By Nguyen Nguyen, MBA2026
It was 3:23 a.m. when the last slide of our presentation deck was finally completed. Someone hit ‘save’ from a desk in Waterloo. Two others cheered quietly from the airport seats in Vienna. The rest, still in hoodies and half-awake, exchanged sleepy thumbs-ups over WhatsApp. Across time zones and dodgy Wi-Fi, we finally cracked it. In that moment, we learned a truth no lecture had taught us: real teams aren’t built in classrooms, they’re forged in shared screens, stubborn grit, and caffeine-fueled breakthroughs.
That moment marked the turning point in our ten-week consulting project with a global payments leader: Mastercard. Our task? To help the company explore the future of payments. A big topic, yes; but even bigger were the expectations: to bring fresh thinking, actionable insight, and strategic clarity.
From day one, we were fortunate to be guided by an incredibly engaged client team. Trisha Tan (LBS MBA Class of 2011), VP of Strategy & Operations, Mastercard Strategic Growth, challenged us to think beyond “best practice” and into what’s truly practical across regions. Vicente Villasenor Bravo (LBS MBA Class of 2020), Director of Strategic Growth, brought sharp thinking and clear feedback to every biweekly check-in. And Anna Kollar, Senior Analyst at Strategic Growth, brought great energy to help our understanding of the real landscape. Their consistent presence, clear feedback, and willingness to co-build made all the difference.
Diving Into the Unknown
When we first received the brief, we were overwhelmed. The challenge was multidimensional: we weren’t just talking about technology or regulation: we were talking about access, trust, and the habits of millions of consumers across diverse economies.
None of us were payments experts. Our backgrounds ranged from consumer goods (Nguyen), healthcare (Gary), cybersecurity (Anna), consulting (Arshiya), to navy army (Assaf). But maybe that was our advantage. What we lacked in industry tenure, we made up for in curiosity, and above all, a shared willingness to learn fast.
From Silos to Synergy
It wasn’t always smooth sailing. In week three, a healthy debate broke out over which the formula for successful models: among many moving parts across different continents, how can we distill to find the best one?
In hindsight, that disagreement was a gift. It forced us to confront a hard truth early: we couldn’t move forward until we understood each other’s thinking styles. One teammate was numbers-first, another was narrative-led. Some thrived in ambiguity; others needed structure. But instead of pulling apart, we leaned in. We built space for conflicting ideas, learned to listen better, and slowly, what was once tension turned into trust.
By mid-project, the difference was obvious. Our WhatsApp messages were punchier, our meetings tighter, and our jokes better. We had become a team, not just a group of individuals.
Zoom Calls and Micro-Wins
There was no glossy strategy room. No perfectly timed coffee breaks or corridor whiteboards. What we had were grainy video calls at odd hours, Online Docs full of tracked changes, and voice notes that started with, “Sorry for the background noise, I’m in transit.”
But along the way, we learned to celebrate the micro-wins. A client nodding in agreement during a midterm check-in. A faculty smile when we seemed to move towards the right direction. That one Friday when our insights finally aligned, and we saw a coherent story arc taking shape.
The Final Stretch
As the deadline loomed, so did the pressure. We iterated on our slide deck more times than we care to admit. We ran dry runs late into the night. At one point, we scrapped an entire framework we’d spent 10 weeks building because we realized it didn’t serve the client’s needs. That decision hurt, but it was the right one.
Beyond the Deliverable
In retrospect, the biggest outcome wasn’t the final deck. It was the shift in how we saw ourselves and each other.
This project gave us the kind of experience no classroom can replicate. It tested our resilience, challenged our assumptions, and made us better collaborators. We learned how to build structure out of ambiguity, how to divide roles based on strengths (not titles), and how to give feedback that was kind but clear.
And yes, we now know how to build a model in our sleep. But we also know when to step back and ask, “Does this actually solve a problem worth solving?”
Final Reflection
We came into this project hoping to contribute something meaningful to a real company. We walked away with something just as valuable: a crash course in problem-solving, consulting, and human connection in the digital age.
And the best part? We did it all with people who were strangers twelve weeks ago, and now feel like a team we’ll always remember.
Even if we never want to see another thinkcell chart again.