One of the most common questions prospective operating partners ask us is: once I join AIA, what actually happens? Who helps me figure out where to look for a company, what to do when things stall, or how to keep going when doubt sets in?
The answer is the OP Success Team – a dedicated function inside AIA built specifically to accompany operating partners from acceptance into the program through to the close of their acquisition. In this video, Aviva Egulsky Ozeri, who leads the team, talks candidly about what that support looks like in practice, what separates the OPs who succeed, and what candidates should genuinely ask themselves before joining.
Aviva's background spans more than a decade in corporate pharma – leading IT, operations, and process improvement – followed by years building analytics and customer success functions in start-ups. That combination matters: she understands the discipline and rigour that experienced executives bring to AIA, and she also knows what makes entrepreneurs tick.
She was one of the founding members of the AIA team in 2024, and during her time working in the ETA space, she has supported more than 60 operating partners through the origination process. Her mandate is to ensure OPs acquire a company within the agreed timeframe and do so effectively.
The team's involvement starts early. Before an OP begins sourcing, Aviva and her colleagues work with them to define their investment mandate – the geography, sector, company profile and acquisition thesis that will guide their mission to find a great SME to acquire. Getting that right from the outset makes everything downstream more focused and more efficient.
Once sourcing is underway, the team provides hands-on operational support: pipeline management, market analysis, and the practical logistics that might otherwise consume an OP's time. But equally important is the more personal dimension of the role.
My goal is to coach the OPs personally – to help them navigate through the different moments of doubt they have throughout the process, from acceptance all the way to becoming a CEO.
That ongoing relationship, Aviva argues, is what ultimately determines whether an operating partner reaches the finish line. The process is long, and the emotional and psychological demands of it are real. Having someone in your corner who understands the journey – and has seen it play out dozens of times – makes a tangible difference.
Even the most prepared, most capable executives find the first weeks of the program disorienting. Aviva is frank about this. People arrive with genuine excitement – often after years of thinking about making the move to ownership – and then wake up on day one to a very different reality.
For most of their careers, they have operated within organisations: with teams around them, clear reporting structures, and an institutional identity to represent. In the MBI context, they have to sell themselves. Not a product, not a company – themselves. That adjustment, Aviva says, is real and should not be underestimated.
It's a completely different mindset from anything they've done before. The adjustment is real – and we are there to support them through it.
AIA's presence from the very start of that process is deliberate. The early weeks set the tone, and having structured support available from day one means OPs spend less time floundering and more time building momentum.
Technical expertise and leadership experience matter, but Aviva is clear that they are not what separates the OPs who succeed from those who struggle. After supporting more than 60 operators through the process, she has identified two qualities that stand out above all others.
Resilience. Deals fall through at the last minute. That is a reality of the MBI process. The OPs who ultimately succeed are those who can absorb that disappointment, process it, and get back to work – without letting it erode their confidence or their pipeline.
Flexibility. The plan you build before you start is rarely the plan you execute. Reality has a way of intervening. OPs who hold their thesis too rigidly tend to get stuck; those who stay curious and adapt tend to find their business faster.
Alongside these qualities, Aviva highlights one practical discipline she returns to again and again: never stop building your pipeline. The deal you are most excited about today may not be the one you sign. Keeping the pipeline active at all times means you always have options – and options are what give you the confidence to walk away from the wrong deal.
There is a moment, typically a few months into the origination phase, when many operating partners hit a wall. The initial burst of energy has settled, outreach is underway but results feel slow, and the natural response is to question everything – the thesis, the approach, even the decision to pursue this path at all.
Aviva and her team are specifically attuned to this moment. When it arrives, the response is deliberately practical: review the mandate together, test whether the thesis is holding, examine the origination approach, consider whether adding a geography or adjusting the sector focus would open new opportunities. Small, concrete changes that rebuild momentum.
There is always something actionable that can be done – and you will not be going through this process alone.
Aviva is candid about what joining AIA's Program requires. The MBI model is not another executive role. It is a change of mindset and, for most people, a change in how they structure their life. That is not a warning – it is simply the honest framing that helps the right people make the right decision.
Personal readiness matters as much as professional readiness. Is your family prepared for this journey? Are you financially stable enough to move through the process without undue pressure? Have you genuinely made peace with leaving the corporate world behind? These are questions worth sitting with honestly before applying.
Aviva's observation from working with more than 60 OPs is instructive: those who ask themselves the hard questions, answer them truthfully, and still choose to join are, more often than not, the ones who succeed.
For those of you who make that choice, AIA will be there to support you throughout the process. It is not a promise we make lightly. It is exactly what AIA is all about.
If you are considering an MBI and want to understand whether AIA is the right platform for you: Talent Platform
If you are ready to apply to our MBI Program: Application
