How much can 8 weeks change your life? For me, it changed everything.
From Consulting to the MBA
Before IESE, I spent almost seven years in consulting, growing from intern to manager in a boutique firm in Brazil. I loved the exposure: working with different industries, practices, and C-level executives. But something was missing. I wanted to feel the impact of building something from scratch, to take risks, and to see a direct connection between my work and people’s lives.
I had many hypotheses about where I wanted my career to go, but I knew I needed more learning and a more international perspective before making a leap. My dream of a career change plus geography change led me to the MBA.
The entrepreneurship focus at IESE was one of the reasons I chose the school. From the beginning, I had a plan: use my first year to learn more about tech companies and startups, get involved with Women in Business, run a half marathon (or two), build strong friendships, and then spend my summer in the Summer Entrepreneurship Experience (SEE) testing a business idea.
First Year: Surprises and Highlights
The MBA taught me about prioritization from day one. FOMO is real — but you quickly realize you can’t do it all.
Sometimes it meant trading hours of sleep for a late-night social gathering. Other times, it was choosing between attending a professional event or catching up with friends I had already made. Even simple things like whether to spend a free afternoon meeting new classmates or deepening the friendships I’d already built felt like meaningful decisions.
Amid those trade-offs, a few highlights stand out. The Communication course was a great surprise. In just one week, I saw how much clearer and more confident I had become in contributing to class discussions. I also made time to keep exercising: while I didn’t manage the two half marathons I had originally planned, I did complete one. Getting involved with Women in Business was another defining choice, one that eventually led me to being elected President of the club in my second year. And perhaps most importantly, I found the time to make the lifelong friends I had hoped for.
Choosing SEE
Despite my plan, I almost lost sight of my “why.” Surrounded by classmates pursuing consulting or big corporate internships, I felt pressure to follow the same path. I even came close to accepting an offer.
Then I paused and asked myself:
- Why did I come here?
- What do I really want to learn?
- And what if the riskiest thing was not taking the risk?
That moment of clarity brought me back to my original goal — and to SEE. For me, it was the best way to test my main career hypothesis: Do I want to found my own business? SEE offered the perfect mix of mentorship, structure, and freedom to find out.
Building Celestin
Working hard in the summer to create social media content to promote our business, Celestin.
I joined forces with two MBA 2026 classmates, Simon Spector and Mariana Valencia, to build Celestin — a matchmaking service for expats in Barcelona. In just 8 weeks, we:
- Interviewed 100+ people
- Released 2 MVPs
- Hosted a sold-out event
- Built a community of 100+
- Reached 30k+ people online
No two days looked alike. Some days were spent creating social media content, others pitching at expat events, or running our matching process. The only certainty was that I would end each day having learned something new.
Lessons Learned
Those 8 weeks taught me more about myself than I expected.
- I discovered that I can execute even when the outcome is uncertain — and that’s when I thrive.
- I learned how much creativity I bring to problem-solving.
- And most importantly: I love building something from zero.
At Celestin, we realized we had tapped into something real. People are tired of dating apps and are craving genuine connection. That insight continues to drive us. Today, we’re using the New Ventures (NAVEI) elective course in our second year of the MBA to keep developing Celestin with guidance from one of our SEE mentors. Our next milestone: testing willingness to pay and building a scalable product by December.
Advice for Future Founders
If I could give advice to myself before starting SEE, I’d say:
- Use the IESE community early to test your hypotheses. Conversations can save you months of assumptions.
- Have different plans. Focus is key, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
- Launch your MVP fast. The sooner you test, the sooner you learn and iterate.
So, if you’re considering entrepreneurship, my message is simple: try. The worst-case scenario is that you learn more about yourself in eight weeks than you thought possible — and those lessons will stay with you no matter what path you choose.
SEE isn’t just about testing a business idea. It’s about testing yourself. And for me, it changed everything.
Written by Mariana Tasso, MBA Class of 2026
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