Dartmouth MBA students get up close and personal with Israeli entrepreneurs

By Cindy Mindell

Darien native John Wheelock just experienced an unusual side of Israel, spending eight days off the beaten tourism track to understand how a small country can have such a wide business reach.

Over spring break, the 2015 MBA candidate at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College joined 16 fellow students on an immersive Global Insight Expedition international travel course, part of the Tuck School’s Center for Global Business and Government.

A graduate of Darien High School and Colby College, Wheelock worked for six years at Greenwich Associates before enrolling at the Tuck School in 2013, where he serves as the elected president of the Class of 2015 and vice president of the Student Board.

The trip itinerary and in-country logistics were organized by the New York-based non-profit Israel & Co., which aims to generate greater understanding of and appreciation for Israel among global leaders and rising leaders. To date, Israel & Co. has worked with more than 100 student-led and faculty-led delegations.

MBA students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College at the Kotel in Jerusalem.

The Tuck students met with top executives of leading Israeli businesses, from high-tech to bio-agriculture, with heads of venture-capital firms, and with fellow business students and start-up entrepreneurs. They also engaged with thought leaders in government, at think tanks, and in the media, and visited historical and cultural sites. They got to experience the democratic process up close, spending election day in Tel Aviv, where they heard first-hand the hopes and fears of Israeli voters.

Each student kept a personal journal during the trip and wrote a paper upon their return to campus.

“Students saw for themselves that the real Israel bears little resemblance to the conflict zone that is portrayed in the media,” says Adam Kleinbaum, associate professor of business at Dartmouth, who led the delegation. “This visit was definitely a great experience and lesson for all of us.”

The group began its sojourn with a visit to Yad Vashem, then did a walking tour of the Old City. As an undergraduate history major, Wheelock was fascinated by the intersection of the three Abrahamic religions in such close quarters.

Wheelock was struck by the entrepreneurial culture of such a young, small country, and understood how essential it is for the Israeli business community to reach out beyond national borders. From discussions with students at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya who are launching start-ups, he learned how the Israel Defense Forces serves as an important networking opportunity and technical training ground for future entrepreneurs. Wheelock was impressed by the ethos of direct feedback and discussion.

“People give and take a lot of blunt, constructive critique, and the mentor-mentee relationships are very open,” he says. “I like that culture: it’s all about innovative thinking; it’s not personal. There’s a love of discussion, debate, and feedback that is refreshing to see, people saying ‘Let’s examine this in great detail.’”

What came through for Wheelock, from the group’s many meetings and discussions with business leaders and students, was the strong sense of national pride and spirit among Israelis to help not only their own, but the world at large.

Wheelock was also struck by the juxtaposition between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – one city ancient, cultural, and very religious, steeped in Jewish history; the other, modern, forward-looking, creative, and innovative.

“Some people I spoke with were worried that Israel has too wide a gap between the secular and Orthodox populations, but I think it needs both,” he says.

The students also got to see the uniquely apolitical side of entrepreneurship when they met with American-Israeli Yadin Kaufmann and Skyped with Ramallah-based Saed Nashef,

co-founders of Sadara Ventures-The Middle East Venture Capital Fund, which invests in Palestinian tech companies.

“The two men wanted to find something profitable and put their differences aside, which was heartening,” Wheelock says. “In our group discussion, we concluded that if there are better relations between the two groups, the business community will help lead the way. While it won’t be the complete solution to the conflict, business relationships are pretty effective for bridging those gaps.”