eMBA Field Report: Istanbul, East Meets West

Ashay Shah is an MBA student at INSEAD and is spending his summer as an eMBA working with Pozitron in Istanbul, Turkey.

I just completed two weeks at Pozitron, a mobile software company in Turkey. The INSEAD summer break only begins in the first week of July, so we have a bit of a late start compared to the US schools. Landed here smack in the middle of the hottest week of the summer, but the beautiful Bosphorus and the veritable buzz of this city makes you forget all about the heat.

The Endeavor Entrepreneurs, Fatih and Firat Isbecer, have been incredibly helpful and their generosity and attention towards all the company’s employees have clearly been a crucial factor in Pozitron’s successful journey so far. In many ways, my project here (to help find strategic and financial partnerships) has become much easier because of the company’s reputation!

Meanwhile, one of the most enlightening experiences for me has been learning about the Turks and their culture. Istanbul is geographically where the East meets the West, but what is more interesting is that it is culturally so as well. Doing business here requires a keen sense of local manners. And much the same as in India, every meeting here entails sipping 1-2 cups of tea or coffee (as it would be impolite to refuse), which means you are quite wired by the time you are done in the evening!

Overall, my experience so far has certainly exceeded (already high) expectations, and I hope it continues to do so. Skimming through other eMBA blog entries, clearly this is not a unique feeling.

via eMBA Field Report: Istanbul, East Meets West – Entrepreneurship Center | Endeavor Global.