Contributed by Karen Vera Sanchez
Major: Industrial and Operations Engineering,
Minor: Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial Leadership Program 2024-2025 Cohort
This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to join the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurship (ZLI) at Ross School of Business as a Startup Intern for the Summer 2025 Accelerator, and it was one of the most exciting experiences I’ve ever had.
I worked with student founders on five completely different startups. Each venture had its own challenges, culture, and goals, which gave me a front-row seat into just how unique and dynamic startups can be. At the same time, I was also working on my own startup, EduBridge, which made the experience even more meaningful because I was able to see both sides: being an intern helping founders and being a founder leading a team.
Through this journey, I discovered what it really takes to succeed at a startup internship. Let me share my biggest lessons.
Adaptability Is Your Superpower
The first thing I learned is that adaptability is non-negotiable. Startups are not like traditional companies where every role is fixed and every process is standardized. Instead, startups are constantly shifting, one day you might be doing market research, the next you’re building financial models, and by the end of the week you could be giving feedback on a pitch deck.
At first, this can feel overwhelming. But the more I leaned into it, the more I realized how powerful adaptability really is. Being able to wear different hats not only made me more resourceful, but also gave me the chance to explore skills I didn’t know I had.
If you’re starting a startup internship, expect to pivot often, and embrace it. That’s where the growth happens.
Communication and Soft Skills Matter More Than You Think
It’s easy to assume that your main value as an intern will come from technical work like analyzing data or building financial models. While those things are important, I quickly realized that soft skills are just as critical.
Founders are juggling a million things at once, so being a good communicator, asking clear questions, sharing updates, and offering thoughtful feedback, makes a huge difference. Startups thrive on collaboration, and the ability to listen, adapt, and connect with people can set you apart.
Whether it was brainstorming marketing ideas or discussing research findings, I found that my soft skills often mattered as much as the actual deliverables.
Every Startup Is Its Own World
Working with five different startups back-to-back was eye-opening. What struck me most was how different each “startup world” really is.
The culture, speed, and even the way problems were approached varied drastically. For example, one founder was obsessed with data, while another cared more about storytelling. One team was moving incredibly fast, while another was more cautious and deliberate.
This taught me that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for success. As an intern, your job is to understand the unique DNA of each startup and figure out how to plug yourself in effectively.
Motivation Drives Everything
Another big takeaway is that motivation is contagious. Startups are built on passion, founders believe deeply in solving a problem, and that energy spreads to everyone around them. But it also means you need to bring your own motivation every day.
There will be times when tasks feel unstructured or the direction isn’t clear. That’s normal in a startup. What matters is your ability to stay motivated, ask questions, and keep moving forward. The interns who thrive are the ones who don’t wait around for instructions, they take initiative and figure things out.
Seeing Both Sides: Intern and Founder
What made my summer even more unique is that while I was interning, I was also building my own venture, EduBridge, a fintech startup focused on cross-border student loans.
This gave me a dual perspective. As a founder, I saw how valuable it is to have interns who are adaptable, proactive, and motivated. As an intern, I saw how important it is to support founders with clear communication and thoughtful execution.
And here’s the best part: both sides share the same success secret, adaptability and motivation. Whether you’re the CEO of a startup or a summer intern, the ability to adjust quickly and stay driven is what keeps you moving forward.
The Fun of Wearing Many Hat
Startups can be messy, unpredictable, and sometimes chaotic, but that’s what makes them fun. You get to experiment, explore different roles, and discover skills you didn’t know you had.
Unlike big companies where your role might be very specific, startups give you the chance to wear many hats. One day you’re a researcher, the next day you’re a strategist, and sometimes you’re even a designer or marketer. Instead of seeing this as confusing, I learned to see it as a gift. The variety kept me engaged and gave me a broader skill set that I’ll carry with me for years.
Final Thoughts: Succeeding in a Startup Internship
If I had to summarize everything I learned into one sentence, it would be this:
To succeed at a startup internship, you need to be adaptable, motivated, and willing to grow into roles you never expected.
Startups are fast, exciting, and unpredictable, but they’re also some of the best places to learn. If you approach the experience with curiosity and energy, you’ll walk away with skills, insights, and memories that will stick with you long after the internship ends.
For me, the Summer 2025 Accelerator at ZLI wasn’t just about helping startups, it was about learning how to thrive in environments where change is constant and opportunity is everywhere. And that, in many ways, is the spirit of entrepreneurship itself.