How did you end up working at Bain?
I first got in contact with Bain during the third year of my university studies. I did not know much about consulting back then but all the employees I met showed me that it was a very down-to-earth place, but also full of smart people who celebrated each other’s accomplishments. I applied to an internship during my final year, but sadly, I didn’t make it in. I assume it was due to insufficient preparation.
However, I did not get discouraged. I reapplied the next year for a permanent position as an associate consultant and was hired. For the next four years I worked as an associate consultant and was promoted to consultant.
What has it been like switching roles?
After four years in consulting, I felt like I wanted to do something else, but at the same time, did not want to leave Bain and its supportive yet challenging culture. I asked what else I could do, and honestly, didn’t have any answers. But then a partner I’d worked with previously reached out because they thought the position of program operations and business development at FRWD would be a great fit. The team was just a few dozen people when I joined, and now it’s more than doubled and continues to grow.
The experience has been great. Bain has always been about defining your own path even if it doesn’t fully exist, and they will support you along the way. The transition was smooth and the trickiest part was learning to make strong decisions. As a consultant, we’re trained to be strong advisors, but eventually the client will make the decision. When you work somewhere like FRWD, you decide how to set the organization up for growth. It’s a bit scary at first but quite rewarding in the long term.
And what was it that interested you in FRWD?
I liked that it was a new startup within Bain and had a lot of potential. It was small when I joined, and I was really interested in seeing the different phases of growth a business goes through, and what’s needed at each step.
