The last time I wrote, my heart was bursting as I prepared to leave my family for a month during our Future Lab in Singapore. Instead of packing or studying, I was busy creating a “Mommy Countdown Calendar” so that at least my 4.5-year-old and I could have some daily point of connection while I was gone. Mostly, I think, it was for my own peace of mind.
My time away was filled with learning adventures and exploration, peppered with plenty of family FaceTime.
The Future Lab experience was invaluable. We dug into AI and analytics, visited fascinating companies, surveyed the geopolitical landscape, and dissected AI-enabled ecosystems as a powerful business tool.
The latter is where I hit my stride – ecosystems prototyping provided a sandbox to play with my endless ideas and interests, especially in FemTech. My team graciously agreed to experiment with an idea that revolved around a hands-free breast pump and another early-stage women’s health product. They also got a crash course in breastfeeding and pumping, and together we built something that was both exciting and potentially viable. A special treat for me was being able to pitch the prototype to classmates several times in a row, field questions, and receive feedback for iteration.
Beyond the classroom, I was busy filling my own Singapore canvas. Sometimes it meant solo adventures or simply staying in my room for a much-needed recharge. But far more often, it was about strengthening bonds with my classmates. We’d traipse around the city with one destination (or one treat) in mind and wander from place to place, some on a map, some just hidden gems. Back at our hotel, it was all about doing life with friends-turned-family: rooftop workouts, sharing daily kid content, pulling pranks while sharing the same corridor, crashing into bed with laughter, being held when things felt hard, sharing meals and laundry loads. What will stay with me forever is feeling love and support, camaraderie and belonging, the home-away-from-home I have in this cohort.
While I’m glad to be back in Switzerland and reunited with my family, the “return tax” (the metaphorical cost I pay to re-enter and readjust to life with my kids, made payable to them!) is high, and I think I’ll be paying it for just a bit longer. In some ways, I think this is a teaser for our life readjustment after the MBA! At any rate, we’re all fully enjoying hiking, biking, lake time, and the all-around summer vibes of Lausanne. It’s all been worth it.
