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Interns at Greentown Labs: A Startup CEO’s Viewpoint

 
 
 
Jason Ethier, CEO, Dynamo MicropowerJEthier

Lets face it, companies wouldn’t exist if we could do it alone; we form organizations to execute on our mission because we need people in order to succeed.  Building a talent pipeline is one of the most important things we can do as entrepreneurs.  Working with interns is a great way to build out that pipeline.  On one hand, we need to learn and practice bringing in talented people as our business grows.  On the other hand, we have to learn how to keep and grow the best talent to create value with the business.  Last, but not least, we need that extra boost in organizational productivity that can only come with (cheaply) doubling your head count.

We brought in a winning batch of five interns this summer here at Dynamo, doubling our numbers to 10.  We’ve gotten pretty good at picking them and I have to say, we are still pretty impressed with the results.  This isn’t without cause – we spent a lot of time interviewing candidates, many of whom found us through the spring intern fair at Greentown Labs.  We probably read 100 resumes (yes, I made a scoreboard) and interviewed 30 candidates; with each of our team members interviewing the final five.  

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Each of our interns decided to join Dynamo for different reasons.  Claire (our sole business intern) had experienced working in the energy industry in China last year, and so wanted to learn more about the economics of the cleantech space. Alyssa, on the other hand, came to Dynamo interested in learning more about the business side of operations.

Intern Alyssa Hatch really got to see the inner workings of Dynamo Micropower this summer
Intern Alyssa Hatch really got to see the inner workings of Dynamo Micropower this summer

To make their internships successful, we also wanted to make the experience meaningful.  We’ve tried pretty hard to give our intern class substantial projects that let them really take charge and spread their wings.  Only at a startup can you have that freedom to take the reins. We really respect our interns, and therefore treat them as full team members – they take part in discussions and decisions at the highest level, but have the responsibilities and expectations to match.

A startup experience also gives you the opportunity to try on different hats; for engineering students, the need to consider the marketing and financing side of product development can be really eye opening. We didn’t want our interns to feel like interns – they were involved in all aspects of the business, and we gave them a lot of responsibility.

The dedicated Dynamo interns doing product qualifications at Greentown Labs at midnight (voluntarily, I swear!)
The dedicated Dynamo interns doing product qualifications at Greentown Labs at midnight (voluntarily, I swear!)

The Dynamo interns have had a very eventful summer – with activities ranging from company barbeques (with a vodka infused watermelon, or at least an attempt at one…) to beach trips with other Greentown Labs interns, to launching a new product in three months. We really value continuous learning, so we paid for our interns to take courses of their choice at Artisan’s Asylum, such as welding or glass blowing.

The young, dynamic culture here at Greentown Labs is also a great advantage for our interns. They are able to network with the cleantech community at EnergyBar, develop their CAD skills at Lunch & Learns, and learn about all the other exciting technologies being developed from the CEOs of other member companies.

It has been a great experience working with all of our interns this summer, and we will miss them. I can’t wait to see what they accomplish next.

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