Recovery gave me a way forward.Now I want to give something back.
I’m Nitzan, 33, from Gedera. I was wounded during my IDF service. Today, I am an entrepreneur, a father and in a good place. BotaniSkin grew from that recovery, not as a rejection of medicine, but as an attempt to build another responsible option rooted in nature.
Nitzan Katinka · Founder & CEOBuilt in Israel · Intended to help far beyond it
BotaniSkinThe team, at workIsrael · 2026
Where I am todayI’m in a good place. This is where I choose to build from.
The story, without dressing it up
It began in recovery. After October 7, I could no longer put it off.
The injury is part of my story, but it is not where I live today. I am in a good place, and I want to turn what recovery gave me into something that may help others.
01
Service and recovery
During Operation Protective Edge, I served in a small armored unit whose details remain private, and I was wounded. Later, during rehabilitation, I joined Achim LaChaim with the closest friend I ever had. We had served together, been wounded together and gone through the long recovery together. That period showed me two truths at once: medicine saves lives, and the body can keep carrying the effects of treatment long after it ends. It left me asking where responsibly developed botanical care might help reduce avoidable antibiotic use without ever delaying necessary treatment.
02
The loss, and the life that continued
On October 7, my friend and his partner were murdered at a music festival. I have chosen to keep their names private. My son, now one year old, is named after my friend. BotaniSkin is not a memorial. It is my decision to stop putting off the work that matters most to me and to build something living from what I have been through.
03
Choosing to build
Studying marketing and entrepreneurship, completing professional training and building a marketing business over a decade gave me the tools to act. After October 7, I decided to use them fully. Early conversations with researchers at Sheba Medical Center, including Ayelet Harari, helped me frame the first questions. From there, the team took shape.
Ayelet Harari participated in early exploratory conversations. This mention does not imply clinical or institutional endorsement by her or by Sheba Medical Center.
Born in Israel. Built to be useful.From a personal recovery story to careful work that can be measured.
What we are actually building
From recovery, through nature, toward something that can help.
Antibiotics save lives. We are not trying to replace necessary treatment. We are testing where botanical products may help reduce avoidable use, guided by evidence and designed for routines that already work. The first application is external botanical udder care within the existing milking workflow.
Nature is the source. Science is how it earns trust.
Why this matters beyond BotaniSkin
A small, measurable question inside a global health challenge.
Antibiotics save lives. Preserving them means reducing use that is not necessary, in people and animals. Antimicrobial resistance is a One Health challenge connecting human, animal and environmental health. BotaniSkin does not claim to solve it. We want to test whether careful botanical care can make one limited, measurable contribution.
1.14Mdeaths attributable to bacterial AMR in 202139Mprojected cumulative deaths attributable to AMR, 2025–2050
The question to test
Can external botanical udder care help reduce some avoidable antibiotic use, without ever delaying necessary veterinary treatment?
What we know today: the field POC demonstrated feasibility and showed positive results in actual farm use. It did not prove reduced antibiotic use or an effect on AMR. That is precisely why independent, appropriately designed research is needed.
I did not build this alone
The people who chose to build it with me.
Each brought a different kind of experience. All came around the same question: can we build a serious botanical option that can be tested, produced and trusted?
Co-founder
Aviv Eitan
Chief Product Officer
Aviv served in a naval commando unit and continues in the reserves. On October 7, he reported for extended service. He came from startup product management, paused his own venture and joined BotaniSkin. Today he also dives with veterans coping with post-traumatic stress and personally mentors several of them.
Nira Geifman
Product & Process Development
Thirty years in product development and process improvement, including work as a chief food engineer. Leads product and process development.
Arturo Geifman
Product Development & Scale Up
More than thirty years in the food industry, with expertise in product development, hydrocolloids and proteins.
Doron Tyomkin
Chief Veterinary Officer
Decades of dairy and beef field experience. Leads study planning, veterinary validation and the connection to farm reality.
For Jewish philanthropists, foundations and long-term partners
What philanthropic capital can make possible.
The aim is not unrestricted capital for the company. It is defined public-benefit research with an independent plan, useful outputs and clear accountability.
01
Independent controlled validation
A study designed and run with an independent academic or veterinary partner, with endpoints and analysis defined before it begins.
ProducesA pre-specified protocol, an independent report and findings that can support scientific publication.
02
Public-benefit botanical research
Structured screening and characterization of botanical materials under documented scientific criteria, separate from sales and marketing.
ProducesA documented evidence base and shareable findings under terms set before funding.
03
Field evidence and access
Additional herds, disciplined data collection, and observation of welfare and workflow under an agreed independent protocol.
ProducesReal-world feasibility evidence, implementation lessons and a transparent results summary.
Budgets will be added only after each program is scoped and priced with its intended independent partner.
Structure in development · conversations only
How support will be protected.
Before any funds are accepted, the legal route, restricted budget, oversight and publication terms will be defined in writing. The purpose is simple: philanthropic support must serve the research mission, not become unrestricted company capital.
01
Restricted use and separate accounting
Funds will be tied to an approved research scope and tracked separately from company operations.
02
Independent oversight
Scientific review, financial controls and conflicts of interest will be defined before funding.
03
Results reported either way
The reporting plan will cover methods, use of funds and results, including findings that do not support the hypothesis.
04
Clear separation from investor benefit
Support will not purchase equity or fund sales, marketing, distributions or returns to investors.
BotaniSkin is not accepting donations at this stage and makes no claim of tax deductibility. The final entity, grant route, data access, publication and IP terms will be reviewed with appropriate legal and tax advisers before any funds are accepted.
Questions a serious funder should ask
Clear questions. Straight answers.
The structure is not finished. The principles should be clear before the paperwork is.
Is this currently a donation to BotaniSkin Biotech Ltd?
No donation is being accepted today. The intended route is a dedicated philanthropic entity or independently administered grant structure for defined public-benefit research. The final legal structure is still being established.
Is support tax-deductible?
Not yet. Tax treatment will depend on the finalized entity, route and jurisdiction and will be confirmed before any funds are accepted.
What happens to results, data and IP?
Publication, data access and IP terms will be agreed before funding. The intent is to protect useful public-benefit outputs and prevent philanthropic support from becoming unrestricted commercial capital.
What if the research does not support the hypothesis?
That result still matters. Negative or inconclusive findings will be reported according to the agreed plan and used to improve the next research decision.
If this is the kind of work you support, I would be glad to talk.
The first conversation is about fit, questions and structure. It is not a request to process a donation.
Public-benefit research
