How can I intern for a start-up? (My major is accounting)

October 15, 2011 7:22 PM

How should I go about finding internships at start-ups? I am getting a master's in Accounting (my BA is in English and I also have an MA in Writing). I'm 25 and, not wanting the make the same mistake as last time, I know I need to do some internships and get experience. I'm really interested in start-ups, I might even start my own company one day, but right now I want to get involved in one.

I could show any interested parties my resume but its mostly education with the typical sorts of teenage/college job experience thrown in there. I had a 3.2 for my BA and I have a 4.0 in Accounting so far. I go to Georgia State; I did my BA at Ohio State. Also, I built a website along with the help of a graphic designer and coder. I'm have many interests but I do a lot of investing and I'm pretty good with computers, especially Excel.

If I had my pick, I'd really like to go somewhere exciting like Silicon Valley or NYC and get involved with some cool idea with a lot of venture capital behind it (I'm dreaming here so bear with me). I'm ambitious and I like to aim high.

Thanks in advance.

posted by locussst to work & money (5 answers total)

[You can put the website URL in your profile if you want - please don't put it here. ]
posted by restless_nomad at 7:27 PM on October 15, 2011

Pick your ten favorite startups - find companies that are interesting to you that are young/small (think Instagram, not Twitter) and research them. Think about what they're doing well, and what opportunities you see for them in the future. Write thoughtful and interesting notes to the team about what you like about their product and what you think you might be able to offer them as an intern. This is the most important part - figure out exactly why a company might want to have you around, and convince them of it. Also, for the most part, no one cares about your GPA.
posted by judith at 7:42 PM on October 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

"Also, for the most part, no one cares about your GPA."
Interestingly, this is sometimes not true in tech and startups - Google (obviously not a startup anymore, but still) for instance does care quite a bit about GPA and the school you went to.

That said, judith's advice is spot on. There was an interesting article a while back about a guy who really, really, REALLY wanted a job at Foursquare - eventually his persistance (though veering darn close to harassment) paid off: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-07-18/tech/29976807_1_foursquare-stanford-business-school-dennis-crowley
posted by alaijmw at 7:47 PM on October 15, 2011

Contact VC firms directly and ask if they can place you at one of their portfolio companies.
posted by outlaw of averages at 1:58 AM on October 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

Having known a few VCs and a few folks at startups, I would say that VCs are not your best bet unless you know one personally. Their time is very limited and they have much higher priorities than to help someone who's starting out (typically).

Startup culture is all about networking. Join local startup groups on Meetup and network network network. Also, befriend developers--lots of times they or someone they know are working on a startup.

In terms of location that is part of it as well. Simply put, there is a concentration of it in Silicon Valley that you won't find elsewhere. With that brings resources, networking groups, etc. that make it much easier than if you are some other random place (even NYC).
posted by Elminster24 at 9:24 AM on October 16, 2011