As part of our INSEAD Alumni Founders series, we recently spoke with MBA’06D alumnus Itay Rosenfeld, who talked to us about INSEAD and his experiences as a successful entrepreneur.
With a background in engineering, Itay came to INSEAD in 2006 to pursue an MBA, an experience that changed the trajectory of his professional life. The programme provided an excellent foundation in business, but perhaps most importantly, it gave him the confidence to step out of his comfort zone.
Itay credits a conversation with Professor Gianpiero Petriglieri as a turning point. “Disregard everything you have been told,” Petriglieri advised. “A person has many facets, but only a few of these are revealed and developed without an effort to step out of your comfort zone – go explore.” This encouragement inspired Itay to reconsider his career and embrace entrepreneurship.
After graduation, Itay joined the Israeli startup Ethos Networks, gaining invaluable experience in the telecommunications sector, and facing the challenge of the 2008 financial crisis. His time at Ethos taught Itay two important lessons. First, that timing is crucial in business: “You can do everything right and still be caught in tough market conditions,” he says. Second, when faced with challenges, resilience is the key to success. “You need to keep your head up. After setbacks, take time to recover. Then, you come back stronger,” he explains.
Itay’s career took a new turn in 2012, when he was asked to lead the cloud communications firm Voxbone. Over the next eight years, as CEO and Board Director, he redefined Voxbone’s strategy, moving from a consumer orientation to a business focus, hiring new talent, and attracting investment from the UK. Under Itay’s leadership, Voxbone grew significantly and was acquired by a US company for $520M in 2020.
With years of entrepreneurial experience under his belt, today Itay helps entrepreneurs scale their ventures, focusing on his areas of expertise, cloud communications and medical technology. In his opinion, there are three essentials for any successful startup. First, entrepreneurs dedicated to solving a sizeable problem. Second, unmatched tech expertise on the team. And finally, a strategy that has identified a gap in the ability of existing firms to address the problem. “Everything else – funding, operations, and infrastructure – can be fixed,” Itay says.
For budding entrepreneurs, Itay has some practical advice. “Begin by joining an early-stage startup. Learn everything you can before launching your own venture or pursuing entrepreneurship through acquisition. This path provides a gradual transition into entrepreneurship, invaluable experience, and a financial safety net.”
And for those who are worried about the risks of entrepreneurship, Itay reminds us that, “Over the long run, entrepreneurship is not necessarily an economic sacrifice compared to traditional corporate roles, consulting or banking. Yes, it’s much more of a rollercoaster – failure is part of the journey – but success is deeply rewarding and a critical contribution to society. Building companies creates jobs and lasting impact.”
Itay believes INSEAD is perfectly positioned to create successful companies and tech unicorns, because it brings together exceptional international talent. “The INSEAD MBA provides a unique one-year window and a community of alumni to support entrepreneurs. We have already seen big success stories like Sennder, Blablacar, Policybazaar or Qonto. I can’t wait to see what our community builds, and to make my humble contribution to it,” he says.
