for college students by college students

Win-Win

TAMID brings students and Israeli
companies together.

Rob Streit } Special to the Jewish News

C

ollege students looking to join dents to Israel for eight weeks to
student organizations can get work with companies in Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem.
involved with any number of
“You get to go to one of these
groups. Clubs exist for every inter-
est imaginable — from the mundane incredible Israeli cities, see their his-
tory, their culture, the startups that
to the esoteric. The experiences
exist there,” says Saul Feit,
student organizations offer
former TAMID chair of the
can form lasting relationships
council of presidents. “I think
and lines on resumes that
that’s a very different way to
may catch the eye of poten-
experience Israel than most
tial employers.
people normally do.”
Few campus organizations
That Israelis have a pen-
engage students the way
chant for startup companies
TAMID Group does. TAMID
is well known. Both Feit and
was formed a decade ago
Rowan Daiksel
Daiksel point to Dan Senor
at the University of Michigan
and Saul Singer’s 2009
and gives members the
book Start-up Nation: The
chance to work directly with
Story of Israel’s Economic
Israeli startup companies as
Miracle as evidence of the
consultants. Members con-
Israeli drive for innovation.
duct market research and
The authors argue that a
analyses to help grow these
nation populated by immi-
startups. Students can also
grants in combination with
manage portfolios through
mandatory military service
TAMID’s investment fund
Saul Feit
makes Israel a hotbed for
program.
experimentation and techno-
“The combination of those
logical advances.
two forces really exposes our stu-
“The Israeli tenacity and technolo-
dents to a wide variety of different
gies that come out of that country
types of businesses,” says Rowan
and the way they think through
Daiksel, president of TAMID at U-M.
problems and their persistence is
“You have the investment side and
something that everyone should be
the strategic consulting side.”
exposed to,” says Daiksel, who was
TAMID also offers a summer fel-
born in Israel.
lowship program that sends stu-

56

October 18 • 2018

jn

Spreading TAMID
The student organization has
seen widespread growth since its
genesis on Michigan’s campus.
TAMID began adding chapters in
2011 on the campuses of Harvard,
University of California, Berkeley
and Penn State. More campuses
joined as the years ticked by. The
group now boasts 53 chapters
with more than 2,200 active mem-
bers. The spike in interest among
students has resulted in TAMID
becoming a very selective group,
with an acceptance rate of less
than 15 percent at U-M last year.
The expansion can be credited to
several factors.
“I think there’s a lot of demand
for more organizations that give
you community — community that
doesn’t just last in college but lasts
beyond and creates opportuni-
ties for you,” Feit says. “And, of
course, I think it comes down to
it’s business in Israel, and whether
you have strong personal beliefs
that connect to Israel or if you’re a
strongly business-minded person,
then Israel becomes a great place
to get involved.”
While TAMID works primarily with
Israeli companies, the organization
does not espouse any political or
religious viewpoint. TAMID accepts

students from every background
and point of view, and both Feit
and Daiksel stress that it is an apo-
litical, non-religious group.
Students with TAMID are given
real responsibility that potentially
can impact the bottom line of these
companies. But Feit says the start-
ups have much to gain and little to
lose.
“There’s a lot of value added.
These aren’t just any college stu-
dents — these are passionate,
strong, driven college students.
This is a select group. These are
students who are vetted by the
process to get into TAMID,” Feit
says.
This summer, U-M student Jacob
Offir worked with Nielson Innovate,
a startup incubator/VC, in Israel.
“One week into my internship,
I already felt like I was making an
impact, both for the company as
well as for my own professional
development,” he says. “Interning in
Israel is a completely different and
refreshing experience than interning
back in the U.S. Immediately, I was
treated as an equal in the office
and given more responsibility than I
could have imagined. Working with
Israeli startups firsthand has been
an amazing experience.”
Daiksel says, “We’re pro bono. I
think everybody will tell you we’ve
done really remarkable work and
they’re using work we have done.
A lot of these companies are trying
to expand into the United States.
Having American students from
elite American universities who
are thinkers and see problems
and solutions in a different way is
incredibly valuable.”
Daiksel and Feit say the experi-
ence TAMID provides students
goes beyond the opportunity to
have forays into the business world.
“The community I’ve been able
to build, the people I’ve gotten
to work with and gotten to know
essentially as coworkers — that’s
been the main part of my experi-
ence,” Feit says.
“I think we’re unique. It’s kind of
an all-encompassing organization.
There are some clubs that just do
investment, some clubs that just do
consulting, but we kind of combine
those two. I can’t imagine my col-
lege experience without TAMID,”
Daiksel says. @