Internship at Startup?

Looking towards next summer, I would like to get some startup experience on my resume. Has anyone interned at a startup? What is the recruitment process like? And how valuable would this experience be for VC/IB jobs? I've heard vaguely that VCs love startup experience but not sure if startup internship exp would be seen the same as working at a startup full-time.

 

Yep, if you're geared towards a finance career look at fintech/startups in tech where you could possibly land a finance-related internship. Judging by your post I assume you're in your first 2yrs of college so any experience at this stage is great. Majority of start ups are lax and you'll have a much easier time securing an internship compared to a well established firm.

To be honest you could start looking for opportunities for this summer/end of summer-fall, depending on the fund/vc/startup/etc you could still get something, possibly, if that's what you're looking for.

EBITDA rules everything around me
 

Yeah I will be an incoming freshman at my university. However, how would well-established IB firms look upon fintech/startup experience? Because at some stage, not to leave any doors closed, I intend on applying for internships there as well.

 
Best Response

Props to you for a) already actively looking, b) being on WSO, c) being far, far ahead of the majority of your competition.

Cast a wide net and don't leave all eggs in one basket etc etc (seems like you understand this already). All well-established IB firms will completely understand if the last and most aged item on your resume is a fintech/startup (think to the future, 2-3 yrs from now) and, tbh, it's a good thing to take up space and a nice way for you to gain some real world experience. By the time recruitment comes for IB and the like, you could've just as easily either switched your mind about vc/ib entirely, or, more likely (and better for you) have secured further more relevant internships outside of fintech/startups. But, not frowned upon or anything, just shoot for relevant experience.

EBITDA rules everything around me
 

If you're a freshman in college, any internship experience is going to be great. You're early as hell. I always associated startups more applicable to VC experience than IB, but even then...you probably wouldn't have a shot in VC unless you were one of the founders of the startup. They want entrepreneurship, etc....

 

I have been interning at a family office and I work with one of our portfolio companies exclusively who is a start up and its good experience. For me it was networking that really got me the job. I just happened to meet our MD out and he told me to come and interview and I have been here ever since. For me it gives me a lot of experiences doing things that I would not normally get the experience of doing in a BB. It allows you to become more intertwined with every part of the business except for just one aspect. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

 

You have the advantage of being a couple years out from the junior summer internship recruiting cycle.

If you have contacts at firms you're interested in, you need to be developing relationships with them starting yesterday. The ideal way to go into recruiting is with years of email exchange, info calls, coffees, and informational interviews behind you.

You want to be the most well-known candidate; this helps guarantee you an interview (hopefully you don't even have to submit formally through OCR, or if you do, it's only because one of your contacts said "I'm pushing this through, but submit there so it's formally on record").

In short, it's not useless, it's only useless when you're reaching out two months before the deadline. If you begin now, you can start with "I'm an underclassman interested in learning more about the industry; do you have time for a 15-minute call?" Do that with a couple dozen people across the BB firms (and each time you speak to someone, ask if there's anyone else there they can put you in touch with) over 3-4 months. Then follow up with each person you've spoken with (in chronological order) to thank them for their time (and any introduction they made) and ask if you can take them for coffee. Do that for 3-6 months, and then (again in chronological order) re-engage over email with each of the people you've met.

From there it's okay to explicitly say "The recruiting process starts soon and I'm very interested in a summer position with your firm. Can you share any insight on the best way to proceed?" Half of all the people you invested time into will blow you off and say "Apply through your campus listing and the firm's website." It sucks; they're lazy, they're dicks, or you didn't connect well enough. Whatever. A good portion of your contacts will simply say "Send me your resume" - that's exactly what you want. It'll go right to the staffer, and you've done all you can at that point.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

APAE kkrrjrnabisco

Thanks guys so much! Also, is quality or quantity of connections better for me? And what do I ask them when I'm on the phone or getting coffee with them, besides the the typical day in the life, why IBD, why your firm, etc.? Is it good to just talk about regular stuff like sports, or school (they are all alumni - the connections). My school has a really strong alumni network.

 

Intrinsically in the generic sense? It will show that you've done some business work before anyone else when applying to Sophomore internships.

Otherwise it all depends on specifics. Will you get to see how they manage their finances? Will it be in a location that offers a network benefit?

One thing I can guarantee is that it will help you perform much better during informational and formal interviews. You'll have real life stories to tell and you'll be able to talk about different aspects of the business that influenced your choice to become a banker.

 

Hey TheBestMan, I'm the WSO Monkey Bot and I'm here since nobody responded to your thread! Bummer...could just be time of day or unlucky (or the question/topci is too vague or too specific). Maybe one of these topics will help:

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  • More suggestions...

No promises, but sometimes if we mention a user, they will share their wisdom: mollyzaverucha ivycong Ashley-Flynne

Hope that helps.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

I interned at a start-up and have that on my resume - never been asked in detail about it nor have I made a big deal out of it. From my experience it doesn't mean dick. Unless you are gods gift to that company (which I was not) and can add an incredible amount of value; resulting in you receiving equity in the company. Hope this helps haha

 

I've spoken to a few dozen VCs over the past year and when I ask what the best route into VC is, I get the same response:

a) IB for two years, B-school, VC analyst b) Target school (Stanford), use your connections, get analyst c) Intern at a start-up, prove that you know a valuable company when you see it. If you're lucky, pick up some equity. After college, come back to the same or different start-up with a worthwhile role. Work your way into VC from here.

I'm personally going after option C... whether or not it works, I'll get back to you in a few years :)

 
Nothing-Ventured-Nothing-Gained:

I've spoken to a few dozen VCs over the past year and when I ask what the best route into VC is, I get the same response:

a) IB for two years, B-school, VC analyst
b) Target school (Stanford), use your connections, get analyst
c) Intern at a start-up, prove that you know a valuable company when you see it. If you're lucky, pick up some equity. After college, come back to the same or different start-up with a worthwhile role. Work your way into VC from here.

I'm personally going after option C... whether or not it works, I'll get back to you in a few years :)

Not sure where you got this from, but it's definitely a bit off the mark. Very few VC shops have analysts, associate is typically the bottom rung. The path you're getting at with a) is 2 years IB, 2 years pre-MBA associate, then MBA and return post-MBA as a senior associate.

To the original question, it'll absolutely help. You'll have first hand industry knowledge and can hopefully speak to your company's business model which is very helpful in interviews. I work in a tech group and definitely give some weight to start ups that I recognize, especially if they're in a sector that we cover.

 

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