Jacob is a Massachusetts native majoring in Management at Clark. He has decided to pursue his dreams and defer from school for a semester to work for a company called Curiyo. Jacob is proud to call himself a Clarkie and is largely involved in Hillel at Clark. He is passionate about the work he is doing at his company and wants to spread the word about Curiyo! Read on to find out more about this awesome campus celeb!
Hometown: Marblehead, MAClass: SeniorMajor: ManagementCampus Activities: Clark University Hillel
What drew your interest to the company in the first place, why did you decide to stay?I left for Israel on a program called Boston Onward Israel in June. The program pairs students from the Boston area with internships or volunteer opportunities in Israel. I told them my interests and career experience and was set up with a few interviews via Skype. I interviewed with the company I now work at and was offered the internship, with the expectation to leave when the program ended in August.
The company I work for is called Curiyo. We are a content discovery platform that brings together up to date, relevant information on any topic. We just recently launched an iOS and Android application and have a web extension as well that is available on all major web browsers. Our offices are based in Jerusalem and I am living in an apartment building with a fellow American, a woman from Greece, and a woman from Chile.I started work with my boss, his son, and three programmers. My boss, Bob Rosenschein, is the founder and former CEO of Answers.com. He ran the company for many years until selling it for $127 Million. He now runs Curiyo and I have the pleasure of working with him every day.
After starting work I began to get more and more interested in the startup scene. My passion for the uncertainty and excitement of a startup clearly showed to my boss. As time went on he started mentioning to me about the possibility of working back at school for 5-10 hours per week. When thinking about this I decided it was time to make a decision. I knew that working from home would be great and that it would be great for future career opportunities and a spot on my resume. However, this is not what I wanted, what I wanted was to really make a difference. I was not going to be able to do that from the United States when the whole Curiyo team was back in Jerusalem.
This led me to my decision to stay. I went to Bob one day and sat down with him and told him that if he was serious about hiring me to work when my internship was finished i did not want to work in the US. I wanted to be a part of the team in the middle of the action in Jerusalem.
How has Clark helped or prepared you for the work you are doing now?Clark has helped immensely. I completed a semester abroad where I had dinner with an Alumnus of Clark who is the CEO and Partner of a major international law firm. He credited his success to his education at Clark. When the people around him were thinking in terms of A,B,C… chronological, methodical behavior which has proven to be a key to success, he was thinking X,B,E… all over the place. This is the type of education I have been so grateful to get at Clark. This unique way of thinking has helped me stand out from the other employees at my company and from other interns my age. When I want something I am not afraid to take the initiative to go and get it.
What are your future career goals? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?In 5 years I see myself as the owner of my own business. I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My uncle, mother, and grandfather have started 7 businesses between the three of them. All the companies that my family have been involved in have been either food or in office space rentals. I have chosen a different path. I wanted to go to where the big money is, in high tech. Where companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google, are king. I wanted to be where companies are bought and sold for billions and CEOs can make fortunes in a night. In 5 years I see myself at the helm of my own venture, most likely in the tech sector.
What are your interests outside of working in Israel?Living in Jerusalem is an amazing experienceoutside of work. Although I work 8 hour days, 40 hours a week I find some time to enjoy myself. Some of my favorite things to do are cooking and shopping in the huge open-air market, “The Shuk”. I also spend a lot of time at various live music venues. The live music scene is Israel is thriving- on any given night I can visit 3 or 4 different bars with great live music at all of them, from traditional Middle Eastern music, to alternative rock and even an amazing Led Zeppelin cover band that is now famous in Jerusalem.
Check out more about the company Jacob is working for at http://www.curiyo.com