Internships are the best way to get your foot in the door and gain some first-hand experience, during some free time. With a work-ex of 3 Yrs. in an IT firm as a Software Developer, I was looking for more than just a first-hand experience. After working in an MNC for such a long time, I decided to go a company that might not have a brand name but can definitely offer an experience worth much more and startups are a great place to gain an immense amount of experience and helps us to undergo overall training.
While pursuing PGDM in Analytics from NMIMS, Bangalore, I got an opportunity for a live project from ONN Bikes – MTIPL. We worked for a month with them and were offered PPO for a summer internship. With the offer in hand, I realized I didn’t have to go through the stressful and all day long internship processes and also, would get to work in an organization which can give me a host of real-life experience that is impossible to get in any other organization.
The internship joining date approached in no time and we were introduced to the team we had to work with. To my surprise, we (My friend I did live project with and I) were the only interns working in the department. In the initial period of the internship, we were given several research papers to study and understand their new project. I have gained insights into the challenges that a startup faces as well as the solutions to those challenges. I was able to learn about the intricacies of how a startup functions on a day to day basis as well as the many steps a startup needs to take to grow, generate leads and get funding. I am really thankful for the opportunity to experience all these first-hand and I am now more confident and aware of how to handle and grow a startup. We learned from each department and take on roles which I hadn’t even thought of.
We were also given the customer’s booking data to study and analyze the customer pattern, retention rate, churn rate, and their overall experience. We were asked to do brainstorming with other team members and come up with some solutions to enhance customer experience and improve their overall journey with ONN Bikes.
My mentors played a very important role in my journey with ONN Bikes and in the successful completion of the internship. They have given one on one session with me regarding the project, their marketing strategy and were always open to new ideas and suggestions. They also made me aware of what the market wants today and how I need to keep evolving with time if one has to be always at the top of the market. Those insights will stay with me throughout my life.
Overall, my experience and learning with the startup is sterling. While working there, we did some mistakes, but my learning is much more from it. It was a lifetime experience to work in such an organization with the most supportive and experienced mentors.
