Dan Abraham - Management Consultant on Moving to Colombia, Impact Investing, & Multifaceted Identities

Dan is a management consultant turned company builder. After majoring in Cognitive Sciences at Rice University, Dan went on to work as an associate with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. There, Dan took a secondment where he was shipped off to Colombia to work in the impact investing space. He got hooked. Dan left consulting and today, he lives in Colombia working as Chief of Staff for Polymath Ventures, an investment firm that builds new businesses from scratch to scale across Latin America. In this episode we reflect on how Dan’s multifaceted identity, as a Malayali Christian son of divorced parents that moved around a lot, affected his relationships with the “brown community” in New Jersey. We also talk about why it led to his decision to turn down a full-ride scholarship to NYU Stern, despite knowing early on that he wanted to build a career in business. Dan also gave us a glimpse into how Polymath Ventures tailored its business model for Colombia, why the country is ripe for investment, and his excitement about finding a place that combines social impact and business. Lastly he shared some funny anecdotes about life in Colombia. Those included not having internet access during the 2016 election results, getting approached by a Colombian Bhangra team, and venturing into some of the lesser-explored spots in Colombia.