Celebration, Send Off

With just two weeks before our departure for Haifa, Miles Gilburne of ZG Ventures graciously hosted a reception in honor of the Dingman Center’s Global Technology Entrepreneurship Fellowship.  This opportunity allowed our team to meet the donors whose contributions have helped make our summer experience a reality.  The host kicked off a round of speeches by welcoming us into his home and sharing his insight on the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in succeeding in the business world.

Then, Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam (or Dean Anand for short) of the Robert H. Smith School of Business provided a global context to the importance of what we are doing this summer.  From cross-cultural dialogue and international business experience to a hands-on lesson in innovation and entrepreneurship, he explained that our team is engaging in the type of practical learning that exemplifies the ideal 21^st century MBA education.

Before the night was through, Asher Epstein, Managing Director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and the leader of our trip to Israel, introduced the team and allowed us to formally present ourselves to the Dingman community.  Speaking in front of accomplished entrepreneurs and investors will be an everyday occurrence for our team this summer, so this was spot-on in terms of preparation.

Amos Cruz introducing himself with the team looking on

Our team left the night with a deeper appreciation of just what we will be tasked with this summer and its implications for our careers and professional development as well as its broader significance for the Smith School.  And while the takeaways were many, they can be summarized with the following:

We were told that no matter how hard we work, Israeli venture capitalists will find flaws in our business plans; this is the nature of early stage investing.  We were reminded that few startup ventures ever grow into full-fledged businesses; we must at once temper our expectations while still thinking big.  It was impressed upon us that only through hard work and creative thought will we succeed this summer.  But most of all, the experienced entrepreneurs expressed a sense of envy that they had not had the opportunity to immerse themselves in such a rich learning experience early in their careers.  I can speak for all of us when I say that this event truly set a positive tone for the 8 weeks that await us in Israel.