Internship Season 🌞

By: Brett Perlmutter

‍You’re Interning Where?!

It’s your first weekend interning in NYC, and you grab dinner with some friends. Each of your fellow intern friends begins to detail their summer internships. Your banking friend talks about the late nights she is pulling and complicated models she is running, and your friend in consulting talks about the CEO that he saw in the hallway. When it’s your turn, you tell the group you are working at a venture studio as an undergrad intern. Everybody is amazed, and the questions come rolling in. How did you get into venture capital? Don’t you have to do banking for two years? Isn’t starting a company a prerequisite? Do you need to be in the top 1% of your class? How did you pull it off!? You look at the group and shrug. There is no one way to land that venture internship, but a common theme over here at 25madison is being passionate. Here’s an inside look at what it takes to not only get that venture internship but succeed in it once you secure the role.

‍

‍

Talk about what you Love

If you land that first interview at 25madison you might be asked why you want to help build businesses. Here are a few answers my interviewer (now co-worker & friend) had heard that did not hit the mark: I want to make money, I’m interested in business, it’s my lifelong dream to work at a well-funded art studio. We build businesses here, not art pieces! 25madison isn’t looking for you to have your entire life figured out. They are looking for individuals who are curious and will really care about the work they’re given. Here are some areas that might just hook your interviewer: the story of your startup (success or failure!); market trends you could talk their ear off about; a short anecdote that speaks to your character. Also, know their portfolio! Have the details of a few portfolio companies up your sleeve that you’d be excited to work on. For example, as a college athlete I was quickly drawn to Rewire, a fitness app startup backed by 25madison

‍

‍

Be a Self-Starter

The internship is yours. Congrats -this is where the hard work begins. Imagine yourself arriving at work, and after a round of…