Confidence and startups take shape at Northeastern’s Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship
From first idea to funded startup, WISE empowers Northeastern students to build ventures, confidence and community through entrepreneurship.
When Rachel Domb arrived at Northeastern University as an undergraduate student, entrepreneurship wasn’t part of her plan. She intended to study psychology and hoped to work with children with special needs.
But Domb had long been passionate about plant-based food and sustainable living and had been quietly toying with the idea of creating her own healthy snack. That’s when she discovered Northeastern’s Women’s Interdisiplinary Society of Entrepreneurship, or WISE, at a student involvement fair.
“WISE was the start of it all,” Domb said. “It gave me exactly the platform and the resources, and the people to maximize my potential.”Today, Domb, who graduated from Northeastern last spring, runs Rooted Living, a small but growing company she founded that produces granola snacks free of refined sugar and packaged in compostable materials.
WISE is an undergraduate organization founded and fully run by students. It supports entrepreneurship among women and underrepresented genders, offering programming focused on innovative thinking, leadership and community.
“A lot of people join for community,” said Amelia Brooks, WISE’s current co-director and a fifth-year business administration student. “It’s very unique among student organizations on campus.”
Brooks discovered WISE on Instagram before starting her education at Northeastern and was immediately interested. She has served on the WISE executive board in multiple roles for nearly four years.
“I figured out what I wanted to do in my career based off of the work that I was able to do in WISE on the e-board,” Brooks said.
After graduating this spring, Brooks hopes to pursue a career in human capital management focused on supporting employees in their work.
WISE’s e-board includes more than 40 students across Northeastern’s Boston, London and Oakland campuses. Together, they run programming that reaches hundreds of students each semester.
The organization offers WeLearn workshops and an annual WISE Summit open to the public, as well as four application-based programs: WeSupport, WeBuild, WeLaunch and WeInvest. Each year, WISE Summit brings together several hundred students and innovators for a one-day conference highlighting unconventional paths to entrepreneurship.
“It’s a full day of workshops, breakout rooms, keynote speakers.” Brooks said. “We have a marketplace. We have breakfast and lunch. We have swag bags. It’s a huge production.”
There is also WISE Trek — an immersive learning experience for executive board members that often takes place in another U.S. city or abroad.
One program open to the broader student population is WeLearn, a series of biweekly workshops designed to build professional skills and an innovative mindset, regardless of academic background. Led by students and professionals, the workshops explore different industries while offering networking and community-building opportunities.
“That feeling of belonging, that’s something that’s really unique to WISE,” said Arshia Mathur, the organization’s other co-director and a senior studying data science and business with a concentration in entrepreneurial startups. “Making sure that our programs are as accessible and as inclusive as possible is a big part of our mission.”
During her first semester on Northeastern’s London campus, Mathur applied for WeSupport, a mentorship program that pairs younger students with upperclassmen and more advanced students with alumni and professionals.
Mathur’s mentor, a fourth-year student, helped her navigate the transition to Boston and offered both professional and personal guidance.
“Which was so impactful, especially as I was coming to the Boston campus,” Mathur said.
After returning from studying abroad and switching majors, Mathur said she pursued community. She later applied for an associate position in WISE’s WeLaunch program.
“From the moment I stepped in, I was struck by the genuine enthusiasm and kindness of the people around me,” Mathur said. “Every single person made an effort to introduce themselves and make me feel welcome.”
Two of the society’s programs — WeBuild and WeLaunch — focus on venture creation. WeBuild is a semester-long program combining idea incubation with weekly innovation and design-thinking classes.
“Even if they don’t have an idea yet, they are still able to see themselves as entrepreneurs or as folks with an innovative mindset through our programming,” Mathur said.
WeLaunch offers participants access to business experts, funding opportunities and a safe and supportive community of peers through seven weeks of intensive classes.
“One of the most significant things of being a part of WISE is being able to iterate over an idea alongside peers that are at the same stage as you, getting that feedback and building confidence and friendships along the way,” Mathur said.
WISE also offers WeInvest, a program introducing members to careers in venture capital. The goal of WeInvest is to increase funding for underrepresented founders by exposing students to the investment side of entrepreneurship.
“WISE attracts individuals who are really looking to drive an impact,” Mathur said. “They think beyond themselves. They are really striving to grow, whether it’s growing personally or professionally.”
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After meeting WISE representatives at the involvement fair, Domb hesitantly applied to WeBuild. When she was accepted, she said she was both surprised and excited.
Domb said fellow members encouraged her to pursue her snack idea and connected her with an established food company.
“My dream at that point was so small,” she said. “All of a sudden I was like, ‘Wait, I can actually maybe do this.’”
The program helped her envision her idea as a brand with the potential to reach grocery store shelves. Motivated by the impact she wanted to make, Domb shifted her academic focus, taking more environmental science courses and designing her own major: sustainable business of food.
She also joined the WISE executive board and eventually became a co-director.
“It was like leading an advanced company with a whole team and processes behind it,” she said.
Today, Rooted Living granola is served by Northeastern Dining and sold in nearly a dozen grocery stores and cafés.
