I remember it was February 2020. I was chatting with my friends and was confused about whether it was 2020 or 2019 because I was so used to looking at December 31st worksheets as an auditor. That’s when I decided on a career change.

I knew I wanted to be in a forward-looking role, however, I didn’t have a clear direction for my future role or organization. So, I pursued a Master of Finance (MFin) at Rotman School of Management. My time at Rotman has taught me much more than just Finance and brought me to the exciting early-stage venture building and investing ecosystem.

I promised myself to join as many competitions as I could and do things outside of my comfort zone. I learned python, ESG, and venture capital and won different case competitions such as data analytics, impact investing, and venture ideation. Through my involvement in VC101 and Problem Hunt – both hosted by Rotman Entrepreneurship And Venture Capital Association (REVCA) – I have rediscovered my old passion, entrepreneurship. Reliving this old love got me the opportunity to be mentored by the great Fred Murrell and join a new asset class, venture studio, with FutureSight (expect a different blog post on that!).

Rotman has allowed me to discover my unique advantage – highly valuable in growing an early-stage startup. I’ve always dabbled in entrepreneurship but it has always only been a side hustle. However, my experience in venture building has opened up various opportunities from delivering a presentation on my business experience, sharing my knowledge on venture growth in emerging markets, working with a blockchain fintech with Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), to delivering finance, risk, and strategic insight in my workplace.

I also had the opportunity to collaborate with people with differing skill sets from me. Coming from a hierarchical culture, I found the no-leader setting to be insightful in terms of personal leadership, communication, persuasion, and collaboration amongst differing skills, goals, cultures, and styles. From that experience, I truly value diversity in groups – only by having people come from different professional and personal backgrounds will the group truly thrive.

Overall, I’ve had tremendous personal and professional growth at Rotman. I applied to figure out my next steps and the classes, competitions, and networks have allowed me just that. The Master of Finance has provided me with great insight into different fields in finance, allowing me to “try out careers”. MFin was a perfect balance between a tight, small class and abundant Rotman development prospects. If you’re starting MFin or thinking of applying, I highly recommend joining different clubs, competitions, and unique student opportunities.