A biochemist by graduation, marketing and communication enthusiast at heart, I got an opportunity to work with Pay 1, a fintech startup, during my summer internship. Headquartered in Mumbai, PAY1 is a retail tech platform catering to the needs of unorganized retails of the country. Before I begin with my Internship experience and its takeaways, there are a few things that each MBA grad or an aspirant should keep in mind. While everybody opines that the internship is full of learnings, I believe that it is a mix of learning, unlearning and relearning. Having come with a work experience background, I learned the importance of unlearning things. The technologies and perspectives of the corporates are constantly undergoing changes, and in order to succeed, it is important to incorporate advanced technologies and new perspectives on both personal and professional front. So, here is a mix of some things that I have learned, some relearned and some unlearned
Know about things that do not interest you: While people have always stressed knowing what interests them, I prefer to know things that do not interest a person. This has particularly helped me in selecting my project during my internship tenure
Once you take up a task, give your 100% to it: Now that you have already filtered out the things that do not interest you, whichever project you select make sure you give your 100% efforts to it. Initially, I was a new to digital marketing, but as time passed, I put my efforts in the same and now I am certified in Google Analytics.
Don’t fumble to be humble: Having a work experience does not necessarily make you a better candidate than a fresher. I have learned a number of things from my colleagues who are freshers. It is the sharing of knowledge, that helps you grow with the people around you.
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy: Well, there is no doubt that work is important, but enjoying your work is all the more important. Learning to love what you do is something that I have learned from my fellow colleagues.
To start with my internship experience,
It all began in November wherein I received a mail from Placement committee confirming my selection in a startup called Pay1 in Mumbai. It officially began on 1
st April wherein summer interns from other colleges as well as me were introduced to Pay1 and its employees. I was initially nervous because unlike many others, I had no experience in the retail-tech sector. The induction program continued for a week during which we were introduced to various products of Pay1. Unlike any other organization, we were given complete liberty to choose our projects as per our interest.
Over the last few months, I’ve learned a thing or two about the whole “startup culture” and what the marketing world really entails. So, for anyone looking for an insider’s perspective on what it’s really like to work for a startup, here are my top seven takeaways from my summer internship at Pay1.
Takeaway#1 No amount of education or number of degrees can replace real-world experiences am an incoming senior at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Bengaluru. Although I won’t trade my experiences at NMIMS, for anything in the world, there is no particular course in the universe which would prepare you for the professional world. And unless you can’t apply the knowledge you possess; it is rendered useless.
Takeaway#2 Be Quantitative, work smartAll through my MBA course, I learned the uses of various decision-making tools. During my tenure as a marketing and product development intern, I learned that it is very essential to learn as many tools as possible since these tools help you quantify the work and help in decision making. The number of tools in your kit helps you analyses data quickly and more precisely which then helps you design your campaign and create strategies for your product and services.
Takeaway#3 Try something new
Although as an intern you have a certain responsibility towards your project, make sure you try new things which would broaden your horizon about a particular domain. I was always interested in content creation, and it is during my internship, that I rediscovered my passion for writing. I’m not only working on my designated project but also explored PR, Campaign and digital marketing. This helped me gain an overall 360-degree perspective of Marketing and Communication.
Takeaway#5 Speak up and Speak often
The startup culture is dynamic and is continuously evolving. We as interns were given critical roles and responsibility towards the company since most of us were freshers, our judgments were unbiased and were way different from the traditional solutions offered. In such a scenario, it became important for us to question and speak up regarding a particular decision. This not only led to the exchange of knowledge but also helped strengthen the pre-existing decision.
Takeaway#6 Be humbleDuring my tenure, there have been moments wherein I had the opportunity to work with the CEO Mr. Alakh Gargiya himself. It under his leadership, that everyone here, is very humble and eager to learn and teach. My mentor, Mr. Shishir Sharma always challenged me to outperform myself and made sure my creativity had an outlet. He helped me experience different facets of communication. We at Pay1 had an open-door policy. It is because of this, that asking for help, suggestion or any kind of guidance became easy, and it helped me grow not only professionally but also personally.
Takeaway#7
There’s no summer without fun
Startups are known for their dynamic and unique culture, and Pay1 has been no exception. From hours of sitting on the bean bag with a laptop to cricket leagues to weekly lunch trips, to pancakes celebration for each and every occasion, to happy hours without no good reason other than to have a good time, there was rarely a dull moment in my internship tenure.