'If you can dream it, you can do it'
Eline van der Gaast
Venture Advisor at Power of N
In the summer of 2001 while still in high school, I visited New York City and instantly fell in love. I loved the city, the energy and the people and decided that someday I would live there.
With this dream in the back of my mind I enrolled at the Erasmus University and started my bachelor a few years later. I enjoyed the international settings and the broad skill set I gained.
Upon completing my bachelor degree I wanted to diversify my skills and I therefore continued my education, working towards both a master in HR and Econometrics. During my time as a student I combined academia with extracurricular activities. I became the president of the Econometric Study association (ED) as well as part of the University Council. Both experiences were great and allowed me to build skills in leading teams.
Shortly after obtaining my masters in Quantitative Marketing in 2010 my dream came true. I joined SKIM, a boutique market research agency, and transferred to their NYC office. Here I apply techniques and models I learned during my studies on real life problems faced by large multinational companies. I continue to leverage the analytical thinking and problem-solving skills I got from Econometrics on a daily basis.
Since then new dreams have come along and in the summer of 2012 I helped SKIM open their 5th office in San Francisco. The hands-on and entrepreneurial mentality from the EUR and the city Rotterdam is really something that has helped me forward in my career and to achieve my goals.
So, as a tip for future students I would like to use a quote from Walt Disney – 'If you can dream it, you can do it'.