He graduated in 1972 from Ort Yad Singalovsky, and enlisted in the Israeli Air Force, and received an honourable discharge after three years of service, during the Yom Kippur war in 1973.

[2] The company soon became one of the largest manufacturers of blank and pre-recorded video cassettes in the West Coast and later executed an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Leveraging on this acquisition as well as creative large-scale marketing techniques, Matchnet expanded rapidly and reached a customer base of more than 20 million to position itself as a global leader in the online dating business.

He served as a member of the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle Commission and in May 2008, Shapira and his former wife, Nickie,[7] participated in the Presidential Honorary Delegation to Israel's 60th birthday celebration that was led by President George W. Bush.

During his years as a chairman and CEO of Matchnet, Shapira led Jdate and its customer base, through pro-Israel activation, to become a leading force in the global Jewish community.