Internships With 1M/1M Ambassadors
I would venture to say that most college students and recent graduates appreciate the benefits of doing internships before they start applying for entry level jobs. But what about students who have their hearts set on starting their own businesses? Believe it or not, there is at least one internship program that focuses on teaching students and recent grads how to be successful entrepreneurs. 1M/1M Ambassadors is a program that seeks to help more entrepreneurs achieve long-term success by teaching “Silicon Valley’s best practices to a global community of entrepreneurs so they avoid common mistakes and significantly improve their chances of success,” and they are offering unpaid internships for students and recent graduates interested in entrepreneurship.
Students and recent grads who become 1M/1M “Internal Ambassadors” will “focus on an Entrepreneurship Development Organization [EDO]. An EDO can be a university or college entrepreneurship program, student club, professional organization, alumni club, technical group, social media group, or an incubator.” Besides recruiting entrepreneurs from specific EDO’s to become members of the 1M/1M Ambassadors program, interns will also write posts for Deal Radar 2010 and introduce new 1M/1M Ambassadors to Mitra’s weekly strategy roundtables, where startup and aspiring entrepreneurs gather to get feedback from Mitra about their ventures.
Through the course of the internship, students and recent grads “will learn about business and entrepreneurship, be exposed to innovative ideas and business strategies, learn critical management skills,” and much more. The ideal candidates will have established leadership capabilities, social networking and communication skills, and be available to work for at least five hours each week. This is an ongoing opportunity so students and recent grads can apply at any time.
Some people have a natural business acumen, but for those who don’t, internships that are specifically targeted at giving practical business skills and knowledge to college students and recent graduates with an interest in entrepreneurship could increase the number of small businesses that achieve long-term growth and success. But even students who ultimately decide to apply for entry level jobs can benefit from entrepreneur-focused internships, as they attain a wealth of knowledge about the innerworkings of a business that could serve them well in the corporate world.
