see an even greater business opportunity, which to date has raised $ 77 million from investors.
It was not a life plan for twins to become triathletes, doctorates in physiology or starting founders, but Lumen has now raised more than 65 million breaths until the date of more than 350,000 people. The Morav sisters have learned a lot about persistence, conflict and leadership along the way.
Prepare so that the pain is always part of the successful trip
The Mor sisters say that being athletes helped them learn persistence on their trip as entrepreneurs, even when things become challenging.
“You have to be able to wake up at 4 in the morning, even when it is difficult, even when it's cold, you have to do it,” Michal said. “You can enjoy pain, it's part of the trip.”
From working relentlessly in the development of a sensor for three years to obtain credibility in the scientific world, they say that resilience is as important as any factor to achieve success. Before Lumen, there were a million data measurements on metabolic activity. There are now 75 million, Michal said.
Being persistent was a feature that the sisters had not dominated at the beginning of their attempts. In fact, when they were rejected from their original dream of attending the School of Medicine, they did not know their next step. Michal says he wanted to surrender, but his mother helped push them to discover a new path.
“She opened our eyes to different things that also passionate about us,” Merav added. “And she was right. We fell completely in the investigation.”
Finally, they were accepted in a medical school, “but we said 'Nah, Nah, it's very late,'” Merav recalled.
The conflict is inevitable, but never let yourself
So close that the twins are, their relationship is not immune to the conflict. When they do not agree, they say that the key is to ensure that the argument remains healthy and that the discussion is oriented to the solution.
Among the habits that his mother instilled was the command that you never fall asleep with unresolved problems.
“It's like a snowball, and if you don't solve that, it is very difficult to fill the void,” Michal said.
He also forced the sisters to resist digging in their heels. Even at an early age, when Michal and Merav struggled, their mother pushed them to understand the perspective of the other.
“'Why do you think he feels like this? Why do you think he reacted like this?'” Michal reminds her mother asking. “She still does it sometimes.”
Rely on strengths, know their own weaknesses
Michal says that while both sisters pursue the same objective, he even described them as “Egyols” in the relationship, they are different in terms of strengths and weaknesses.
They described their relationship as a “Yin and Yang”.
Both sisters have a history in cardiology of their doctoral work, but in the initial stages of building light, Merav focused on the molecular mechanism behind the irregular heart rate, and Michal focused more on the clinical aspect of the irregular heart rate. Now, Merav leads his research and Michal leads the development of products.
Building confidence between them is the basis on which they build, creating what they say is a comfortable space for challenges, including inevitable disagreements, but they still know that they will continue to be linked to the search for the same objectives. And that “psychological security” as they called it, is an aspect of the working relationship that have been striving to contribute to the culture and employees of their company.
Work is part of life and not vice versa, that is, there are no late meetings
Mor sisters believe that a company can only succeed if their employees work as a unit towards a common goal. They say that putting a high priority in the balance between working life and life, especially for a company where more than 50% of Lumen leadership positions are occupied by women, and more than 50% of the total workforce are women.
“The fact that we are mothers also allows other women in the company,” said Merav.
As part of their approach to achieve adequate balance for working life, essential meetings do not take place after certain hours of work, which allows employees to return home and have more time to relax with their families.
“Having time with your family is something that fills you,” Michal said.
His success as sisters, the lessons they learned from their mother and those initial tests of light devices at the family dinner table, report their leadership approach and Lumen's mission today.
“Friends can come and go, things can come and go, but finally the main family, that's something you should really accept,” said Merav. “Are you having a bad day? Breathe deeply, can you fix it.”
Look at the Full Changemakers Spotlight Video above for more information about the history and light of the Morav sisters.
