MCP115: From Tel Aviv to Paraguay. Life, Work, and Bookkeeping Tech w/ Jonathan Shkolnik

Jan 28, 2026

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Why the Most Valuable Business Lessons Come from Getting Uncomfortable

You're stuck in the same routine, the same business problems, hoping something will change while refusing to make yourself uncomfortable.

Jonathan Shkolnik has lived and worked across three continents. Tel Aviv to Moscow to Paraguay. Each move forced him to adapt and figure out what actually drives growth when you can't rely on familiar patterns.

As a business intelligence developer turned VP of Growth at Portali, Jonathan sees two problems everywhere. Businesses drowning in data but starving for insight. And people staying comfortable in situations that don't serve them.

In this conversation, Jonathan breaks down the metrics most businesses ignore, why his years in Moscow taught him more about risk than any MBA could, and how getting uncomfortable repeatedly is the only real path to growth.

Episode Overview

This episode is for business owners who feel stuck and professionals who know they're capable of more.

Jonathan moved to Moscow for two years and learned to work in brutal cold. He came back during COVID when the market was chaos. He pivoted through account management, finance, and business intelligence, spending three years learning to spot patterns most people miss.

But knowing the numbers wasn't enough. He was overworked, undervalued, with no time for relationships. So he left Israel three months ago and moved to Paraguay to start fresh.

Now at Portali, he helps bookkeepers scale by showing them the metrics that actually matter. Not vanity numbers. The data that predicts profitability and reveals which clients are worth keeping.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

The one metric most businesses track that reveals almost nothing
Why Jonathan spent two years in Moscow adapting to new markets
How business intelligence reveals patterns buried in daily operations
What three years of burnout taught Jonathan about staying versus leaving
How Portali helps bookkeepers see which clients are profitable
Why Jonathan chose Paraguay as his next chapter
What separates people who talk about change from people who do it

Key Insights & Takeaways

Most businesses measure what's easy instead of what matters. They track revenue but ignore profitability by client. They celebrate new leads while customers quietly leave.

Jonathan learned this through three years as a BI developer. Which clients drain time without profit. Where bottlenecks hide. What actually scales versus what keeps you busy.

But being good at your job doesn't mean you're happy. He was overworked and undervalued. No time for relationships or himself. His resume looked great while his life felt hollow.

So he left Israel three months ago for Paraguay. Not because it was easy. Because staying comfortable was killing him.

Now at Portali, he helps bookkeepers apply both lessons. See the metrics that matter. And recognize when comfortable is just another word for stuck.

Take the Next Step

Connect with Jonathan Shkolnik: Find Jonathan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jshkolnik/

Learn more about Portali at https://portali.tech.

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About the Podcast

#MeetCoolPeople is where founders, creators, and entrepreneurs share real stories behind building businesses that matter. Hosted by Ely Delaney, each episode uncovers the mindset shifts, failures, and frameworks that separate people who talk about success from people who build it.