Military and entrepreneurial experience shape MBA student's success

Q: Tell me about your background?

A: I grew up in Israel and spent nearly seven years in the Israel Defense Forces, first as a combat officer in special forces and later in product management and R&D roles, where I led a product development unit. That experience gave me a strong foundation in leadership and problem-solving. 

After my service, I founded Fiamma, an e-commerce business, where I drove product strategy, market analysis, and financial management. We achieved strong revenues with consistent quarterly growth, which gave me firsthand experience in building and scaling a company.  

Most recently, I worked as Lead Product Manager at Sandmilk, a SaaS startup in Tel Aviv. I was responsible for shaping the product roadmap, launching new features, and introducing data-driven tools to improve retention. I collaborated closely with engineers, designers, sales, and executives, and also had the chance to mentor junior product managers. 

Q: What led you to earn your MBA at D'Amore-McKim?

A: While working on building a small startup in my spare time, I realized I needed to deepen my business knowledge. My first introduction to D'Amore-McKim came through the 50:50 Startups accelerator in Israel, with Northeastern providing academic and mentoring support. Seeing a business school so actively involved in global entrepreneurship and innovation left a strong impression on me. 

What really convinced me was the corporate residency program. Coming from a startup background, I wanted to see how large corporations operate, and the residency offered the perfect bridge between education and professional experience. I decided to take a leap of faith, move across continents, and immerse myself in the U.S., where major financial markets, corporate headquarters, and entrepreneurial ecosystems drive the business world. Being in the U.S. and studying at D'Amore-McKim has allowed me to experience firsthand how business operates at scale and understand the global economic environment.  

Q: What was your corporate residency experience at Werfen like?

A: My corporate residency at Werfen gave me the opportunity to apply what I'd learned in the classroom to real-world business challenges. I worked as a Strategic Insight intern focused on identifying and developing new business opportunities. My projects ranged from cloud computing and infrastructure to medical devices, exposing me to diverse industries and markets. The most impactful part was working directly with senior decision-makers on high-level strategic initiatives for a company with multi-billion-dollar annual revenue.  

Having that level of responsibility and visibility not only expanded my perspective on how large organizations evaluate growth opportunities but also shaped my career trajectory. It was an invaluable experience for both my professional and personal growth. 

Q: How did your MBA prepare you for your full-time role? 

A: I specifically chose D'Amore-McKim's Full-Time MBA to bridge my experience from the startup world to a corporate environment, and my corporate residency at Werfen was the perfect opportunity to do that. It turned classroom theory into a tangible, hands-on experience that made me a more confident and effective candidate. The strategic models I learned and practiced at my residency are now what I'm using in my role at Wizer to define success metrics for our clients and create strategies for long-term growth. The networking I built during the program was also instrumental in leading me to this opportunity. 

Q: What role does entrepreneurship still play in your life today?

A: Unfortunately, I had to close Fiamma during the pandemic when global supply chains froze, but that experience reinforced my resilience and adaptability. The second startup I'm working on has already gained its first customer and keeps me engaged with the rapid technical impacts of AI. My primary focus is on my corporate role at Wizer,  where I'm gaining invaluable hands-on experience in scaling growth, understanding market dynamics, and delivering greater value than competitors. This balance between corporate training and entrepreneurial building is preparing me for my long-term goal of launching another venture.

Q: How did the Graduate Career Center support you? 

A: I'm incredibly grateful for the support I received from the Graduate Career Center. They were truly an invaluable partner in helping me find and secure my corporate residency. After talking with friends in other MBA programs who didn't have access to the same level of personalized guidance, I realized just how much of an advantage our Career Center really is. 

The most beneficial resource for me was the one-on-one mentoring. My background is a little different from that of many other students, and those individual sessions helped me refine my pitch and articulate exactly what I was looking for. I realized that my background was my product, and like a business, you can have a perfect product, but if you don't know how to position it, you're leaving a lot of value on the table. The Career Center taught me how to present my skills in a way that resonated with employers, and that made all the difference. 

Q: What advice would you give full-time future MBA students? 

A: My best advice is to be curious. This is a unique time in your life to learn about whatever truly interests you and keeps you up at night. I suggest you leverage the many resources you have at D'Amore-McKim, including your business and tech mentors, to get the exposure and experience you need. This is where you can take what you've learned in the classroom and apply it directly to real-world business challenges.